‘If you can think of it, we probably have it on our shelf’: Nearly 1,400 board games up for grabs in Lawrence as bar closes

LAWRENCE (KSNT) – The owners of a Lawrence bar and restaurant are ready to sell off their massive collection of board games as they prepare to close their doors for good.

KSNT 27 News spoke with Matt Pool, co-owner of Restaurant, Pub & Games (RPG) in Lawrence, about the decision to close and sell off their hoard of board games. On June 2, RPG made an announcement via social media stating that, after almost four years in Lawrence, the business would be closing at the end of June.

“When RPG opened September 2019 we had a goal of creating a space where people could come together face-to-face over good food, good drinks, and good games. To be a place where people could be themselves. A place where everyone, from the college sports fan to the most obsessed anime lover, knew that they were safe and among friends; where there was no room for judgment, because every space was filled with acceptance.

But, in a sentence that is way too short to encapsulate everything we have fought for: We never fully bounced back from the last few years.”

RPG social media statement excerpt

As the final day for RPG get closer, Pool said they are looking to sell their stockpile of board games which number close to 1,400. The games will be sold for prices between $10 and $50, according to an RPG statement on social media.

“We bought the first 200 games back in the fall of 2018 as another retail store in town was closing and we started using those games for our pop-up events around town,” Pool said in an email. “Over time we bought lots of games here and there and then made individual purchases through distributors as needed. When we opened in the Fall of 2019 we had just over 1,000 games. We are close to 1,400 now.”

Pool said RPG members will get first dibs on the board games this weekend, June 24 and 25 before they are sold to the general public Wednesday, June 28 through Friday, June 30. While there isn’t a list of board games on RPG’s website or social media, Pool said they have just about everything.

“From Battleship to Monopoly, to Dice Throne, Catan, Ticket to Ride, Mysterium, Villainous, and even more obscure games… we have them,” Pool said in an email.

RPG can be found at 724 Massachusetts St. in Lawrence and can be reached by calling 785-330-5079 or by emailing [email protected].

“While a small handful of the games are sentimental the games themselves are just games, but it was more about what they meant,” Pool said in an email. “Our library was a representation of who we have been to our staff and our community. When you walked in to RPG and saw all the eclectic games it was the first way we let people know that we welcomed people of all walks of life as well. All types of games from all different genres have filled our shelves, in the same way that RPG has built such a strong sense of belonging for people no matter their race, gender, ethnicity, political affiliation, socioeconomic status, religious background, and more.”