This is the third part in my overview of our recent Community Survey. If you’re curious about the state of our community and games we play, or Waystone’s upcoming move in December 2025, you can catch up in my previous two posts.

After sorting all the data, reflecting, meeting, and weighing priorities, the part I always get stuck on is the question, “Where is this all going?” So, I’ll put that off until the end, and begin with the easy part:

Club Improvements

As discussed in Part One, folks really wanted us to prioritize how terrain is stored and organized, with a focus on making it easier to transport terrain between spaces and build more standardized layouts. This is something we got working on as soon as those results began to roll in, and the bins we’ve made are already making life easier.

We also collected feedback about how we could be better utilizing the Annex space, which has informed some targeted improvements to the atmosphere and the ease of booking tables there. Here’s everything we’ve implemented (most of it in the past two weeks):

Terrain Storage & Organization

We’ve introduced dedicated terrain bins for the most popular game systems at the club, including…
- 5 Competitive terrain bins for Warhammer 40,000
- 2 Kill Team: Volkus bins.
- 1 Old World standardized terrain layout bin.
- 1 Age of Sigmar: Spearhead bin.
Added two new terrain shelves in the Annex.

Thank you to everyone who helped print, acquire, paint and donate much of this terrain and terrain shelving!

Annex Upgrades

A new speaker system in the Annex now mirrors music that’s playing in the Speakeasy during business hours.
Lamps in the Annex are now on timers to help improve the ambiance of the common space.
We’re creating a budget for more artwork in the common spaces of the Annex.

Booking System Flow

I have updated the reservation system so that members now see Speakeasy and Annex availability at the same time (rather than separating them into different booking flows).

24 Hour Access Updates

The cost of 24 Hour Access is being reduced from $32/mo to $24/mo.
Community Amplifiers will now receive a 15oz. Waystone mug that can be stored in their locker and used as an alternative to the paper coffee cups in the Annex.

New rates have been updated for all accounts that currently had 24 Hour Access. If you’re interested in adding 24 Hour Access to your membership, read the guidelines and fill out the form here.

These svelte and generously sized mugs can live in your locker and accommodate 15 ounces of paint water or your favorite Annex-friendly beverage.

The Road Ahead

It’s incredibly gratifying being able to collect feedback and transform it into tangible improvements at the club. Simple, direct upgrades that can be implemented in a week, and that have a positive impact right away are easy, fun, and make me feel useful.

The part that scares me—the real puzzle—is trying to predict what things are going to look like one, two, or ten years from now.

We’ve been on a sprint of growth and improvement for three years now, which sounds great on paper, but it has come with capacity challenges, the need to open a new wing, and added complexity that continues to bubble up past the original vision of “simple, cozy place for adults to play Warhammer”. The addition of the Annex in particular meant a massive push for our small team, and it took us about 9 months to recover our footing financially.

As we now prepare to move into yet another space in 2025, it’s easy to worry that this could all turn into a cycle of growth that doesn’t really have an endpoint.

What if we move into a big, awesome location, but after a year we reach capacity again? Or realize that the intimacy that made the Speakeasy special just isn’t there anymore?

*The dream: Two folks holding back shit-eating grins as they play with toys and roll dice together.*

For most businesses, those “worries” would be the best case scenario, but I’m pretty sure Stefan and I would rather keep things small, simple and true, than strive for massive success.

As is our rhythm, Stefan is the calm voice looking into the horizon, assuring me that things will all work out, and I’m constantly prodding the roadmap to make sure we don’t go too far off our original route.

In the best of days, though, (most days, in fact) all worries are silenced by a few prevailing truths:

We have a large, intelligent, caring community that will always help us get back on track if things go astray.
We have a small but mighty team of staff who all care deeply and share ideas honestly.
Nothing in this world is permanent, and anything we do can one day be shifted and changed for the better.

Take care,
Dustin

If you’re wondering how you can help us reduce some of the uncertainty of the coming year, being a member of the club continues to be one of the biggest pledges of solidarity you can offer. And if you know you’re in it for the long haul, consider taking advantage of our Year Membership Promotion that will be going live in January.

Lastly, keep an eye out for details about Waystone’s Third Anniversary Party in February. Collective challenges and uncertainty demand an opportunity for us all to get loose and celebrate our wins together, so I’m very much looking forward to it this year.

Community Survey 006: Looking Ahead