Dear Friends and Neighbors,
With the announcement of school and various business closures and the greater developing situation with the COVID19 virus, I have made the difficult and reluctant decision that Other Worlds Games and Comics will be temporarily postponing all of our organized Spring Break camps, D&D Adventures and all booster drafts until further notice. All private gaming groups will also be suspended. This is effective immediately. Any camps/events that have already been purchased may be refunded or will be saved on record for when, hopefully, camps and other events can resume.
I do not make this decision lightly. I have the most wonderful staff of employees at this time and this is going to affect all of them and their futures. I do not pretend to be an health expert or to try to “beat the odds” with other folk’s and their children’s lives. This virus is something we have never experienced here and I am convinced that we should all try and do our part to “flatten the curve” on the spread of this contagion, exercising a better-safe-than-sorry approach not out of fear, but an abundance of caution. (So that it never comes to fear.) I am hoping that we do not have to do this for very long. No one knows at this point how far this will go so it is only responsible for us to be safe rather than sorry.
However, with all this said, WE WILL REMAIN OPEN for business but with new, special hours. We usually do not expect large groups and we are mostly a closed, younger community so our environment is, I believe, lower risk. If folks still want to come in and they are aware of the risks, we will try to accommodate. We still need to try and make sales to meet our bills, and I hear table top games and reading comics are great things to do when you have tons of indoor time at home. 😉
New hours from 10am – 6pm daily, effective immediately until further notice.
For now, players will be welcome to come in on their own and they do so at their own risk. We recognize that many parents who are not able to take time off from their work will still need some type of ‘childcare’ and some kids will still need a safe and trusting place to go and be in small groups. The main difference is that we are not actively promoting an organized, higher liability, group event. This status may change but we will provide this as long as feasible and allowed by the appropriate authorities.
In staying open, we will continue taking certain preventive measures, including:
- frequently sanitizing common touchpoints and table surfaces (with Clorox wipes and bleach)
- We will post hand-washing signs and hand sanitizer where we can
- reinforcing appropriate hygiene amongst our staff and young player-customers
- follow all guidelines recommended by the city, state, CDC and Oregon Health Authority
- promoting safer self-distancing practices
For our comics subscribers, it is business/pickup as usual as long as our deliveries are on schedule. If you are not comfortable with coming into the store, your books will wait in your box until you can or, if you request, we can bring them to you out the front door or in your car if parked in front (also depends on customers).
These will be agonizing times for many small business owners. Much of what we have all worked our butts off over many years may simply evaporate in this global outbreak. But all entrepreneurs are used to risks. Please come in and support us and other small businesses if you are able (and not symptomatic). Simply closing up shop is not an option for many of us. Our online sales will keep us afloat for a little while, but we still need walk-in sales and we love to see YOU.
We hope to remain a trusted part of your community and we know that we are in the business of serving you. Yet we must all adapt to this global crisis and what seems to be the new normal. It is, therefore, everyone’s responsibility to be prepared, exercise safe hygiene and DON’T PANIC. 🙂
Stay healthy!
Sincerely,
Ronald Connell, Owner/Manager
Other Worlds Games & Comics
Practice Compassion
Closing schools, canceling highly anticipated events, and disrupting our daily routines by staying home and away from others causes stress for all of us. This is hard and important work. Take a deep breath. Remember, we are doing this to protect each other, the people we love, and the communities we call home. – Oregon Health Authority
Please check the top of our website for frequent updates on the status of our camps and events as more information becomes available on the spread of this virus.
Sources of information you may find useful:
https://www.oregon.gov/oha/Pages/index.aspx
https://www.pps.net/coronavirus