Fundraiser launched for inclusive gaming hub
BBCA £15,000 fundraiser has been set up in order to establish an "inclusive and accessible" board gaming hub.
The Spectrum Space, a registered Community Interest Company (CIC), was set up after popular Shrewsbury gaming cafe, Nerdy, closed in May 2025.
The organisation is now hoping crowdfunding will allow them to rent a unit in the Shropshire town to establish a new focal point for the gaming community, and have so far raised more than £2,500.
Dan Hughes, its founder, is autistic and said the goal was to cater "for people who haven't previously felt like the traditional social spaces work for them."
He recalled "frantically" trying to find a new venue for local gamers when Nerdy announced its closure.
"We found that it was far, far harder than we thought it was going to be," he said.
Due to a lack of availability or physical space, Hughes and his friends were unable to find somewhere suitable.
The Beeches, a pub in Bayston Hill, was able to accommodate the group - but he said he knew they needed somewhere more permanent.
Because the Spectrum Space has no permanent premises yet, Hughes said it is difficult to access any grant funding - hence the fundraiser.
Proceeds will be put towards "rent deposits" and "fitting out the building," he added.
"One of the key parts of the plan is that we don't want to use a model that involves charging people to enter the building," he explained.
"We hope for Spectrum to be that true third place that isn't home or work," he added.
As a CIC, the purpose of the venture must be community benefit, with surplus profit reinvested back into the space.
The gamer said he was also hopeful that Spectrum Space will become a hub for mental health and well-being by partnering with local agencies.
Speaking from experience as a neurodivergent person, he said through gaming he had "found that place where I could just be myself and unmask," but that "there are other people who are just like me."
"It was just so of validating to know that I wasn't, you know, broken or wrong or weird to not like the things that most other people like," he added.
Gaming had allowed him to "gain all of the positives of social interaction but without the negatives."
Hughes' partner, Emma Matthews, said the purpose of the project was "about the whole community of Shrewsbury and in Shropshire", and being able to provide local people with a place "to feel safe to be themselves."
"Neurodivergence is classed as a disability," she said, but explained that "it often only displays itself as a disability because the environment isn't suitable for those people."
"The world set up by neurotypical people for neurotypical people in most cases," she continued, adding that "what we want to do is reduce those barriers".
If the fundraiser is successful, they both said they were keen to offer facilities to other organisations like those supporting people with autism and ADHD, as well as other groups "that are struggling for space to meet."
"It's about enhancing the whole well-being ecosystem of Shrewsbury," Matthews said.
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