A GAMING shop in Shipley has expanded into premises four times larger than before and hopes to provide a “safe haven” for people.

Dice Dice Baby has rapidly evolved since first opening in October 2022 and entered its next chapter when it officially launched in its new premises at the weekend.

The old store was located in the Shipley Underground Market but the business has now come up to the surface, filling a spot in Briggate.

Owner, Ryan Troy, revealed Dice Dice Baby has moved into an old physiotherapist premises on the street, which is “four times larger than what we currently had”.

He said: “It’s not just a space for young people, it’s for everyone. For people to feel welcome, no judgement when you come through the door, and one of those safe havens we want to build for everybody.”

Mr Troy added: “A lot of the people that play board games come out of their shell doing it. Someone who has barely left the house can come out on a weekly basis, sit down, play games, meet new friends.

“It builds that community up, builds that comfort space up. Customers coming in are 60 plus, younger than 10, buying Pokemon cards and everything else in between.”

The new premises has doubled Dice Dice Baby’s seating capacity, with between 16 to 20 spaces for people to use inside.

Mr Troy said: “We were running out of space again in the older place. We had eight seats outside and most days they were full.”

He hopes this will bring more people in, as well as new communities, and the business has been talking to the Connect The Dots charity, which helps adults with learning disabilities, about using the space.

The community itself has helped the gaming shop along the way, with a crowdfunding campaign raising £411 from 11 supporters to support the move.

As part of this, backers were given something in return, depending on the level of their donation, with three people pledging enough to name their own gaming table at the shop.

Dice Dice Baby will continue to sell analog board games, trading card games, and table top roleplaying games. The move will also allow them to run their own games nights – weekly sessions have already been organised at the nearby Groove Pad bar on Saltaire Road.

Mr Troy said: “Because of the success of working with Josh on that project, it has become a lot more popular, like Friday Night Magic.”

He explains this is an evening focused on Magic: The Gathering, which was released in 1993 and the first table top and digital collectible card game.

Mr Troy said: “People come from all over for that.”

The opening party began at 10am on Saturday and ran until 5pm.

Mr Troy said the shop will have different timings for this week and he will eventually formulate opening times from there.