New York Society of Play recently opened a new location in Greenpoint at 724 Manhattan Avenue, replacing the old headquarters at 79 West Street. The new location contains both a store called Frontier Games and space for all NY Society of Play events.
NY Society of Play was founded by Ali Ngom in 2019 when he saw an opportunity to turn his love of play into a business. Ngom started programming that uses “games like Pokémon and Dungeons & Dragons to foster social skills.” The programs are educational, fun, and incorporate a “social contract” that contains five ingredients necessary for healthy play: safety, trust, respect, cooperation, and consent.
Now, four years later, NY Society of Play is a success with a bigger and better space. Ngom told Greenpointers that he is “excited” about the new headquarters, which is now the only location of NY Society of Play. He decided to uproot the facilities from West Street to Manhattan Avenue because it is “closer to everyone” and “in the middle of the neighborhood.”
Ngom describes the new headquarters as a “community gaming space” with events for everyone. He wanted to incorporate activities for the entire community. “We have a focus on adult and kid events alike, with adult events happening on weekends and evenings, and kid events happening in the morning, afternoon, and holidays,” Ngom explained.
On Instagram, NY Society of Play wrote, “To avoid further confusion, please follow @frontiergamesnyc for all Teen/Adult events, and follow @nysocietyofplay for all Kid/Family events,” explaining that the new adult activities will fall under the Frontier Games umbrella, and the kids activities that NY Society of Play is known for still fall under that name.
NY Society of Play’s new space also has a small backyard that Ngom plans to utilize for events that need a short period of time outside, explaining that sometimes classes will still venture to nearby parks for activities that need an extended period of time outdoors. The backyard is also the perfect place for movie nights, which are already underway.
Though the NY Society of Play headquarters on West Street did sell a few items, Frontier Games’ store carries an expanded selection of toys, cards, and gaming gifts. The store brands itself as a “one-stop shop for all things tabletop.”
To celebrate the new space, NY Society of Play is offering a free trial that can be easily taken advantage of by visiting the website.
I’d just like to add that Ali is awesome. My 7YO autistic son and I went into Frontier Games a week or so ago. Ali immediately connected with him and engaged with him in a dynamic conversation offering alternative viewpoints all while being really respectful and fun. After that short encounter, my kid clearly had some new thoughts brewing on our walk back home with a renewed motivation to think about some different strategies in his game-play.