Around Town: Kobold Lounge

Friends gather for free tabletop gaming at Kobold Lounge in OKC on Jan. 15, 2026. Photo by Mindy Ragan Wood

By Mindy Ragan Wood/Editor

Kobold Lounge might be Oklahoma City’s best kept secret for free table top gamers, but it’s less of a secret to the neurodivergent community.

Owners Robert Conway and his sister René Worley are both parents to adult children with autism and say they opened the lounge four years ago as a free, safe, and inclusive space for everyone.

“We have a lot of autistic adults,” Worley said. “We all just fit in here because we’re all just a bunch of nerds.”

As the name implies, Kobold is a character from Dungeons and Dragons (DND) and is often the game of choice at the lounge, but plenty of people come in and play cards, dominoes, and board games among popular or obscure role playing games (RPG). Other than a couple of old-school arcade machines, it’s strictly non-digital play at Kobold.

The cozy space is likely popular among adults with autism because of the careful considerations the owners took in designing its features.

The lounge boasts six game tables, including one in a private room at the back of the lounge for a quiet sensory experience. The tables each have partitions in between, which helps cut down on carry over noise and distractions from other groups of players.

Lighting is also low, which can be easier on people who are sensitive to bright LED bulbs. It’s also not a game store, so the space is absent a stream of shuffling retail customers.

It’s a place with a lot of quirks, Conway said. Because they do not charge for tables, curating free furniture was definitely a must. Conway built tables or found them secondhand. The chairs, couches and other odds and ends are used, often donated by players.

Newbies to RPG games are welcome, and there’s even a class to learn how to play DND. Often, though, people end up joining the game just from watching others play.

“We had one guy who came in and sat down and watched for like six or seven months and listened to people,” Conway said. “He didn’t talk to anybody. Finally he talked to somebody and joined the game. We have another one who is still doing that, but he talks to people. He’s just not ready to sit down and join a game yet.”

Worley said people often come in and just want to watch, until someone invites them to fill an empty slot and before they know how to play, they’re part of game.

Being part of a game, means being part of a community and it’s one that has taken ownership of keeping the lounge open, she said.

When the lounge faced closure on two occasions, its tabletoppers responded. Conway was stunned by their generosity after he set up a GoFundMe account.

“A day later, I didn’t have to ask (myself) how long I was going to keep it open,” he said. “Within a week I had $3,000.”

The owners hope to launch a kitchen and serve hot snacks as a way to generate some revenue and enhance the lounge experience.

For now, they’re open from 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Friday and from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m on Saturday. The lounge is located at 3718 NW 23rd Street, located inside The Vape Bar, a small retail store, which is next to Absolute Diamond & Gold.