Ricochet Game Lounge & Social Bar

Seeking to increase square footage and offer expanded amenities, the owners of Ricochet – one of the first gaming-focused businesses in the Des Moines, Iowa metro – engaged RDG Planning & Design to conceive a new location adjacent to the city’s lively Court Avenue Cultural Entertainment District. Following pandemic-related delays, the space officially opened in winter 2022, and offers patrons a unique game lounge experience amid a vibrant and playful design where people feel welcomed and open to discovery. Prioritizing community-based games over individual-based games, Ricochet is intended to be a space that fosters socialization and camaraderie and instills a sense of warmth and whimsy for its patrons. To create a feeling of nostalgia, RDG’s design team looked for ways to incorporate found objects into the space: high school gymnasium scoreboards serve as wall art, bowling alley lanes were repurposed to create a custom bar top and poster art installed around the lounge is inspired by memorable pop culture moments. Distressed leather sofas located in the seating areas recall the feeling of hanging out in a garage lounge, while the interior color palette combines the bar’s branded hues (navy and orange/red) with colors from classic games (greens, blues, reds and blacks) to further evoke feelings of familiarity and fun.

Ricochet is a game lounge unlike any other in the city's downtown. The 10,000 SF space features classic games such as ping pong, foosball and skeeball and a full-service bar. Set amid a unique and modern interior, RDG's lighting design for the interactive space creates presence and movement throughout to encourage gameplay and fun. The design's visually interesting display can be seen from down Court Avenue and across Cowles Commons, drawing patrons into the space from afar.   Designers layered together custom square lights to create a futuristic experience and multidimensional aesthetic while also maintaining spatial unity throughout. Accessible and technology-rich controls allow audio/visual equipment to be changed from a central source, while colored and static lighting in the space automatically trigger at appropriate times (during daylight, at happy hour, at nighttime) and recall pre-programmed scenes for the dynamic lighting. To accommodate future expansion, RDG's designers created a flexible framework that can be used as a design standard and easily replicated in future locations. The ultimate effect of RDG's lighting design puts the gaming experience at the forefront and creates a club-like atmosphere that evokes playfulness and childlike wonder.