More orders while playing: why TablePlay creates extra ordering moments

A restaurant doesn't only earn from what a guest orders when they walk in. It's precisely the second coffee, the extra beer, another glass of wine, or that last cocktail that can make an important difference in the final spend per table.

But for such an extra order, several things need to happen at once: the guest must still be present, feel like having something extra, and be able to order easily. TablePlay brings those moments together.

By having guests play during their restaurant visit, entertainment at the table is created. A short game can last a few minutes, while quizzes and tournaments easily take 10 to 25 minutes. Anyone in the middle of a match or quiz therefore has a natural reason to stay seated a little longer. And every extra minute at the table creates new consumption moments.

Longer stay duration and consumption are linked

Hospitality research has shown for years a connection between the time guests spend somewhere and their total consumption.

A well-known field experiment in restaurants, for example, studied what happened when changes to the environment caused guests to stay seated longer. In the condition with the longer stay duration, significantly more was spent on drinks at the same time. Observational research in bars has also shown that time spent is an important predictor of total drink consumption.

That doesn't mean someone automatically drinks faster because of a game. The commercial mechanism is much more logical: staying longer gives more opportunity to order something. And that's exactly where TablePlay adds a second advantage.

Ordering without first getting the staff's attention

With traditional ordering, a guest often first has to catch a staff member's eye. The glass is empty. The guest looks around. The staff is at another table. The conversation continues. And sometimes that extra round ends up not being ordered at all.

With TablePlay, the ordering or call function is located directly within the same environment the guest is already active in. This means TablePlay shortens the distance between "I could actually go for something else" and "let's order another round."

That may sound like a small difference, but in a restaurant with dozens or hundreds of guests per day, increasing the number of extra ordering moments can become financially interesting.

The game naturally creates new ordering rounds

Think, for example, of a group starting a music quiz.

1. The first drinks are on the table.
2. The quiz lasts twenty minutes.
3. Afterward, the standings appear.
4. They decide to play another round.
5. During the second round, the glasses are empty.
6. Instead of leaving, the staff is called over and another order is placed.

TablePlay hasn't just delivered entertainment then. It has created a new commercial moment.

With tournaments, that mechanism becomes even stronger. A group waits, for example, for the next round or wants to see if they qualify for the final. That waiting time no longer feels like wasted time, but like part of an activity. See all the games available.

Why we calculate with a strong scenario of 35% more ordering rounds

TablePlay combines three mechanisms: more engagement at the table, a longer potential stay duration, and less friction when reordering.

Hospitality research separately shows that stay duration correlates with consumption and that changes to the restaurant experience can actually influence final spend. That's why, within our strong scenario, we use up to 35% more ordering rounds.

That doesn't mean every table orders exactly 35% more often. It's a target for the average effect across large numbers of TablePlay users, not a measured result.

From extra ordering rounds to up to 40% higher drink spending

Moreover, an extra ordering round rarely consists of just one drink. When one person at a table indicates they want something else, other tablemates regularly order along. One extra ordering moment can therefore directly result in multiple consumptions.

In a social TablePlay tournament, that effect is potentially even more relevant: the group is engaged together, stays at the table together, and experiences the same activity.

That's why our strong scenario for total drink spending is slightly higher than the scenario for the number of ordering rounds: up to 40% higher drink spending. Not because a game literally makes someone 40% thirstier, but because TablePlay can provide more time, more moments, and an easier path to a next order.

That is precisely where entertainment and hospitality can commercially reinforce each other. What it costs for your number of tables is on the pricing page.