Choose your adventure: Edmonton coffee shop promotes sidequests for in-person connection

Labo Coffee in Edmonton is encouraging patrons to exchange services through a bulletin board at the cafe. CTV News Edmonton's Miriam Valdes-Carletti reports.

An Edmonton coffee shop wants to set its community up on small, in-person adventures.

Labo Coffee hopes its Whyte Avenue traffic will come in for a drink, treat and check out their ‘quest board,’ created by co-founder Atty Vohra as a no-cost way to connect.

“I think people have been making the idea of doing sidequests a little more popular recently … The gig economy is growing in such a large volume at the moment. People are always looking for ways to monetize their hobbies,” he said.

Instead of asking for money, putting a form up on the shop’s bulletin board opens up the possibility of exchanging goods or services.

The board mimics the video game lingo of achieving a sidequest, a task that isn’t pertinent to the main game but still offers fun or a small reward. Vohra’s board is a traditional Dungeon and Dragons-esque theme seen in fantasy fiction.

People who complete quests can “cash in” for experience points and discounts at the coffee shop.

Since its inception, Vohra has seen quests that actively help people without getting too personal – like asking to connect with somebody who knows the University of Alberta admissions process – and quests that are just plain fun.

“More recently (we had) bird-watching quests. One was like, ‘Send me pictures of five birds you’ve seen, and I’ll tell you five facts about five birds that I like,’” he said.

“Everyone has niche skill sets they can contribute to people’s lives.”

Andrea Dedio, for example, exchanged tarot card readings with a new friend for potted plants through the board.

“I think it’s really good to bring it into reality … It’s really fun, thematically, that it’s not just doing a favour for a favour. We’re going on a quest and we’re going to help people out," she said.

Clinical psychologist Katy Jamkar says real-life connections are becoming increasingly important in a digitized world.

“It’s really this fundamental human need, which is connection. So many humans are, as we know, inherently social beings,” she said.

“(This) can create opportunities for meaningful, low-pressure, in-person interactions that can help to foster a sense of belonging.”

For liability and privacy purposes, people who do use the quest board sign a waiver and are limited in the legality of their requests, meaning you can’t ask someone to do your taxes for you.

“With a model like this, you’re inherently asking someone to take a risk … I feel like we’ve become really risk-averse on social media, and anonymity kind of helps that,” Vohra added.

“But this is a way to put yourself out there.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Miriam Valdes-Carletti