The Dalles Gets New PC Gaming Center
Meet the Smiths. Pictured left to right: Kaia, Jessica, Tyler, Connor, and Linsey Smith pose in front of CyberMind Gaming.
By Cole Goodwin
The Dalles just got a new PC gaming center.
CyberMind Gaming is exactly what it sounds like… a haven for PC gamers from around the Gorge.
Stepping inside, there is a counter where a jovial heavyset man sits surrounded by his family, and various snacks and drinks that are for sale. Lofi plays on the speakers at a reasonable volume. The dim lighting of the PC gaming center is punctuated by the rainbow colored LED’s present at each PC gaming station.
Tyler Smith is the proprietor of CyberMind.
Twelve PC gamer setups complete with 27-inch 2K displays, headphones, game controllers, gaming keyboards and mouses are set six feet apart.
And then there are the games.
“We offer a large variety of games from all genres for PC Gaming,” said Tyler Smith, Owner of CyberMind Gaming. “We have installed all the most popular games such as Call of Duty, Apex, Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, and many more. We also have the ability to add most games to the systems, so feel free to ask for your favorites.”
Jessica Smith helps Connor, age 5, log in to the PC.
“And we have games for all ages,” he added
There’s also six comfortable reclining lounge chairs for parents and guardians to relax in.
“We have a lounge for parents and guests, so they can kick back and relax,” said Tyler “We have one customer who comes down here and sits and uses our WiFi to work remotely on their laptop while their two kids play games.”
Jessica Smith working on a laptop in the lounge.
Tyler says he’s looking forward to unveiling an activities room in the next few weeks so that people renting the center for parties or events will have someplace to serve cake, ice cream, open presents, and do other activities.
“So far we’ve had a few parties here already,” said Tyler. “You can rent the whole center.”
He also hopes to find someone to run a tabletop gaming center in the upstairs of the business.
“I’d let them run it for free. I’m not in it for the money. I’m in it for the community, and for our kids,” said Tyler.
He also hopes to be able to sponsor time for a TDMS or TDHS eSports club in the future.
“I want to talk to the school district about supporting an eSports program by allowing them to come and practice and compete here, we have the perfect set up for it,” said Tyler. “eSports can have a lot of the same benefits as physical sports, you have to be mentally and physically fit, and focused to compete, you make friends, you have teams and kids can make money if they win big competitions.”
Inside the mind behind CyberMind Gaming.
Tyler Smith is the mind behind CyberMind Gaming.
Tyler, now 34, a self proclaimed hardware geek, builds custom computers to fit a wide range of needs.
He says he built his first computer when he was nine years old.
And it wasn’t long after that when he caught the gamer bug.
“My first game I chose for myself was Doom,” says Tyler, who grew up playing the Oregon Trail game in his school computer lab.
But when he met his wife, Jessica, he was a gamer and she wasn’t. In fact, it was a bit of a point of contention. But then one day he asked her to play World of Warcraft with him, and the rest is history.
“We got to play together and then I stopped complaining,” said Jessica, laughing. “There you have it. Families that game together stay together! I haven’t been able to play WoW much recently because I was going to school full time to become a pharmacist, but now we play Fortnite.”
Jessica Smith stands in front of the mural she’s painting in the soon to be unveiled activities room.
Three years ago Tyler moved from Provo, Utah to The Dalles with Jessica. She now works as the pharmacy manager at Rite Aid in The Dalles. Tyler runs the PC gaming center, which opened for business on March 11th, 2022.
The couple have three children together. The kids are the true inspiration behind CyberMind Gaming.
“I wanted to have a safe place where my kids, and other youth in our community can play games together, have fun, and stay out of trouble,” said Tyler, while looking over at his kids playing on the computers with their cousin Merik Peacock.
“When we moved here I was shocked by the lack of things for kids to do here. There just wasn’t a lot to do. So I’m trying to create more opportunities for kids and families to do things together.”
Ready Player One?
CyberMind Gaming is located at 318 E 2nd St, The Dalles, OR 97058. And for the duration of Spring Break CyberMind Gaming is offering a special $50 a month unlimited playing time membership! Sign up today to start playing games and earn tokens to put towards playing time or prizes!
Know Before You Go
Read the CyberMind Gaming FAQ here to see a complete list of games.
Every person needs to have a unique email address to create a center account.
Parents please note if your child is under the age of 18, they will need you to sign a permission waiver for them to play games at CyberMind and children age 12 and under must be accompanied by a responsible party.
Three first time gamers after hearing that their first hour is free.
Pricing
Basic Time
Open 11 A.M. - 5 P.M.
1 Hour - $5
3 Hour - $12
Full Pass - $25
Premium Time
5 P.M. – Close
1 Hour - $10
3 Hour - $25
Full Pass - $35
VIP Membership
$30 per Month
- 50% off all hourly game time purchases
- 10% off all Merchandise Purchases
- 1000 Monthly Bonus Tokens
*Personal Headphones and Controllers Permitted, but not guaranteed to work*
Time when purchased does not expire; it stays on your account until it is used. You may use premium time to play during basic time, however basic time will not allow you to play during premium time. CyberMind PC’s do not save customer information, all data is erased upon logging out.
Reservation Prices
Single PC Reservation - $20 / Machine
Whole Center Reservation
Monday - Saturday from 9 AM to 11 AM $200
Sunday All Day - $150 / Hour
Party Room Only - $30 / Hour
*non refundable, does not count towards game time*
