The Match Slip

How many local game stores get a second shot after the first store closes down? A $15,000 Kickstarter wasn't enough to save Family Fun Hobbies, but it bought enough time for an investor to come around and bring a second opportunity and the birth of Round 2 Gaming. General Manager Miranda has worked at both stores and is helping spearhead the growth of Round 2 Gaming. Moreover, she has a genius idea for generating more money per sale while saving the customer money!

Magic: The Gathering and MSRP have always been debated amongst consumers, but how does a game store owner view it? Nathan, owner of Riftgate in Salt Lake City, Utah, is heavily involved in selling Magic cards, which he did not anticipate when starting the store.

Travis, owner of the largest game store, Millennium Games, takes on the role of General Manager for Gamezenter in Roseville, Minnesota, which Travis denotes as the largest game store in the midwest.

One of the boons Travis sees with the store is its custom-developed add-on, which integrates directly with Shopify. He views this as a product that can be sold to other stores at some point.

While the store has a lot of inventory, there aren't enough employees. It's a main area of focus. Travis notes that high-level sales knowledge is needed to help elevate the store. Furthermore, bringing on people with experience in the gaming industry is necessary for product knowledge and custom service. Moreover, Travis has taken over ordering products due to his vast knowledge of industry expertise and his relationships with manufacturers.

The event space has growth potential and not just for gaming. 60% of the 22,000 sq. ft. is dedicated to gaming space. They've been able to host comedy events, and in addition to having their liquor license, it's drawn in crowds that maybe aren't into gaming. However, Travis has had to reduce some gaming space as he notes that more retail space is needed to facilitate sales. Travis sees many opportunities for Gamezenter to improve its operations. His goal is to revitalize the store. Travis views the opportunity as a challenge for himself. Travis and his relationship with Chris Petersen - the owner of Ghost Galaxy, Gamezenter, and Strange Stars -allow him to run the store through his vision, for the most part.

In this episode, Sean, the owner of Brute Force Games in San Diego, California, joins us on the podcast.

Initially, Sean started an online venture selling card collections for additional income and turned that into a 4,800 sq. ft. game store. Having loved Magic: The Gathering since 1994, it's no wonder the game is also most popular at his store. Like most stores, Commander is the most popular format; however, unlike other stores, they only offer open play. There are no points for wins, as it's 100% casual.

From a competitive standpoint, Sean doesn't dabble in that realm often. However, during the RCQ season, he tries to hold a limited event as it is his favorite format to play. At the time of recording, Brute Force Games has been a WPN Premium store for 4-5 years. Moreover, the store has been Sean's full-time job for over 10 years and has ten employees.

These days, Sean's primary responsibility is looking at the bigger picture. However, he still likes to be involved with the store as he doesn't want to be too removed from the industry. He does share that he's not happy about the store's online presence and has hired a marketing team to address those issues. Furthermore, he says he should attend conventions to get the store's name out there.

Overall, Sean loves being around people. It's one of the benefits the store has brought him and something he didn't expect. From a big-picture standpoint, he's always had the idea of having a mini-mall where he is the landlord, but all the businesses support nerd and gaming culture. However, the idea of being a landlord has always created pause.

A visit from a Pokemon collector, Deep Pocket Monster, would prove to be an amazing opportunity for Tabletop Tavern's store owner, Jimmy. The popular Pokemon YouTuber attended a Pokemon trade night hosted at the store that brought more community to Jimmy's store and showcased the great things this store is doing.

Jimmy's store is located in Chula Vista, California. He's been a fan of Magic: The Gathering since the early 90s, and now running a game store with his older brother is a dream come true. The store has ~1,000 sq. ft. of play space and ~750 sq. ft. of retail space. He has the luxury of having three buildings - only two are in use. The third building, Jimmy says, will be used to bring back Tabletop Tasty's, a burger and fries offering that was put aside after a sewer pipe break. After an 8-9 month process, it's nearing relaunch.

Jimmy's full-time job is as an educator, and running a game store is purely a labor of love. He takes no money out of the store and instead reinvests back into it. That reinvestment includes plans for corn hole and bonfire pit. Giving back to the community is of most importance to Jimmy.

While the game store is a joy, one of his passions is escape rooms. He originally thought he would open one himself, but the manual labor involved appeared daunting. However, due to circumstances, he was able to acquire Steal and Escape.

As he looks towards the future, a second location in National City, California, is on the horizon.