Origins prerelease was this weekend and I thought I should go into a little biography of myself, as an origin story so to speak. What brought this on? I'm the sole owner of Adventurer's Quarter again, as Justin has moved onto greener pastures with his Cardboard Clothing Kickstarter.
For most of this year I've worked a second job in addition to AQ and will probably continue to do so until I can get the store to a place where I'm comfortable with its' success. I don't tell people I'm working a second job out of pity, just more as a "What I'm doing with my time" concession. Growing up in Maryland & North Carolina, my parents always worked 2-3 jobs a piece. So it feels normal to do so because I was raised to work hard to get what I want. It's tiring, naturally, but work is necessary to accomplish great things.
I spent years playing video games with friends online because there weren't game stores to go to where I grew up. When I moved to Washington for college the first thing I found was people looking to play RPGs around campus. I found in Seattle more game stores that I could shake a stick at and discovered board and card games. In this way I learned to be liberal with my gaming attachments. Whereas some people only play euro-games, or Magic, or D&D; I learned how to play them all and enjoy them for what they were: Social engagements.
It is through this desire to meet people in a tabletop setting that I started AQ, I think, and this openness to try all types of games that allows me to succeed where other stores might fail. I don't focus on one thing, instead I carry what the community wants me to carry because they are both my customers and the people I engage with on a daily basis. Seeing old faces come out of the woodworks every Magic prerelease makes me smile knowing that they only play during these types of events and when they do, they come to my store because it's a friendly environment where you can win some fun prizes and have a good time.
I'm working to progress the store towards a stable place where there aren't bills piling up because of past mistakes and soon I'll be able to do that. The idea next month is to go the extra mile and launch a Kickstarter myself to transition the store into a true destination location, where there's beer and food and a reason to hang out beyond just gaming. If I don't launch a Kickstarter it's because I've found other avenues to fund the beer license and we'll simply move forward and get shit done. I want the store to be a place to chill and meet new people more than I want it to be a store you go to expecting to play a certain type of game. We'll continue to have the same growing library of games and carry the next best thing from Fantasy Flight, Magic, and more, but ultimately if there's nothing coming out that strikes your particular tabletop desire this month we'll still be a fun place to visit and grab a pint.
Making Adventurer's Quarter truly a place where adventurer's gather to socialize has been the goal of all my encounters with board gaming. Whereas I might appear rather stoic and calculating in my conversations at the shoppe, my passion within the shoppe is truly to meet new people and hear about what they love to play. Most of our Odyssey beernights once a month result in the group hanging out and talking more than playing games because that connection through gaming is more important than the games themselves. As the future of AQ approaches and the its' survival depends entirely on my decision making and your willingness to participate in it, I hope you'll join me on this adventure soon.
