Tacoma Games: Where Organized Play Rules

By Shelby Taylor

A young Lorien, named after J. R. R. Tolkien’s Elven forest realm Lothlórien, grew up the daughter of two “huge nerds.” At age 4 she was role-playing and her childhood was filled with games of all kinds, including those made up by her parents.

In his youth, Carl’s grandparents played everything from Parcheesi to backgammon, chess to Chinese checkers. Carl himself was a fan of Uncle Wiggily and The Game of Life, enamored by the little car and the core concept. And when a kid up the street introduced him to Dungeons and Dragons, “I never looked back,” Carl says.

Carl and Lorien Hess’ combined love of gaming inspired the opening of their 6th Avenue business, Tacoma Games. For a good eight or nine years, the Tacoma couple had manned their good friends’ comic booth at Seattle conventions, and on the drive home always pondered over, “If we had our own store, what would we do differently.”

In 2013, the perfect commercial property on 6th Avenue came available, and the Hesses took the plunge, opening Tacoma Games’ doors on Small Business Saturday.

Now almost one year later, Tacoma Games has taken up a new home further down the Ave, having needed to expand into a larger space. The dark maroon rectangle of a building houses 220 (and counting) games, from two-player to party games, children’s games to hardcore abstract strategy games.

Inside, board games pop against a blue backdrop and are organized according to game mechanic. “Our wide variety of games used to be organized by theme, but now we go by category,” Carl says as he puts together more shelving for Tacoma Games’ ever-expanding collection.

Thanks to the larger square footage of Tacoma Games’ new home, the kids’ section has also grown, with a dedicated area for family-friendly options complete with room to try them out. “We want this to be a fun, welcoming environment for all levels of nerd,” mom Lorien says.

Toward the back of the shop is where organized play is at its zenith, the crowd ever-changing depending on the evening’s offerings.

Tuesdays and Thursdays it’s Open Board Gaming, where the casual gamer can drop in with a game of their own or choose from Tacoma Games’ library. Rent a table for a date night to remember.

Wednesday evenings are set aside for Dungeons and Dragons Encounters, where Tacoma area residents can get their feet wet with the famed tabletop role-playing game. Sessions are on the shorter side and serve as a great introduction to a different way of play. More advanced missions can be found with Sunday’s D&D Expeditions.

Friday night goes to Magic: The Gathering, a complex card game, and has seen as many as 27 people show up. “I kept saying, ‘Wow,’ over and over again,” Carl says in regards to the turnout.

In the future, the Hesses would like to expand Saturdays to “How to Play Game X.” Lessons would include an overview along with a tutorial on game structure and basic strategy. The pupil would then play a few rounds with their Tacoma Games instructor, getting tips along the way.

This space for learning and playing and socializing truly transcends the traditional stereotype of “game store.” Instead of being ruled by sexism, elitism and snobbery, Tacoma Games pushes toward inclusivity for all. For example, “We want to have ladies’ nights, show we’re a female friendly store,” says Lorien. This is no boys’ club.

Tacoma Games also stands out by keeping it local, from offering an extremely discounted table to reward those who shop locally to bringing in Tacoma’s own Espionage Cosmetics — nerd makeup anyone? Lorien even has her own line of homemade dice jewelry, which will soon be for sale.

Want more gamerific gift ideas? Here’s Carl’s holiday gift guide for the gamer on your list:

• For the hardcore gamer: Days of Wonder’s Five Tribes is really popular right now. While the rules are easy to grasp, a calculated approach is needed to secure control of the legendary city-state Naqala.

• For a different family game: try 7 Wonders. The draft-based card game featuring ancient civilizations and military conflicts is highly rated.

• 

  For a silly game: King of Tokyo and Smash Up are tabletop games which use cards. Embody a monster (Alienoid, Cyber Bunny, Giga Zaur, Kraken, Meka Dragon, The King, Pirate, Ninja, Zombie, Robot, Dinosaur, Wizard or Trickster), and get ready to wreak havoc on your opponent.

• For the kids: Hey! That’s My Fish! “is the best introduction to strategy games I’ve ever played,” Carl says. Who knew penguins trying to catch fish could have such depth?

• Another kiddo choice: Croak! by IELLO  features a female lead character, namely a queen frog that explores a pond.

But your best bet is to stop by 2509 6th Ave, so Lorien, Carl and their staff can forge a personal connection and make a recommendation based on the gamer’s age, interests, and favorite movies and books. In the big little town of Tacoma, it’s this personal touch that guarantees, “You’ll like Tacoma Games!”