Board games, cards, dice, and tiny figurines have the potential to open up a world of adventure. I saw it firsthand when I spoke with Josh Adams at the Little Shop of Magic near Flamingo Road and Durango Drive.
"I collect board games," he said, stuttering with excitement. He and his husband claim to own over 600.
Currently Adams is playing Gloomhaven, a complex board game that takes players through "menacing dungeons" and "forgotten ruins," according to the game's description. A single session can last several hours, allowing participants to dive deep into the story.
"You get to save the world, basically," Adams said, wrapping up his enthusiastic description of the game.
Adams and dozens of other gamers gathered at tabletop stores around the globe for International Tabletop Day on April 29. The unofficial holiday was started by the YouTube channel Geek and Sundry as a way to build a community around gaming.
"Without the community, [tabletop] stores would just be warehouses that ship mail order product to people," said Niall St. John, who organizes events for the Little Shop of Magic. "We do what we can to help foster the community, to help grow it, and to help maintain it."
Adams says he owes a lot to the Little Shop of Magic.
"All of my current friends - we met here," he said. "Everyone that came to our wedding and participated in our wedding was from the shop."
