It’s a place where the labels ‘nerd’ or ‘geek’ symbolize pride and belonging. It’s a place where your excitement of pulling an Epic from a booster is shared. It’s a place where strategy is discussed, deck builds tested, and new games are recommended. It’s your local hobby store. Have you paid a visit to yours lately?

While it’s easy to do your shopping online, game stores provide so much more. They offer a landing spot where a community can meet and grow. Last weekend, Shadow Era helped to celebrate one of these corner stone communities; 20 years of operation for The Game Preserve! Growing to four locations in Indiana, the Bloomington location held a special event to celebrate their vibrate gaming community and give recognition to the role the store has played over the years.

The Game Preserve has been a “pillar of the Geek community in Bloomington for many years,” says Lennard from A Space Ahead blog. “I saw crowds of people, both old and young, from all over town; mingling, sharing stories, and talking about why gaming was important to them…There was no one telling a certain group of people that they weren’t allowed to be there at the party. There was just an open, welcoming group of people reveling in a single shared joy- the pursuit of fun.” And there was a lot of fun to be had that day! Loharl Studio held a speed painting contest. A cosplay of Sarah Williams from the Labyrnth took home first prize in the costume contest. A Magician and hoola hoop group performed and there was free face painting for the kids.

The Failed Task Podcast did a live broadcast of their show during the event and ran demos of Shadow Era. They originally picked up Shadow Era during GenCon in the summer and were impressed with the balance of the game and the cost. “The best part of Shadow Era is that it’s a cheap game to get into, in fact you can start playing it right now for free online! Compared to past games we have played, it is very affordable” they said in their Shadow Era review. After demoing the game and showing off the cards, many regulars have picked up the digital game and looking forward to getting physical cards. A staff member at the Game Preserve will soon be running regular Shadow Era gameplay events and tournaments.

We’re excited to bring Shadow Era to the Game Preserve and their community and wish them many more years of fun at their store. If you’re in the Boomington area, be sure to check them out! And if you’re not, checking out your local hobby store and the gaming community that’s waiting to welcome you!

Have a Shadow Era story to tell? Interested in having your guild highlighted? Email muriah@wulven.com