Behind the blank wall display of the former women’s clothing store McGinty-Whitworth on 101 E. Madison St. is a growing community of people who enjoy cards, videogames and role-playing games.
Gone are flowery blouses and sparkling jewelry. Now the cavernous room is filled with multiple tables and gaming consoles.
Two businesses, WaveFire Games and The Chaotic Wyvern, have occupied the downtown space since the beginning of the year, though not many are aware of what lies inside.
Sue Warren, whose husband is a Dungeon Master for the Dungeon & Dragons games, said the venue’s offerings have kept her active in the Iola community. She describes herself as an introvert.
“I’ve always kept to myself,” Warren said. “But coming here, they don’t let me get away with that. It has done wonders for me. It was interesting at first, but the more I’ve been here, the more these people have become not so much friends, but family to me. It has been a wild ride.”
Warren and her husband have played D&D since 2007 and Magic since 2004. If WFG did not exist, they would still be playing these games with only a handful of friends. Warren before WaveFire opened she stuck to online gaming and fan fiction writing, but now she and her husband are at the store most every night it is open.
SHANNON ROLOFF, founder and owner of WaveFire, said the venture is not about making money as much as providing a service to others.
“The community has kept WFG alive,” Roloff said. “The people want to see it stay. We charge what we need to keep the doors open. We want to provide a welcome area and safe place for kids to come in and play games.”
Roloff said he was surprised by the store’s popularity. With a loyal community and new releases, attendance continues to grow.
“We outgrew our original store less than six months after we moved into it,” Roloff said. “Now we still sometimes don’t have enough chairs for everyone.”
The business first opened in June of 2016 at 106 S. Washington St., relocating to their current site on the downtown square last December.
Beginning in January, the store became a joint operation. Kyler Tatsch owns The Chaotic Wyvern. While WFG focuses on card games, miniatures and board games, TCW works on the video game and role playing games department.
Roloff said both D&D and Magic are the most popular games played at WFG. Tatsch, who is sometimes known as “The Giant,” will often be a dungeon master for open D&D sessions.
Roloff’s daughter Kahlen is store manager for WaveFire.
THE VENUE is open from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m., when many students come after school. Open sessions exist for Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. Other games include Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Star Wars: Destiny and many more board and role playing games.
Not only has WFG focused on the basic card, board, and role playing games, but they’ve also expanded their role to selling video games since the closure of Game Cycle, a local video game store that closed six months ago. Some of the video games for sale go back to the 1980s.
MIKE Ghareeb, a customer who plays Magic, said it has been good to find a community through WFG.
“Before Shannon made this store, there wasn’t a place for people to gather and play games like this,” Ghareeb said. “Kids were stuck up in their rooms playing video games. Having a store like this really helps people get together to play games beyond their imagination.”
A common feature of WFG are weekly tournaments in several card games. Participants pay an entry fee and prizes are awarded, some from the game manufacturers.
Most recently, a new set of cards was released for Magic and a pre-release event took place on Saturday. Attendees paid $25 for a box of the new cards and took part in a tournament with making decks with what they were given on the spot.
Twenty-seven players took part in the daytime and midnight releases.
The community at WFG has also branched off to even smaller groups within the store. Wesley and Emma Keller began bringing their Nintendo console systems and televisions to have others play videogames together.
WESLEY, Emma and six others call themselves “Team Zury” which came about from one player named Zury struggling and others wanting him to win. Wesley and Emma have become acquainted with other card players in the store through tournaments, but prefer gaming with their Nintendo Wii or GameCube.
“We’ve taught some people who usually play Magic how to play Pokemon and vice versa,” Wesley said. “We’re always trying to invite people to play with us.”
The game of D&D is taken very seriously among gamers and expansion of the store is planned in the near future. Having a private session can enhance the game experience and help eliminate any distractions from the public area.
Roloff has two jobs which includes the store. He is also a technical support analyst for KwiKom Communications.
With no large sign on the front of the building outside of a poster, many who enter the store for the first time are unaware of what the store is. Roloff said it is possible that they will add a marquee sign to draw attention to any drivers.
As the community for games continues to grow, Roloff hopes his expansion projects will be ready from a projected timetable.
“I’m hoping the back room work is done before the end of the year,” Roloff said. “At this time next year, I’m hoping to work on the upstairs for other stuff. There’s a second floor and there’s also a basement in the back I’d love to clean up and turn into something else. Our goal is to get the private tables up in the back if someone wants to do a private D&D session separate from those doing it publicly.”
