The clash of steel upon steel rings out across the valley floor. Banners ripple in the air as a low, relentless drumming urges thousands of dusty boots onward. A bugle cries out, sending nesting birds skyward. The smell of burning tar and scorched earth is heavy here, where row after row of archers line castle walls, releasing waves of flaming arrows into the enemy. A lone figure, a wizard, sits high atop the tallest tower, taking it all in, this battlefield where clans of orcs and humans wage war, where dwarves and elves and hobbits fight hideous beasts, and dragons circle the smoky skies.
No, this isn’t another episode of Game of Thrones or a Lord of the Rings sequel, but rather just a typical afternoon at Games of Berkeley, where players congregate en masse to test their skills against and with others. Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer, BattleTech, Pathfinder, Pokemon and Lorcana are but a few of the camps that make up this gaming community. And they all play under the watchful eye of Gareth O’ Beardsley, a life-size wizard statue that has become the store’s patron “Everythingmancer.”
“We have at least one event happening here every single night we’re open to the public,” says managing co-owner Gwendolyn Reza. “And on weekends we are absolutely packed.” Reza, along with managing co-owner Sean Gore and majority owner and Evil Overlord Erik Bigglestone, work hard to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all ages.
“It’s very important to us that people feel safe here. We’ve set specific expectations. And we’ve had to do some heavy policing at times,” Reza says.
The three share the belief that Games of Berkeley is more than just a game shop, it’s a gateway to worlds unknown. Anyone is welcome to watch or participate, and many who do discover new realms they never knew existed.
“We do a lot of handholding,” Bigglestone says, smiling. “Many customers who come in are only familiar with the classic board games they played as kids—Monopoly, Scrabble, etc. We are introducing them to a number of different alternatives.”
These alternatives include role-playing games (RPGs) like Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), first published in 1974 and commonly considered the first game of its kind, sparking an entire industry of RPG-based products. Then there are wargames like Warhammer, where players use miniature figures to simulate troops on a grand scale across a tabletop battlefield. Trading card games (TCGs) like Magic: The Gathering (MTG) and Pokemon are very popular. And for $5 customers can play any game from the store’s extensive library, or bring one of their own.
Game Master (GM) Phill, a Cal alum, has run Pathfinder games at the store for over 15 years. “It’s like D&D but different,” one player says.
“We’re very open and accepting of new gamers,” Phill says. “We like when people embrace our hobby.”
Another player quips, “Yeah, and I really get a high from explaining the rules …” This garners laughs from everyone in the room.
The current location of Games of Berkeley, at 2510 Durant Ave.—the one-time home of Tower Records—includes more than 11,000 square feet of space, with a mirrored, barrel ceiling. It’s an upgrade from the previous location at Shattuck and Center, with a better layout that includes upstairs offices, ADA-compliant bathrooms and three themed game rooms. This, Games of Berkeley’s fourth iteration, was founded in 1980 by Don Reents.
Bigglestone’s journey as owner began in 2013 when his parents retired, leaving the business to him. One of the keys to his success has been diversification. “My parents always made a big deal about it,” he says. “We don’t stock just games. We also have puppets, plastic figures, stickers, toys, etc.” Many people don’t realize that Games of Berkeley is considered the go-to place for puzzles, thanks to a longstanding relationship with Ravensburger. And dice have become a huge business.
“New materials and customization have made it so that anything is possible,” Bigglestone says. “It’s all part of the democratization of manufacturing.”
This diversification gives Games of Berkeley the edge when it comes to online shopping. “We cannot possibly challenge the low prices offered by Amazon,” Gore says. “But what we can do is offer personal interactions, enabling us to recommend an adjacent item that is not related by logic.”
He points to candles that smell like a tavern, and medieval cookbooks, and a host of other accessories that enhance gameplay. “I never want us to become stale,” he says. “We’re constantly adjusting to the market and trends in gaming.”
The stigma once associated with RPGs has mostly vanished, thanks to TV shows like Stranger Things. “For the first time in popular media, these fantasy role-playing gamers were portrayed not as stereotypical nerds or evil devil worshippers, but as actual, real young people,” says employee Will, who refrained from giving his last name.
Celebrities now endorse a wide variety of products and social media is abuzz with gaming resources, podcasts, and role-playing tutorials and entertainment. With this social acceptance has come a boom of independent releases, and local game developers often visit the store to play-test their ideas. “We used to have roughly 200 releases per year,” Bigglestone says. “Now it’s over 5,000.”
Bigglestone is the first to admit that Games of Berkeley would not exist without the amazing talents of the staff—about 15 employees—and the loyalty of their customers. As an example, when the pandemic hit, he sheltered-in-place to take care of his family while Reza and Gore ran the business. People ordered over 400 products online. When the dust had settled, Bigglestone offered the two part-ownership as thanks. “I’m very open and honest about this … we would not still be here if not for their efforts,” he says.
“I feel very humbled by this business,” Gore says. “We really deal more in memories than we do in pawn movement.”
Reza agrees. “As a species, we love to gather and problem-solve. That’s what gaming is all about.”
The three owners share a smile. It’s not their first, and it won’t be their last.
“It’s like the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn’t want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad has happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it’ll shine out the clearer. I know now folks in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going because they were holding on to something. That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”― Samwise Gamgee in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Games of Berkeley, 2510 Durant Ave., Berkeley. 510.540.7822. gamesofberkeley.com
