No, not game, like deer and pheasant, but game like … board games, tabletop games, card games, miniature games. Basically, all the games of the world that happen solo, in pairs, in groups, around tables, at home, at cafes (like the one next door to his shop), and out in parks and fields and anywhere else you can roll some dice or move some tokens or share and swap some cards. Everything but the video games. The video games you go somewhere else for.

Monopoly. Dungeons & Dragons. Apples to Apples. Cards Against Humanity. Vampire: The Masquerade. Warhammer 40K (this guy likes it so much, he's fighting to get a TV show made of it). 

These are for the brave souls meeting at parties and in groups and using their imagination, competitive spirit, and full-throated laughter to fuel game experiences that happen in meatspace.

TableTop Game & Hobby in Overland Park, Kan., has been open more than 30 years, and Stewart, years ago, was a young teen harassing the full owner then (now his partner) with stories about his games and characters and weird niche passions. Now, he gets to do the same for a new generation of teens as he’s gone from employee to manager to co-owner.

Want to know more about it? Listen in … and check out these links:

• TableTop Game & Hobby is, by far, my favorite RPG stores, thanks to inventory and, mostly, a great big room to play in for years and the best customer service I have ever experienced in a hobby store of any kind. Visit the website online, but if you’re in town, o ever in town, go there!


• I’ve interviewed a lot of folks and gaming and gaming accessories, some as volunteer help for the best gaming convention I’ve ever been to, like TableTop also in Kansas City, but also for my own curiosity. Here are the episodes:
  
  
  • My friend Jahmal, about running role-playing game sessions for money. He is a fantastic mixture of practical, philosophical, rule-delving, and story-loving. You might love getting nerdy with his stuff here, too.
  
  
  • Gabi Dyck about hand-made dice.
  
  
  • Sam Chupp about helping to make some of my favorite role-playing games.
  
  
  • Noah Gibbs about helping to run another fantastic local gaming convention.
  
  
  • KJ Davis about helping creatives get their work done.