Dork Den, 603 N. Riverfront Dr. (507-386-1406) Schedule of Events: Monday - Miniatures Tuesday - Magic the Gathering Tournament Wednesday - Role playing with games like Dungeons and Dragons and Yu-Gi-Oh Thursday - Board games and Magic the Gathering Drafts Friday – Friday Night Magic Saturday – Rotating Game Theme Sunday – Yu-Gi-Oh and Commander format Magic the Gathering
The Dork Den moved to a larger building and then expanded again to keep up with demand. demo’s a board game, they are able to sit down with others while learning its specific rules to see if they liked it. If a customer requests a game, in which there isn’t a copy to demo, chances are Huber and Fenske know of somebody in the community who could bring that particular game down to the store for a personal demo. “The gaming community is pretty close knit,” Huber said. “They are very good about showing people games and getting people into their hobbies because that means there are more people playing their hobbies.” Board game hobbyists Huber and Fenske believe that those who play the Xbox or games online are almost the same communities as those who frequent their store. “For a long time everyone was playing on their Xbox or PC but we are seeing a shift in that trend,” Huber said. “Although a lot of our games have iPad apps or other electronic versions also available, we are finding that people still prefer the interaction of playing with someone who is across the table. We feel our customers enjoy sitting across the table rather than talking through a headset to each other.” For Huber, he has been a hobbyist of board games since the age of 13 when he started actively playing Magic: The Gathering. Since that time, he has dabbled in many games including everything The Dork Den offers. Fenske too, started his love affair with board games as a teenager but a lacked competitor willing enough to play on a consistent basis. “In the Mankato area there have been places like this that have come and gone,” Huber said. “We want to be that positive foundation or rock, a place where people can go to meet other players. We want to find the people who are playing the games. Not just having them sit on their shelf collecting dust. It is important to us both as enthusiasts.” Building future gamers Recently, Fenske and Huber hosted a game day at Waseca’s public library. Where the Mankato school district participates in late mornings, Waseca does the opposite with a monthly early out day. On those days the library tries to do something special for the children who may not have a place to go or are looking for something different to do. As a result, The Dork Den was invited to host a
Hours: Monday thru Saturday: Noon-10 p.m. Sunday: Noon-8 p.m.
game day at the library. “We had a very diverse group,” Huber said. “There were kindergarteners to seventh graders all playing games together for an afternoon. We had a great time.” Spearheading a movement Currently, The Dork Den sells primarily to those who are south and southwest of Mankato rather than south east, as both Rochester and Owatonna have similar stores. Miniatures games such as Warhammer 40K, Warmachine/ Hoarders, tend to draw customers from a greater distance as the closest store carrying them is in the Twin Cities. This allows the Dork Den to draw customers from northern Iowa, as well as some parts of South Dakota. “For us, Magic: The Gathering is the big boy on the block as far as collectible card games but then so is Yu-GiOh,” Fenske said. “We tried to support Yu-Gi-Oh when we first opened but the community just didn’t take to it. We got one or two players at a time. Finally, a guy who’s really passionate about the game kind of spearheaded the movement, now we have Sundays and Wednesday dedicated to that game.” A game for everyone The Dork Den’s future goal is to become more active by hosting gaming events out in the community. Fenske and Huber would like to bring gaming out to the people, as they feel it is a great way to encourage community spirit, as well as foster future players. “I guarantee there is a game out there for everyone,” Huber said. “We have games that can take as little as 15 minutes or up to 15 hours. That has been the biggest change in the board game industry. Today, most games have an end point. They can no longer last forever. Most of the games made will fit with that hour to hour-and-a-half time frame. There still are a few epic games that are all day MV events but most games aren’t.”
MN Valley Business • June 2014 • 21