Arkham
Games: The meeting grounds for tabletop gamers in Allegany County
By
William Everett
Frostburg
(MD)
(
1,500 words, 5 interviewees)
LA VALE – On National Highway in La Vale, several cars
pass by various stops seen on most American roads. Chain restaurants like
Arby’s, pharmacies like CVS, and banks like BB&T are all scattered
alongside the road.
As the drivers all move along to their various
destinations, most of them probably pass a certain place that isn’t a chain
store, but rather, a place that can only be found there on that road in La
Vale: Arkham Games.
It is somewhat hidden from view, tucked away behind
other stores that share the building, so it is easy to miss. However, those who
do know about the store visit often. Judging from its name, one would think that
Arkham Games is a gathering place for Batman enthusiasts.
But despite its name, Arkham Games actually has
nothing to do with Batman. Instead, it is a store for all kinds of games. It has
a large main room with its walls and ceiling decorated with colorful posters of
games and playmats labeled with price tags.
These decorations depict images of Magic the
Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, Hearthstone, Star Wars X-Wing, Warhammer 40k, and many
other popular games.
From the entrance, the wall on the right side of the room
has shelves containing boxes of board games, card games, booster packs,
collector’s binders, sets of dice, and anything else a card collector or
tabletop player could want.
On the other side of the room are long tables where the
players gather, who bring with them backpacks and boxes of their best cards and
favorite figures to play and trade. Depending on the game, they’ll either roll
out their playmats, or prop up figures and miniature fortifications.
On Wednesdays in particular, the players prepare
themselves for weekly Yu Gi Oh tournaments. They hold practice duels before the
competition, and meanwhile, they all talk and joke with one another, like old
friends at a reunion.
At the register is a glass counter filled with shiny
trading cards from all kinds of games. On a certain Wednesday evening at 6:30, one
of the customers spoke with the store’s owner there about the cards inside, focusing
on shiny and rare golden Digimon card resting under the glass.
The owner is none other than William Howard Poland the
3rd, a young entrepreneur in the making. However, his mother
nicknamed him “Trey” at a young age because she thought “Trey” was French for
“third” (it isn’t.) Nonetheless, the
name stuck, and all of his friends and customers call him by that name.
“I
have owned Arkham since January 2016,” Trey says. He started
working for Arkham Games in 2014 after being a customer there for three years.
Then, just a year after that, the store’s owner of the time, John Se, offered
Trey an opportunity to buy the store from him before moving to Washington
state. At the time, Trey had recently dropped out of college and was looking
for a way to make some extra money. Owning and managing a game store sounded
like a great idea to him.
Trey says that the process of acquiring the store was
a “long and weird” process, as he had to prove to the bank that the game store
was profitable and he had convince his mother to co-sign the loan. After
jumping through all the hoops, Trey became the owner of the game store he had
been going to for years.
On a particular Wednesday evening, while everyone else
was dueling with Yu-Gi-Oh cards, Trey was busy arranging rows of chairs in the
store’s empty corner to have them cleaned. One of the customers said that the
chairs looked like a church, and another called out “Hey Trey, are you starting
a cult?”
Even though he started going to Arkham to play games,
Trey now has very little time to partake in them since he has to devote most of
his time managing the store. He claims that he did not think that his new job
would interfere with gaming, but it keeps him much busier than he thought.
After all, as a customer, one would be able to choose
when to go to Arkham’s events, and it has many. Jessie McCourt, a friendly, regular
customer of Arkham for six years, says that the store has events for all kinds
of games throughout the week. From board games to video games to tabletop
games, “there’s something for everyone
here.” Jessie is an omnivore of a gamer at Arkham, as he participates in as
many games as he can. From dueling card games like Yu Gi Oh to tabletop games
with figurines and dice, like Warhammer.
Another gamer, Taylor Walker, who has been a customer
for four years, claims that the games are the best part about going to Arkham. The
bold and hearty gamer, who wears the same hat worn by Ash Ketchum from the Pokémon
anime, quietly chuckled before stating,“bitches
be crazy and games be dope.”
As fun as these games and tournaments are, as the
store’s owner, Trey has to oversee all events. Consequently, he doesn’t have
much time to actually play the games himself. He claims that the days fly by
because running the store takes up nearly all of his time while he’s there.
Trey also says that he has minor memory problems due to his health. “The days here… They tend to blend
together.”
Of course, none of these games and events would be
happening were it not for Trey and his management skills. And even though he
can’t participate in these games very often, Trey enjoys keeping the store
running very much. To him, the games are only the second best part of it all.
Trey says that the most enjoyable part of the job is the people who come to his
store.
“You
meet so many people who play these games… The different backgrounds. You’d be
surprised, they don’t fit the stereotypes.”
Many players at Arkham seem to agree with Trey: The
community of fellow gamers is what makes Arkham the place to be. One of them,
Christian Gillus, a skilled player and regular customer of two years, says, “Everyone is very friendly, we’re like a
dysfunctional little family.”
And like any dysfunctional family, the gamers at
Arkham have quite a few interesting stories to share. Christian told a story of
how he once announced that his friend Craig, a fellow gamer at Arkham, “got
laid two nights ago.” It became an inside joke that made everyone clap every
time he mentioned Craig’s name.
Not long after sharing this story, Craig walked into
the store, and Christian announced “there’s my boy, Craig!” At that statement,
everyone stopped what they were doing, turned to Craig, and applauded for him.
Christian also jokingly said, “Quest tries to grope me, and that embodies the human spirit,” to
which Quest Lockard, another Arkham customer of four years, nodded in agreement.
Quest is a dedicated gamer who attends the Yu Gi Oh
tournaments whenever he can. He brings with him a large duffle bag and a
backpack, both filled with trading cards and accessories like deck boxes and
play mats. When asked what he enjoys about Arkham, Quest shuffled his cards as
he answered, “should I say ‘nothing, I
hate everyone’? Nah, just kidding. It’s the people.” Before going to Arkham
games, he and his friend, Taylor Walker, went to a game shop in Cumberland
called Geno’s Sports Cards, which has since closed down.
Quest and Taylor told a story that, one day, Trey came
into the store saying he had a dream the night before where all of his
customers tried to throw live fire-crackers at him. After that, Taylor spent
the rest of the day trying to convince Trey that it really happened.
However, not everything that happens in Arkham is just
lighthearted fun. Jessie McCourt says that, in March, he was attending one a
Warhammer 40K tournament with some friends. One of them, Kyle, proposed to his
fiancé, Taylor (not Taylor Walker, a girl Taylor,) in a clever fashion. The tournament had a prize drawing, and
when it was Taylor’s turn to draw, Kyle secretly filled the box with cards that
read, “will you marry me?” After receiving this surprise proposal, Taylor said
yes.
So Arkham games is more than just a game store. It’s a
gathering place for fans of all kinds a games, a place where gamers can make
and meet friends, and form lasting relationships with one another. Trey says
that he hopes to keep Arkham up and running for a good long while.
At the very least, until he pays off his loans. Once
he passes the torch off to someone else, he hopes to start a career in real
estate. Even after Trey moves on, it is hoped that Arkham will remain a popular
meeting place for gamers for a good, long time.
Links to relevant websites:
