— by Matt Golec

West Lebanon and Hanover, NH

8/1/23

Ahsoka Tano was in trouble.

At Black Moon Games in West Lebanon, bad-guy droids were targeting the Star Wars hero with blaster fire. But the Jedi-in-training had been in tougher spots.

Ryan Lockwood of Bradford, VT, rolled the droid dice—some hits, but not enough to defeat Tano.

“Ahsoka lives!” said James Howard of Barre, who was facing off against Lockwood across a table filled with plastic space buildings and figures. “At least for now.”

The pair had gathered at one of the Upper Valley’s two game stores—the other being The Fourth Place in Hanover—to play Star Wars: Shatterpoint, a new game set in the Star Wars universe. Both stores sell games, toys, snacks, and other items, but there’s something else you can find at both that sets them apart from most other retailers: a sense of community.

Between dice rolls, Howard explains that he drives an hour to Black Moon to play games he could play at home. At the game store, he gets to see different people and check out their miniature armies, something that wouldn’t happen in Barre.

“This is my preferred place to play,” he said.

Ryan Lockwood (left) of Bradford, VT, and James Howard of Barre, face off in a game of Star Wars: Shatterpoint at Black Moon Games in West Lebanon, N.H.

Over at The Fourth Place, Eryk Munro of West Lebanon had just won a four-person game of Magic: The Gathering, a collectible card game that’s been popular (and has helped keep game stores afloat) for 30 years.

“It’s all about the social,” Munro explained after a post-game round of handshakes. While he enjoys exploring a game’s strategy, being with other people is the real prize. He’d sat down that afternoon not knowing all the players at the table. Now they were chatting and enjoying games together, something that wouldn’t happen at Wal-Mart or Target.

I totally get it. This is why I like game stores, too. Hey, this is Matt, cutting in here with an author’s note to disclose a couple things. One is that I’m involved in the gaming community I’m reporting on for this article, and two, I’m friendly with the owners of the Upper Valley game stores.

While I’m going to keep my journalistic ethics about me, I also want to let you know that I think it’s great our area has two nice stores like this, and I’m happy to patronize both.

Back to our regular programming: Munro drops by The Fourth Place several times per week. He appreciates the welcoming environment and evening hours.

“It’s the only place that’s open late at night,” he said.

Clockwise, from left: Brian Kim of Lebanon, Greg DuBois of Hanover, Eryk Munro of West Lebanon, and Dylan Badin of Lebanon gather at The Fourth Place in Hanover to play a four-person game of Magic: The Gathering, a popular collectible card game.

Ian Struckhoff opened The Fourth Place about nine months ago, and his “dry nightlife” hours of 2 to 10 p.m. (11 p.m. on weekends) let people come in after work or dinner and not feel rushed.

“My space is here to be an event space, a community space, a gathering place first,” Struckhoff said. “And because of that, my hours are not usual retail hours.”