Where everybody knows your game

Holden Farrey hoped he would last to play his next turn.

The 16-year-old Coeur d'Alene resident recently sat across from Tanner Roberts, one of his frequent "Magic: The Gathering" and "Dice Masters" playing partners. They played the latter as Roberts' complacent dog, Rue, rested nearby, accepting attention or discarded food bits that came her way.

Roberts held a "Gobby" die in his hand. If he managed to field it (he had a 50 percent chance), his array of sidekicks would assure him the victory.

Yet another close game was about to be decided between the pair. Before Roberts could roll, the front door opened and play was immediately suspended: A gamer in need entered the room.

For Roberts, it was just another day on the job.

"I play games pretty much every day I come to work," Roberts said.

Roberts co-owns the independent game store Press Start to Play on Sherman Avenue. Even though he said it is "first and foremost a video game store," the store's purpose is not limited to that. The store currently hosts regular competitive game events for card games "Magic: The Gathering," "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and "Dice Masters."

The store also sponsors video game tournaments for popular titles like "Super Smash Brothers" occasionally. Most competitive play occurs Friday through Monday to not interfere with gaming events at other local stores like Strategy & Games and Hastings.

A weekly board game day on Sundays attracts gamers interested in a non-tournament setting. Roberts said when the store first opened, people were charged if they wanted to play games in the store. That policy was quickly discontinued.

"We got to the point where we just liked having people playing games in the store," Roberts said.

He said people are invited to try and play games in the store, though finding a time for a group to come together can sometimes be challenging. Regardless, both owners said they do not mind when people show up to play games.

And play games they do. Sometimes that means one of the owners, Roberts in particular, ends up being an employee and participant simultaneously. Despite the challenges that involves when the store is crowded, Roberts said playing games with customers is the best part of the job.

"I try to play with as many people who want to play as possible," Roberts said. "A lot of people may not be willing to learn something new or hang out with new people that they don't know. They might be willing to do these things when learning a new game."

Roberts said he's helped people discover games such as "Dominion," "Ascension," "Cards Against Humanity," "Summoner Wars" and "Dice Masters" in addition to an incalculable number of video games.

"Tanner was one of the first people to teach me how to play Magic," Rivera said. "He was really respectful and made it enjoyable."

Customers often come to the store to play with Roberts or Kropff because their gaming skills are formidable, which isn't surprising due to their encyclopedic knowledge and devotion to the topic.

"We always played games. It's just something we're into," Kropff said. "As soon as I was able to work, my extra money always went to buying video games."

Kropff said his video game collection continued to grow as he became older, particularly when he started working for GameStop in 1999. He ran a number of its local stores until 2010.

In 2013, Kropff and Roberts opened Press Start to Play. Kropff's video game collection became the store's initial inventory, while Roberts provided the liquid assets that allowed the duo to forego procuring a loan to open their business.

"One thing that we pride ourselves with is we are gamers, and we just are constantly innovating, trying to think of ways that we can do things that we know we would like if we were on the other end of the counter," Roberts said. "I remember going to other game stores, and knowing that when I went there there would be people who would love to talk to me about what I'm into, and we try to be the same way."

Their charm appears to be working. Kropff and Roberts said they get about two people a day asking for a job, but these applicants leave disappointed since the owners remain the business's sole employees. They also said about half of the store's customers visit the store on a weekly basis.

"It's crazy to think that we have at least 600 people who come in once a week," Roberts said.

And who exactly are these people?

"When it comes to gamers, there's not a 'typical' gamer," Kropff said. "You get people that are affluent, you get people that are not. You get people that are fun. You get people that are weird. Games are interesting because you generally get all types."

Regardless of who the gamer is, Kropff said it was important to be welcoming to people and cater to everybody.

"Not everybody has a great life outside of the things that they enjoy doing, and being able to provide a place where people can kind of escape that for a little bit is important," Kropff said. "It seems like it's fun. I mean, we got a great crowd of people who come in and do all kinds of stuff. I'm just looking forward to that continuing, I suppose."