The popularity of all things tabletop has been on the rise since the pandemic. However, finding a group willing to meet in person and agree on a location to play a tabletop game can be challenging. Luckily, Tucson has many options scattered across the city.
“I think Tucson has a really great ecosystem of stores like us,” Ethan Merrill, tabletop store manager at Heroes and Villains, said. “I think having all of the different stores is important because it keeps everybody honest and in check.”
Heroes and Villains, located at 4533 E. Broadway Blvd., is a hybrid comic book, tabletop game and record store. While stores blending comic books and tabletop games are not uncommon, Heroes and Villains stands apart because of its unique setup, with different departments divided into separate storefronts placed side by side.
The tabletop storefront is filled with a large selection of board games, manuals for tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and Call of Cthulhu and even Lego sets.
Walking in the door, customers are greeted by a vast wall dedicated to the wargame series Warhammer, a game where players simulate battles between armies of theocratic space knights, robot aliens and psychic elves. The wall contains everything from manuals and terrain to miniatures and paint for customizing them. At the back of the store sits a gaming room, with separate tables set up to host wargames. Most summers, Heroes and Villains hosts the Builder’s League for various editions of Warhammer.
“These connections that people establish with sharing experiences over a table playing games are actually foundational for a lot of people,” Merrill said. “When you’re going back and forth and reciprocating in this joy for things, I think it builds a lot of character for people.”
According to Chris Schretzman, event coordinator for Isle of Games, game stores across Tucson work together through a group chat to coordinate the schedules of events like championship qualifiers for Magic: The Gathering and planetary qualifiers for Star Wars: Unlimited. Such events can attract up to 30 participants, and this coordination between stores helps maximize attendance.
“We don’t step on each other’s toes,” Schretzman said. “If we’re hosting something on Wednesday night, it’s usually because all the other stores in town are hosting something different on Wednesday night.”
Isle of Games, located at 7835 E. Broadway Blvd., offers opportunities every day of the week to get hands-on experience playing games, with in-store events and an open play area. Every Friday night, they host Magic: The Gathering night, which usually attracts around 8 to 20 participants depending on the event. However, Isle of Games’ main feature is its abundantly diverse selection of board games and RPGs, which stretches from floor to ceiling.
Drew Kallen-Keck, store manager of Isle of Games, has expressed concern about how tariffs on products from China will affect the tabletop game industry across the board. The majority of tabletop experiences, from card games to TTRPGs, are manufactured in China and Kallen-Keck has already seen an increase in the price of some games.
“It’s annoying, on some level, to have most people look at what we do as not important,” Kallen-Keck said. “I do this job because I like what I sell and I think games are important for development and stress relief, [there’s] lot’s of other things games can provide and we’re not non-essential as far as I’m concerned.”
Whether you’re a longtime fan or just excited to dive into the world of tabletop gaming, Heroes and Villains and Isle of Games are two must-visit locations!
