SHOP SPOTLIGHT
On the edge of York, where Stockton on Forest begins, sits EH Gaming, York’s newest tabletop gaming store. We spoke to Ross Hewitt about its opening and how it’s been going through lockdown
Can you tell how the store first got started?
A perfect storm of mid-life crisis and lockdown lunacy in April/May last year saw me convert what I thought was simply a new office I’d recently moved to into a gaming store. I had been selling online for a couple of years and needed a bigger space, but during the first lockdown, I just figured ‘what the heck’. I’ve opened the store a couple of years earlier than I intended, during the worst year to begin such a venture, but I regret nothing.
How have you found the gaming scene in the area?
The local gaming scene is vibrant and delightfully open-minded. There’s a real appetite for trying new games, especially in tabletop and wargaming, and the community is very well supported through clubs such as York Garrison and Beyond Monopoly. We also have a very high standard of players in a few games too, especially X-Wing.
What titles have you found most popular recently?
The first two weeks of 2021 was Marvel Crisis Protocol, but Star Wars Legion has been my best seller since opening. The star of Christmas was Muffin Time by Big Potato Games, and I can never stock enough of outstanding titles such as Wingspan, Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion and anything related to the Flesh & Blood TCG.
What titles are your favourites?
I am a massive fanboy of Themeborne’s Escape the Dark Castle and Escape the Dark Sector and can’t wait to see what they come up with next. Star Wars Legion has taken over as my firm favourite for tabletop wargaming and I adore TT Combat’s Rumbleslam and Mantic’s The Walking Dead: All Out War. King of Tokyo: Dark Edition gets played the most at home and I love the simple brilliance of Love Letter as well as Targi.
Have you any favourite memories associated with running EH Gaming?
A standout moment was putting the finishing touches to the shop. After a few hours my partner walked in… she’d popped over to have a look at the new ‘office’ as I’d not let her see it since I got the keys and she was curious about why I was being so secretive. I’ll never forget her face when she walked into a gaming shop instead. I had neglected to mention what I was up to, but as a wise man once told me… “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission.”
How has it been through COVID-19?
Frustrating, but it is what it is. This is my opening foray running a store, so I’m confident that the only way is up. I’m longing to see the tables in action and chomping at the bit to run events, but the fab times will come. Customers have been amazingly supportive and I have learned to adapt to the times. For example, I switched to offering a delivery service where I drive the products over. My record from order received to delivery is 27 minutes so far, which pips Amazon, but it’s the extra service tweaks that are crucial for all independent stores in this current climate, especially when you are a new business. During these restricted times I am more interested in making customers than sales.
What’s been your favourite part?
The people. The customers, new and regular, who share their D&D exploits or who scroll through endless photos of their miniature painting, or challenge me to Legion games, or helped me build my first ever MTG Commander deck, or bring me coffee from Costa (even though I sell hot drinks), and on and on the list of rewarding micro-moments goes. It’s not just the customers though; it’s great dealing with the hard-working distributor folk too and speaking to game designers and publishers.