Tabletop and card games are enjoying a renaissance, and local shops are helping fuel that revival.

Once the domain of niche hobbyists, games like Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Dungeons and Dragons have enjoyed more widespread popularity over the past decade, drawing players both young and young-at-heart to storefronts that double as community gathering spaces for game fans.

That enthusiasm is reflected locally, where game stores across northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin are creating spaces and opportunities for both game play and fellowship.

From sprawling trading card collections to shelves of strategy board games and miniature-painting kits (used to customize game pieces for tabletop battles), local game businesses offer more than just their merchandise; they also provide places for connection, creativity and friendly competition whether it’s at a tournament or gathering around a counter of cards.

Trading card and role-playing games (called “RPGs” in gaming lingo) have captivated generations. Tabletop role-playing games, led by the ever-popular Dungeons & Dragons, have thrived since the late 1970s, inspiring events where players take on epic quests guided by local “dungeon masters.” The home of D&D co-founder Gary Gygax, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, is home to the annual Gary Con convention each March. Magic: The Gathering, first released in 1993 with several multiple set expansions over the years, remains a cornerstone of in-store tournaments and weekly play nights, while the late 1990s rise of Pokémon, from Japan, continues to attract collectors and casual players alike. Newer titles such as Disney’s Lorcana and Flesh and Blood have expanded the gaming landscape.

While classic board games like Monopoly and Life are still popular, other board games have evolved. No longer just relief on a rainy day, they’ve become complex, strategic experiences that bring people together around the table. Modern hits like Catan and Splendor sit alongside the classics, while miniature-based games like Warhammer combine artistry and storytelling in equal measure.

New games and stories are crafted by creators every year, but the older games continue to attract fans, fueled by nostalgia among older players and curiosity among newer ones. This is also true for video games, with some stores that sell card and role-playing games also selling both new and vintage video game titles and cartridges.

Whether tucked inside a small downtown store or a bustling outlet mall, these shops have become places where newcomers can learn, veterans can compete and communities can connect over a shared love of gaming

Are you game for some fun? There are shops where you can escape into worlds of fun and fantasy, so get ready to fire up your imagination …

There’s Fun in Store

Multiple locations: 1311 N. Galena Avenue, Dixon; 229 E. Lincoln Highway, DeKalb; 1650 Premium Outlet Blvd., Suite 1041, Aurora; 2090 Larkin Avenue, Elgin; 2533 Milton Avenue, Janesville, Wis.

Online: Facebook, Instagram, theresfuninstore.com

Open: Hours vary by location; check online for details

What began as a small business in downtown DeKalb in 2015 has grown into five locations across northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, the most recent opening at Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora. There’s Fun in Store offers a selection of board and card games, tabletop role-playing products, three-dimensional puzzles, video games and game-related merchandise and decor for the game room or game space.

The business is known for its vast trading card inventory, with more than half a million cards in stock, including Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Disney’s Lorcana, and Dragon Ball Super. Shoppers can also find Games Workshop miniatures, Star Wars X-Wing sets, Legos, dice and accessories.

The Dixon location also offers a selection of vintage video games.

The Paper Escape

205 W. First Street, Dixon

Phone: 815-284-7567

Online: Facebook, paperescape.com

Open: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Saturday

In addition to board and card games, and tabletop role-playing products, the downtown Dixon shop, which opened in 1982, also sells new and old comic books and paperback fantasy books. Dungeons and Dragons is popular here: it hosts a semi-annual “brawl” event for the game — a friendly but competitive tournament, and its “dungeon masters” can take advantage of a vast library that owner Kerri Smith has for these events. Magic, Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards also are sold, and occasional events are held for those games.

“I have people who come in and call it ‘Nerdvana,’” Smith said. “I strive for it to be a safe place for kids to come and hang out and play. I try to make it a nice place to come, and a chill place to come.”

Twisted Games

1030 Riverside Drive, Freeport

Phone: 815-275-8009

Online: Facebook

Open: 1 to 8 p.m. Sunday, 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Sunday

Twisted Games has a wide selection of gaming cards from Pokémon, Magic, Lorcana and Dungeons and Dragons. Sets and pieces for tabletop miniature games such as Warhammer also are sold, along with paint for game pieces.

Open game play is available during store hours, and there’s also a space for visitors to come and check out a board game from its library. Card game and board game nights take place each week (check the shop’s Facebook page for an up-to-date schedule), as well as “learn-to-play nights,” when novices can get acquainted with a game without pressure from experienced pros.

Owners Zach and Jill Miller plan to expand their inventory and gaming table space later this year, as such games have grown in popularity in recent years.

“We just wanted to have a place where the community can get together and be around like-minded people,” Jill said.

The Board Room

103 S. Wesley Ave., Mt. Morris

Phone: 815-355-1166

Online: Facebook, theboardroomgcc.com

Open: Check online for updated hours

The Board Room, formerly at Conover Square mall in Oregon for three years, opened its new location in Mt. Morris in mid-January. The shop offers mainly gaming items such as trading card games, tabletop games, and board games along with some model supplies for painting miniatures. The main brands carried are Magic, Pokémon, Warhammer and Dungeons and Dragons. Owner Ashton Rutherford said he plans to expand what he carries as he settles into the shop’s new location.

“I started this as a bit of a passion project,” Rutherford said. “I really love Oregon and Mt. Morris. I grew up in both towns. It would probably make more sense to start a store in a more populated area but I really wanted to give my home another avenue of entertainment and build a gaming community here. My favorite part of this business is definitely building a community of people and players and also being able to give back to my hometown.”

Azure Dragon Games

1108 Fourth Street, Fulton

Phone: 563-272-8671

Online: Facebook

Open: 1 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday

The small downtown Fulton shop offers a mix of trading card games, board games and tabletop role-playing games. Owner Toby Wright has been a gaming enthusiast since he was “knee high to a grasshopper,” and long dreamed of turning his hobby into a business. That dream came true this past summer.

The shop’s big three trading card games are Magic, Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!, and it also stocks lesser-known titles such as Flesh and Blood, the new Gundam card game and Weiss Schwarz. Hobby gamers also will find Warhammer and Dungeons and Dragons products, along with a growing collection of board games such as Splendor, Catan, Monopoly and Risk.

Azure hosts weekly tournaments and game nights, with a schedule that shifts based on community interest: Magic tournaments on Sunday nights, Gundam on Wednesdays, and Dungeons and Dragons on Thursdays (check the store’s Facebook page for updates).

Cosmic Collectibles

1508 11th Street, Monroe, Wis.

Phone: 608-426-6385

Online: Facebook, Instagram, cosmiccollectibles53566.crystalcommerce.com

Open: noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday

Since opening in spring 2022, Cosmic Collectibles has expanded from a small storefront to a downtown location near Monroe’s Courthouse Square. Magic and Digimon are the store’s two most popular card games, and it also sells singles, packs and sets from other games. Magic games are played on Tuesdays and Fridays and Digimon on Wednesdays and Sundays. (check online or call for more information).

The store also sells sports cards, board games and video games and consoles. Its card room also can be rented for private parties. Co-owners Vaughan Coplian, Matt Loebach and Blake VanRyswyk are working on a system that will allow players to join games remotely.

“Our main passion is the people, and giving them a place to be,” Coplian said. “We want to be a place where people can go who don’t have a place to go. We try real hard to be extra welcoming.”

Outpost Gaming

1113 16th Avenue, Monroe, Wis.

Phone: 815-821-0166

Online: Facebook, outpostgamingllc.net

Open: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday

Also located near Monroe’s Courthouse Square, Outpost Gaming sells Pokémon, Magic and Lorcana gaming cards and packs, but the bulk of its inventory is a variety of video games and consoles.

Disc-based games for PlayStation and Xbox fill its shelves, and vintage games for older consoles such as the original Nintendo, Game Boy, Super Nintendo and Sega are available, some in their original boxes. The store also sells sports memorabilia and Funko pop culture figurines.

“We have lots of video games for the small place that I have,” owner Chad Allendorf said. “Everyone has their own tastes and likes what they like, and I try to have a little something for everybody when they come in. Most people don’t walk away without something. I try to have a lot of unique titles and not 50 copies of something.”

The shop also sells Hyperkin brand retro “clone” consoles, where players can use cartridges from multiple systems on one machine. Allendorf also does light console repair work, and buys and trades video games.