The local business holds weekly tournaments and other events featuring fantasy-based games
By ZOE SMITH — city@theaggie.org
Davis Cards & Games supplies the Davis community with games, books, puzzles and models as well as a place to meet to play games. The business holds events for the community every day, with each day of the week featuring a different game for attendees to play.
On Saturdays, people of all ages gather at the local business to play the popular fantasy role-playing game “Dungeons and Dragons” (D&D). On Mondays, people play the “Magic: The Gathering” event called “Community Commander” at 4 p.m. On Tuesdays, you can find people playing “Pokémon League- Best of One” at 6 p.m. On Thursdays, there is a “Yu-Gi-Oh Advanced Tournament” and a “Digimon TCG Tournament.”
Davis Cards & Games wants to create a business where all people can feel welcomed and safe at their events.
“I’d say the important part of a business like this, especially in a college town, is [being] a good place… separate from your work in school where you can unwind and be yourself,” Brian Roy, manager of Davis Cards & Games, said. “Especially since we try to facilitate a space for people of all walks of life. A big part of our business model is trying to be inclusive to the LGBTQ+ community and really anyone who needs a place to unwind and to not have to worry about finals.”
Eli Chen, a regular at Davis Cards & Games, usually plays “Pokémon League – Best of One” on Tuesdays. Chen comes for the business’s environment.
“Everybody’s very friendly,” Chen said. “It’s a very welcoming environment. All the staff at the games are very friendly. You know, it’s just chill. Just a good time. I came here first two years ago because that’s when I first came to Davis and since then I’ve just been on and off. I pretty much know the regulars. There’s usually not too many people here [for Pokémon]. But for ‘Magic’ and ‘Yu-Gi-Oh’ I imagine it’s far more popular […]. We have a pretty dedicated, pretty decent community.”
Ray Fabionar has been an employee at Davis Cards & Games for two years. He runs the kids D&D events on Saturdays. Fabionar loves the people who show up to participate in their events.
“D&D nights are a lot of fun,” Fabionar said. “I run kids games, birthdays and special events. We also have community events where anyone can drop in and join. It’s a lot of fun. The ‘D&Ders’ we have here, I love them. They’re all really great people. The events themselves can get pretty wild, pretty excitable. But there’s usually some good adventuring.”
Roy spoke about which events are the most popular at Davis Cards & Games.
“I think Fridays, Mondays and Thursdays are our busiest [days],” Roy said. “We have free ‘Play Commander’ on Mondays — that gets in a lot of people, especially since it’s free. Friday is the ‘[Friday] Night Magic’ draft, [which is] a very popular format. Thursday is when we have ‘Digmon’ and ‘Yu-Gi-Oh’ — ‘Yu-Gi-Oh’ is maybe one of our most popular games. So that one brings in tons of people every week as well.”
For those interested in checking out an event, the November schedule can be found on the business’s website.
Written By: Zoe Smith — city@theaggie.org
