'Nerd haven' opens for business

A local business owner wanted to create a place for people to come socialize, hang out and play table-top games. 



A “nerd haven” is how Wil Goodrich, owner of Red Dragon Gaming, would describe his new store. 



Goodrich opened the store, which sells board and card games and accessories, on May 1. He also offers space for people to come try out games or bring their own to play with others. 



“I like to say that it’s a nerd haven, which I know most people would say, probably, that nerds are maybe a little strange, a little weird,” Goodrich said. “But I think there’s such a growing amount of nerds in the world … they still need a place to go, they still need a place to hang out.”  Red Dragon Gaming is open from 1 to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and is located at 122 E. McNeil St., Portland. 



The store is new, but the business is not. Goodrich originally opened Red Dragon Gaming back in 2004 when he was in high school, and it stayed open for two years until it was broken into and the merchandise was stolen. 



At that point, he was away at college and closed down the business. But Goodrich has always felt the pull to reopen and had been planning to for the past few years.



“(I) got tired of the same old, same old, and I knew the town needed something,” Goodrich said. “I just wasn’t getting what I wanted out of just regular work.” 



Now he spends his days surrounded by a passion he’s had since he was in junior high, when his friends first introduced him to tabletop games. His favorite is Magic: The Gathering, a card game which he said is the most popular tabletop game in the area. 



“I’ve always explained for people that don’t know anything about Magic, is it’s chess multiplied by like a billion,” Goodrich said. “You’re always trying to out-strategize your opponent. Basically you’re trying to outsmart them by using your brain power, but also your creativity.” 



There’s been a few gaming events at the store since it opened, but Goodrich said he eventually wants to have something scheduled every day.



“I want to push more so I can almost always have something going on every day of the week,” Goodrich said. “Whether it’s board games, Magic: The Gathering, (Dungeons and Dragons), always something going on.” 



In fact, he said he wants more people to come by and play, rather than just buying games from him. Even as the internet grows, people want to spend time with each other, Goodrich said, which is why he thinks his business will be successful. 



“People are actually wanting to socialize with each other more than ever, even with the internet,” Goodrich said. “Just because we have internet doesn’t mean that we need to separate ourselves from the rest of the world. We can still get together, as a family, as friends or whatever and play a board game.”