FEATURED STORY FROM THE BEST OF BG 2019 ISSUE
The Stacked Deck Completes The Need For A Local Game Shop
Tucked away in an alley between Eden Boutique and H&R Block is downtown Bowling Green’s newest game shop, The Stacked Deck.
Owner and New Jersey native Joe Busch moved to the Bowling Green area about six years ago to pursue a job and have a fresh, new start.
As a game lover, Busch noticed the lack of a game shop in the downtown.
“There is Cameron’s Comics & Stuff to buy comic books. There is Rock’Em Sock’Em Retro to buy video games,” Busch said. “But there wasn’t a game shop to complete that nerd trifecta.”
The need for a game shop was Busch’s main motivation to open The Stacked Deck. After discussing the idea with other downtown business owners, he made the plans to open his own business and fulfill that need for a game shop
Busch received his business license Feb. 1, 2018 and opened his shop shortly after. Today, he is running his store full-time and loving every minute of it.
“The best part of owning a game shop is meeting the different people who come in,” he said. “Lots of people feel that they need to hide their love of gaming, so seeing them come into my shop, geek out about their favorite games, and hear them talk about it freely with myself and others with the same interest is really great.”
The gaming community is quite large in Bowling Green. It is a big mix of college students, adults, and retired people who all have visited The Stacked Deck and keep coming back for more.
“My favorite thing is when customers bring their kids in to show them the hobby of gaming and start getting them interested early,” Busch said. “A lot of kids these days like to play digital games, so it is cool to see when they are introduced and become interested in tabletop games and board games.”
The shop is lined with a variety of different games from wall to wall. Some of these games include trading card games, Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, special edition board games like Monopoly, and more.
“I like to have more of the special edition kinds of games to attract customers, so they do not just go to Walmart to buy their games,” he said.
The Stacked Deck also offers free rentals for customers to try out games and see if they like them. They also host gaming tournaments, opened to anyone.