Final Boss Games In Springdale, Arkansas

Final Boss Games, a game store in Springdale, Arkansas is one of two in the area, according to Wizards of the Coast’s Store & Event Locator. Remington and his two business partners, Bennett and Trevor, started the store in February 2024. As a collective, launching the store has been a long time coming. While they always talked about opening a store, during COVID they put the building blocks in place to make it a reality. Fantasy and board games were two of the driving factors that drew Remington to “nerd culture”, he says.

Remington notes the grand opening saw 150 people in-store. They had special door prices in place for the first 50 people. However, the support they received saw over 100 people lined up in the rain.

The store focuses on the competitive side of gaming. This ethos stems from Remington’s engagement with Magic: The Gathering qualifier tournaments before becoming a store owner. Since college, he participated in qualifier events playing “white weenie creature decks” before switching to “blue control decks.” Bennett, like Remington, also comes from a Magic: The Gathering background, while Trevor’s specialty is Pokémon.

Final Boss Games Origin & Vision

According to Remington, the three owners helped bring the store to fruition. Collectively, they’ve always talked about opening a store and have been friends for a long time. With this desire in mind, they started putting a plan together during COVID. The trio employs two hourly associates lessening the immense number of hours the owners were taking on. When Remington decided his competitive playing days were concluding, he knew he wanted his store to serve that same joy and competitive dream for others. He credits Bennett’s Magic: The Gathering collection which got the store up and running. Furthermore, the store has murals painted on the walls by local artists. The murals – some of which are 15 ft. wide – depict “final boss” characters in their respective games.

Bennett and Remington service the Magic: The Gathering side of the store while Trevor handles everything Pokémon. However, Remington’s main role is managing large-scale tournaments – the defacto tournament organizer at the store. Trevor and Bennett run the store day-to-day as Remington has a full-time job. With 4,500 sq. ft of space and 4,000 sq. ft dedicated to play space, Remington believes in providing as much space as possible to the community to grow and expand amongst the games offered.

To facilitate community engagement, 100% of the tournament entry fee goes directly to prize support. He notes that the store doesn’t make money off events, but it’s a way to get customers in the door. Remington describes these events as “loss leaders.” Moreover, the store can support up to 120 players in total. For the owners, when finding a store location this was a must. To support this number of players, they checked out 10+ locations in person and even more online before settling on Springdale.

“By far the best game store in NWA! Amazing all the way around. It’s a place where my family can go and enjoy the time spent there. Highly recommend!”

Christina Paul, customer review on the Final Boss Games Facebook page

Running Competitive Events Across All Games

Overall, the store can support multiple events at once. Remington notes that Commander events for Magic: The Gathering can average 40 people per night. This is in addition to Modern events for Magic: The Gathering averaging 10-15 people simultaneously. However, Remington says they’re leaning into the competitive Commander scene. It’s where they feel Magic: The Gathering is going.

Overall, the store’s numbers have remained the same since opening. Remington says it’s difficult to build competitive communities for all events. One of the strategies encouraging free entry to events is “Try again dice.” Remington says the goal of the player is to roll snake eyes. If the player can do as such, entry into the event is free. However, he notes this strategy has proven costly for the store as they’ve had several $30 entry fees waived.

Remington notes that certification to hold events across multiple games is a tedious process. Currently, he’s waiting on approval from Wizards of the Coast to become a WPN Premium Store. One of Remington’s desires is to host a major tournament every weekend offering up prizes like “win a box.” The goal, he shares, is to honor the store’s name by creating “final bosses” in all of the events they run. Remington says they’re “training future final bosses.”

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