Brute Force Games: A San Diego Game Store

Within a 10-mile radius of San Diego, California, 6 game stores exist, according to the Wizards of the Coast Store & Event Locator. However, only five stores reside in San Diego; one of which is Brute Force Games. Store owner, Sean Johnson, initially started an online venture selling card collections before turning it into a 4,800 sq. ft. game store. At the time, he would buy collections off of Craig’s List and eBay supplementing his income from his full-time job. The “light bulb moment”, he says, occurred when he could buy a collection for $50 and sell it for $120. Before Sean’s desire to open a game store 15+ years ago, the store wouldn’t have a name until after the opening.

Having loved Magic: The Gathering since 1994 – Richard Kane-Ferguson being his favorite artist – it’s no wonder the game is also most popular at his store. Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 is the second most popular. Additionally, Sean played Starcraft for 8 years, but the first video games he played were Doom and Monkey Island. Moreover, the store name originated from a Monkey Island gun used in-game.

The Rigorous WPN Premium Process For Brute Force Games

At the time of writing, Brute Force Games has been a WPN Premium store for 4-5 years. Sean notes that obtaining WPN Premium status is a rigorous process. He must display new branded material (not old) regarding product promotion. Having clean bathrooms and access to transportation factor into WPN Premium approval. Sean says Wizards of the Coast will work with themed stores, but an aesthetics team will review those implementations. Even though the process is rigorous, he says it allows you to look at your store from a different light. Overall, Wizards of the Coast can cover half of the overall cost (i.e. flooring), however, Sean says it’s a one-and-done contribution.

Sean’s Primary Roles At Brute Force Games

The store has been Sean’s full-time job since 2008 and has 10 employees. Regarding said employees, Sean operates under the philosophy, “train on everything, but let everyone fall into their specialty.” On his end, Sean’s primary responsibility is looking at the bigger picture. An example would be increasing the square feet of the store or a smaller satellite location. He says the latter is the more likely scenario. Further, he likes partaking in day-to-day operations and wants to avoid being hands-off from the business. Moreover, he’ll handle data entry, social media, ordering, and media appearances. However, Sean notes his dissatisfaction with the online presence of Brute Force Games. To address the problem, he hired a marketing team. Furthermore, he says he should attend conventions to get the store’s name out there.

“Awesome place for gaming. Awesome owner and super awesome staff. Very helpful and knowledge. Very Clean space.”

DeQuan Mercer, customer review on the Brute Force Games Facebook page

With ordering being a major component of his job, Sean says he’ll look at how much product he bought from a previous set (i.e. Magic: The Gathering) and add a percentage of growth based on gut feeling and climate (i.e. publisher, economics). Moreover, he notes that he has to be smart with certain SKUs like One Piece where there are no restocks. When ordering from a distributor, Sean says the “distributor you do organized play with gives you the most product.” Generally, this is the best approach for stronger allocation. During the holidays, fourth-quarter buying (and seasonal hiring) begins in August. Overall, when ordering, he says he tries to remove product bias. He recommends being more well-rounded when ordering instead of buying the “hot product” to receive better allocation from distributors.

Is Commander Always Free To Play?

Commander is the most popular Magic: The Gathering format at Brute Force Games, as it is for many stores. However, unlike other stores, they only offer open play. There are no points for wins, as it’s 100% casual.

From a competitive standpoint, Sean doesn’t dabble in that realm often. However, during the RCQ season, he tries to hold a limited event as it is his favorite format to play. With draft serving as Sean’s favorite way to play Magic: The Gathering, they’ll run said events Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. He’ll also run Full Box Sealed, Chaos Drafts, and Two-Headed Giant events. Sean notes that he doesn’t want the entry costs (i.e. 1K events) to exceed $5.

Making Improvements To Store & Future Aspirations

Upon reflection, Sean says concerns in years 1-5 are different than they are now. Early on, having enough cash on hand to weather mistakes was important. One item he considers antiquated is having a case full of singles. Instead, an in-store kiosk is available for buying and selling singles, with 50-60 transactions/day. Today, the focus is getting the name out locally (i.e. the news) and being easy to find on Google. Finally, he says the cost of rent in San Diego is difficult to deal with.

Overall, Sean loves being around people. It’s one of the benefits the store has brought him and something he didn’t expect. Aspirationally, he’d like to be a landlord of a mini-mall where the businesses support nerd/gaming culture. However, the idea of being a landlord has always created pause.

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