New Jersey Game Store: Round 2 Gaming

A local game store gets a second shot at business. Before discussing the present-day game store, we return to Family Fun Hobbies. The original store launched in 2009, is where Miranda, a customer service associate, got her start. At the time, she was working a second job at Texas Roadhouse in addition to Family Fun Hobbies. Working 12-hour days, she quit waitressing to work at the New Jersey game store full-time. Rob, who owned Family Fun Hobbies, promoted her to Assistant Manager and taught her scheduling, ordering, and inventory. Furthermore, Miranda would receive a second promotion becoming General Manager for a year.

The Entire Family Fun Hobby Team Joins Round 2 Gaming

With a passion for tabletop gaming, she worked at the store until it closed in July 2024. A $15,000 fundraiser wasn’t enough to save the store, but it bought enough time for an investor to come around and bring a second opportunity and the birth of ⁠Round 2 Gaming⁠ inside the Quaker Bridge Mall. Miranda joined the store as General Manager and is helping spearhead the growth of Round 2 Gaming. She wasn’t the only one who made the move, though. The original staff moved to the new store and went from conception to reality in three months. According to the Wizards of the Coast Store and Events Locator, it’s the only store in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

Ray Wong, owner of the New Jersey game store, enjoys games and handles all the numbers. According to Miranda, he’s incredibly helpful and hands-on. She tells us he helped her realize she doesn’t have to do everything. While Miranda handles distribution and inventory management, there are three additional employees with separate responsibilities: Nick, Gil, and Reese, the newest addition. Nick is proficient in multiple games, serving as the Events Coordinator, per Miranda. Moreover, Gil is the store’s Social Media Manager, and Reese handles customer service. With their team in tow, Miranda says they’re always encouraging people to apply to work at the store.

New Jersey Game Store Offers Free Casual Gaming

At the New Jersey game store, they foster casual gaming. All casual events, Miranda says, are free. The only tournaments that have a fee are those with prize support. She adds that Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, and Warhammer 40,000 are the most popular at Round 2 Gaming. However, she would like to start including organized play for the game, Dice Throne. There is approximately 3,200 sq. ft. of space with eight tables. However, Miranda notes a desire for more tables. This is especially true for Dungeons & Dragons.

Noteworthy, Magic: The Gathering is the second most popular at the store with Commander serving as the flagship format. However, Nick is trying to get Standard and Modern going. Miranda tells us they create proxy decks for players to introduce them to the formats. This emphasizes the focus of the store: growing the community first. Miranda shares the introduction of more Magic: The Gathering at the store within six months. Moreover, she wants to contact mom groups to invite kids into the store to learn how to play Pokémon.

A Unique Approach To Increasing Sales

From a business standpoint, an average sale is about $40. However, to increase sales, Miranda introduced a Gashapon into the store. The premise is you spend $50, and you get to roll a D6 – D20 dice in the Gashapon machine. Whatever number you roll, that’s the discount you receive on your purchase. Moreover, they have a loyalty program with a $5 sign-up bonus where you earn 5% in loyalty points for every sale.

Contrastingly, a difficulty for Round 2 Gaming is following mall hours by closing at 9 p.m. most nights. Miranda says these time restrictions don’t allow much time for customers to play in the evenings. Still, they’re trying to work with the mall to stay open later. Despite that, having a food court in the mall is a positive. Therefore, it is not a requirement of Round 2 Gaming to purchase snacks compared to other stores. From a business expense standpoint, it’s financially beneficial, and so is the cheaper rent due to the mall location. Another positive: Round 2 Gaming had 10 people waiting outside the store for its grand opening.

For customers entering the store, Miranda feels the number of Magic: The Gathering products released offers a variety of recommendations for new players. Moreover, Miranda prefers quality over quantity for Magic: The Gathering products. While products for established games are available, Round 2 Gaming offers two flex days at the store. The purpose is to introduce new games to the community and bring creators to demo their games such as Kids on Bikes. Additionally, according to Miranda, the creator of Varia expressed interest in demoing the game at the store. This includes potentially selling it at their store. They offer product demos to their customers on Mondays.

“Fun and friendly gaming environment – we checked out the Pok[é]mon and the [L]orcana free-play events. friendly staff, [a] relaxed environment, and [a] fun community. my kids loved it!“

Jasmine Tam Rowe, customer review on the Round 2 Gaming Facebook page

New Jersey Game Store Provides Customers With What They Want

At least half of the tables at the store (4) are occupied by players for their events. Pending demand, events can go from flex days to regularly scheduled. Ongoing Dungeons & Dragons campaigns cost $20 per month or $40 spent at the store to attend. The latter has the campaign cost rolled into the price. She notes that cost helps compensate the Dungeon Master with store credit. Finally, they’d like to rent games at 10% of the total per day. Miranda says this would allow customers to try out the game before purchasing. Additionally, they would create a contract to facilitate game rentals.

As Miranda and her coworkers delve into this new chapter, she shares that Ray is keen on keeping inventory numbers correct. Additionally, they plan to do more conventions to network and spread the word about their store. However, Miranda says the biggest learning curve with the new store is the point-of-sale system. Albeit new, she notes that one of the things she appreciates about this industry is being “able to see firsthand the results of our work and passions.” She caps it with, “It’s why I love what I do.”

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