Goin’ Gaming: A Hub for Tabletop and Card Game Enthusiasts

Image sourced from troutdalegames.com

Have you ever wished there was a place nearby where you could play board games or find new minis for your next game of Dungeons & Dragons? Just down the hill from MHCC on Southeast Stark Street sits one of my all-time favorite small businesses, Goin’ Gaming, a hub for all things tabletop and more. 

This lovely place, inside the Troutdale Market Center, has been operating for seven years, and is owned by Alan and Becky Schmid. I was able to talk with Becky and learn a little more about their business.

Can you talk about the inspiration behind opening Goin’ Gaming?

My husband and I were just talking about what kind of small business we would like to have and before he came here, he actually lived in Tualatin where (there was) a little game store. He kind of grew up in this game store and he loved it because it was a great place for him to find friends and feel included. 

We were really just trying to create another environment of that sort so we could be here for the community and we could create a safe place for the neighborhood kids to be. That’s kind of it, we just decided “Hey, this is the thing we were going to do.”

How long have you been interested in board games, tabletop games, etc?

I actually didn’t grow up with board games. In my family we did a lot of cards, like Crazy Eights and things like that. It wasn’t until I got together with my husband that I started doing a lot of that. He introduced me to the board game world with Catan, which of course is the gateway drug to the board games. We played it so much when we first got together, when we got married, all that good stuff, so it was kind of a natural transition for us. He was always a board gamer and our son loves board games.

What is your favorite part about Goin’ Gaming?

I think my favorite part of it is the community we’ve been able to develop here. It’s multifaceted. Pokémon is one piece of it ,but it is a huge part of it. We also have a huge Magic: The Gathering community here – (and) yep, we have a lot of Dungeons & Dragons stuff going on here. That was actually one of the biggest reasons we opened the store, we wanted to have a big D&D program and there weren’t a lot of people in the area who were doing what we were, at the beginning.

What do you think your greatest accomplishment and biggest struggle has been?

When we first started this I worked full-time for a big company, and now I don’t do that, I get to do this. So I guess my biggest accomplishment is just creating a place where I can do my own business and do my own thing, as opposed to doing the 9-to-5 job, and being able to have this environment for my family. 

I’d say the biggest struggle was starting. We didn’t have a lot of money so we started it on a shoestring and managed to build it up over the years. Of course, COVID was a struggle but we’re pretty much through that now.

Anything you want to add before we wrap up?

Nothing specifically. I would just say that I want more people to know about the kind of communities and things we have here. I can’t tell you how often I’ve had people walk through the door and go “Wow, how long have you been here? I had no idea you were right around the corner.” They love it, they love the environment here and how it is family oriented. So, I would just say something like “Hey, come check us out.”