Airway Heights welcomes Ghost Quarter Games

Every city needs a little bit of magic.

What kind of magic is often up for interpretation. For Nick Garcia-Reid and his father, Brian Reid, it's Magic the Gathering, a popular trading card game with more than 20 million players worldwide.

It's that kind of magic that served as the inspiration for their new Airway Heights business Ghost Quarter Games, a 3,300 square foot space on 12622 W. Sunset Highway devoted to games of all kinds. The business opened July 19.

"We want this to be people's third place." Reid said. "You know, most people have home, work, and that third place that they spend a lot of their time. We wanted to create that and be that for people."

In the short time the shop has been open, the father-son team have already organized "Dungeons and Dragons" and "Magic the Gathering" nights, where groups of people looking for like-minded opponents can meet and enjoy their shared hobby.

The pair has also created the "Ghost Quarter Championship Series" where participants can win points and prizes.

"We're just a bunch of people who love games and want to grow their community," Garcia-Reid said.

More than 350 Magic singles line the walls of the large space, an the retail area features about 100 titles of board games. A TV and lounge area is even set up in one corner to give the shop a homey vibe.

The business was still in the idea phase just one year ago, when the pair moved back to the area from Oahu where Reid was an area manager for a construction company. Garcia-Reid is a competitive Magic player and has qualified for regional tournaments. The two decided to combine their skills and passion where they saw a need.

Working with family can be challenging, but the father-son dynamic works in this case, Reid said.

"Our skill sets are so opposite. Mine are more for the back end. Accounting, managing, getting us up and running," Reid said. "His strengths are more on the retail side of things and customer interactions. Come in during the day and Nick will spend time with you teaching you how to play a game."

When the shop opened, it was focused on card and board games, but due to popular demand is slowing getting into miniatures and historical roleplaying games.

The shop also has a "Board Game Library" where families can go and check out a game to play on-site in their large gaming area.

"Everything we've done has been community driven. Let us know what you want to play, what you're interested in, and we'll invest our time, money and space to support that," Reid said.

Garcia-Reid said they chose Airway Heights due to its convenient location for West Plains residents.

Getting to other nearby game stores can be difficult, he said. Driving to Spokane Valley takes the better part of an hour, and driving downtown means the nightmare of parking and paying to park. This location means West Plains residents can get their gaming fix close by.

"We want to be the game store for the West Plains," Garcia-Reid said.

Shannen Talbot can be reached at [email protected].