Located at 1018 Central Ave., Dungeons and Dodgers is a hobby store that serves as a community hub for local gamers and collectors, and offers a dedicated space for organized play.

The store is known for providing a wide selection of trading cards, tabletop game supplies, retro video games, comic books, action figures, and other collectibles, and hosting community gaming nights and related special events.

Ethan Becker, owner of Dungeons and Dodgers, opened his store in July 2018 at a nearby venue on Central Avenue, but moved to the present location about a year later.

“We outgrew our first location,” he said. “We didn’t have enough seating room for gaming nights.”

-Messenger photo by David Drissel
Dallas Stirtz, Rowan Poutre, and John Hart enjoy playing Magic: The Gathering at Dungeons and Dodgers in downtown Fort Dodge.

An avid gamer himself, Becker was living in Pocahontas when he opened his store in Fort Dodge. He moved to town with his family in early 2019, so that he could spend more time in his shop and become involved in local community activities and events.

The name of the store reflects Becker’s commitment to both the city of Fort Dodge and the gaming scene. The name effectively combines the role-playing game, Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), with the local Fort Dodge community.

“We wanted to tie our store directly to the Fort Dodge Dodgers,” he said. “We wanted to be very community focused.”

Becker’s store features role-playing games, such as D&D, which are based on interactive narratives, in which players assume characters who make choices that define the story, character growth, and outcome. The genre relies on players in various settings (fantasy, science fiction, or horror), becoming actively engaged in a story unfolding through the eyes of their characters.

In addition to role-playing games, his store also includes collectible card games, such as Magic: The Gathering (MTG) and Pokemon. Created in 1993, MTG was the world’s first trading card game, now boasting more than 50 million players around the world. MTG players act as powerful wizards who use spells, artifacts, and creatures to defeat opponents.

-Messenger photo by David Drissel
Ted Dubois of Fort Dodge, Justin Shone of Pocahontas, and Corbin McBride of Fort Dodge are immersed in a game at Dungeons and Dodgers in downtown Fort Dodge.

Becker said that his store attracts people of various ages and backgrounds, especially gamers and collectors, from all over north-central Iowa. Folks travel to his store from towns as far-flung as Algona, Webster City, Eagle Grove, and Lake View.

Becker said that his “dungeon” is open to anyone who wants to participate in gaming or other hobby-based activities, seven days a week, usually free-of-charge. The store does not normally charge an entrance fee to the game room, except for special events.

“We have a great gaming community here that does what they can to support us, rather than buying things online,” he said. “So, in that way, are able to keep the game table free or accessed for a minimal fee.”

From Becker’s standpoint, the dungeon is a “special place” where people are able to openly “enjoy their hobbies,” whether it’s video games, comic books, MTG, Warhammer, Pokemon, or other interests.

“People come here simply to play and hang out; that’s one of the good things about the dungeon — we’re not just a shop,” he said. “We give them a shared third space, one in which they can meet other people who have similar interests.”

In many cases, frequent visitors to Dungeons and Dodgers form long-lasting friendships and relationships.

“We have a great community of gamers and collectors here in Fort Dodge,” he said.

As a result of strong support in the community, the store has won multiple Reader’s Choice awards for Best Hobby and Gaming Store in Fort Dodge.

Over the years, Becker and his store have participated in several different community service activities, especially during the winter holidays. They have sponsored fundraisers for charitable groups such as Bikes for Tikes, Domestic/Sexual Assault Outreach Center, and University of Iowa Children’s Hospital, he said.

He has even dressed up as the infamous Dr. Seuss character, the Grinch, for various charitable events during Christmastime.

“We’re giving back to the Fort Dodge community, especially the kids,” he said. “We want to create an experience that they’re not going to get other places.”

Originally from Massachusetts, Becker moved to Iowa when he was 10 years old. Even though he is now 46 years old, Becker sees himself as a kid at heart.

“Like Peter Pan, I never really grew up,” he said. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had video games, comic books, and action figures.”

He recalls first entering the “subculture” of gaming while he was in middle school, after seeing his cousin and friends playing the collectible card-game, Magic: The Gathering (MTG).

“At first it was simply a way for me and my friends to hang out together and play,” he said.

But by the time he was a young adult, he was playing the game competitively at tournaments in the Midwest and around the country.

Since that time, the popularity of MTG and other interactive games such as Warhammer have increased immensely. He notes that his store periodically sponsors tournaments, but they are more collegial and not as high stakes as competitions in many other cities.

“What we usually play here is a little bit more community focused, more sportsmanlike, and more about enjoying the game,” he said.

When asked to rank the most popular games in his shop, Becker states that MTG is definitely No. 1.

“That game is kind of our bread and butter,” he said. “As an official Magic Gathering store, we get to hold an event a week before the release of new game versions and cards — called a prerelease party.”

Becker said that Warhammer is the second most popular game in the store.

“Rather than using cards, Warhammer is a real-time strategy game with miniatures,” he said. It’s a pretty detailed game, but really fun.”

He ranks Pokemon as a close third in store popularity.

“We are an official Pokemon organized play store,” he said. “Every Sunday, we have our Pokemon League event, where we invite people to come in and share their interest in the Pokemon phenomenon.”

Becker explains that even though a larger number of folks enter the store to play Warhammer, more people frequent the store to buy Pokemon cards. Due to their popularity to collectors, we have a hard time keeping Pokemon cards in stock,” he said.

Additionally, Becker notes that the original role-playing game, Dungeons and Dragons, remains very popular in his store.

“A lot of people love playing D&D,” he said. “It’s a game that attracts a massive range from people of all different ages.”

Other popular items in the store include the Japanese trading-card game, Yu-Gi-Oh, and the “post-apocalyptic” video game, Fallout. The store also has a huge selection of comic books, with virtually all of the major titles published by Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Dark Horse, and several other companies.

The store offers traditional board game activities too, such as special weekly times for visitors to play Monopoly, chess, and other standards.

“I can print off as much Monopoly money as we want or need for a game,” Becker said.

Even though interactive games are available to play online, Becker explains that his store remains a very popular gaming location.

“We give people the opportunity to play with others face-to-face and in person,” he said. “There’s something about that element of connecting with other people, from children to adults, and new players versus seasoned veterans.”

As Becker said, “The seasoned veterans really enjoy teaching and showing that next generation of gamers how to play. They get that sense of fulfillment from sharing that love of the game.”

For more information about the days and times of the various game nights and related activities, contact Dungeons and Dodgers at 515-302-8670.