Howell card, game store draws in Magic, D&D fans and more
HOWELL — Joshua Warren was in middle school when Magic: The Gathering, a popular trading card game, was released. It remains popular decades later.
Warren, 40, has grown a small business out of his love for the game, and his knack for buying and selling collectible game cards.
Last fall, he opened a brick-and-mortar store called Mom's Basement Games at 1129 E. Grand River Ave. in the Promenade Shopping Center in Howell, after first launching the store online. He also sells Pokémon cards, board games and action figures, among other items.
Mom's Basement Games offers gaming tables where groups can learn and play games. The store hosts regular events, including single sessions of Dungeons & Dragons, different formats of Magic: The Gathering, and Pokémon.
"I started playing with my buddy in sixth grade," Warren said. "I used to have my mom drop me off at Gibraltar Trade Center, and we would play Magic, buy elephant ears, and just be idiots. We would talk to the vendors. I would haggle with them, even as a kid. My dad would ask me, 'How did you get that guy to sell you that cheaper?'"
He would later serve in the military and attend Eastern Michigan University for teaching.
"During the summers, I was buying and selling cards and made money," he said. "I sold some of the decks to get through the summer, so I didn't need a minimum wage job."
Buying and selling cards became a side gig, when Warren wasn't working for a nonprofit and helping homeless veterans find jobs. The gig transitioned into a full-time business.
"I traveled to shows. I would buy and resell things," he said. "I did that from home for five years. When COVID was done, I said, 'I don't just want to have a set amount of money I can make,' because there's — when you travel, it's different when you get to interact with the public and not just from the basement. I enjoy people."
Running tournaments in the shop, Warren said, has gone well.
"When you first open a store, it's kind of scary, because you don't know if they'll show up," he said.
An MTG tournament held at the store a few weeks ago saw 36 participants, and the store awarded $2,000 in prizes.
"It gets people to come from two, three hours away, like Ohio and Grand Rapids," Warren said.
His next plan, Warren said, is to add used, classic video games.
"We'll put TV stations along the wall for people to play (video games) here and have tournaments," he said.
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"I’d love to get more kids in here," he added. "I’d like to have a kid’s night. I've been going to the clubs for the schools in the local area, speaking with the people who run the clubs. We’d like to run something for you because we have a space here."
— Contact reporter Jennifer Eberbach at jeberbach@livingstondaily.com.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Howell card, game store draws in Magic, D&D fans and more
