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Warm, friendly, fun environment at Alpha Games in Chilliwack

Alpha Games has only been open for one month, and already it’s a place full of activity.
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Alpha Games has only been open for one month, and already it’s a place full of activity.

From its vast seating area which is always open to the public during store hours, to its Friday Night Magic, Alpha Games has a lot to offer, says owner Wayne Learie.

The atmosphere is “very friendly, very casual, and very welcoming,” he says.

The location has been home to card stores and board game stores for 20 years. Learie had the opportunity to open Alpha Games when the previous board game business moved.

It was the perfect chance to “follow my dreams and do what I love,” he says.

“I’ve done gaming all my life and I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve been coming to this location for 10 years,” he says.

He started out by playing Pokemon and other popular games when he was a kid. Now, his all-time favourite game is Magic the Gathering — more commonly known just as Magic.

What does he like about it? “The competitiveness. It’s a very strategic game and I like that.”

“It just recently became the most popular card game in the world,” adds Learie. “It beat Texas Hold’em. It just keeps growing and growing.”

Magic is the most popular game that people want to learn how to play, and it’s also pretty easy to pick up.

Plus, “the cards are a good investment because they hold their value over time,” he adds.

To kick off every weekend, Alpha Games hosts Friday Night Magic. It starts around 6 p.m. and goes until midnight.

And every Wednesday, all day long, it’s Learn How To Play. People can come in and try out a game they’ve never played. Alpha Games sets up stations for several different games and folks can come by and learn a new game on their own, or get some advice from the experts.

“I think it’s a great social experience. It gets people coming together to do what they love,” Learie says about games in general. “Especially for children — it gets them off the street and it gets them in here playing games, having fun, meeting people, and socializing.”

They have 48 seats for people to come and play games. The walls are full of board games, card games, and merchandise for role-playing games, plus accessories like sleeves, deck boxes, dice, play mats, binders, books, and more.

They carry some of the most popular games around.

“We have the top 100 board games off Board Game Geeks, which is the number one board game site,” he says.

Alpha Games is a very family-friendly environment where parents bring their kids in to play games. Some games Learie recommends for families are: Settlers of Catan, Exploding Kittens, Zombicide, Smash Up, King of Tokyo, and Castles of Mad King Ludwig.

Great games for two people include: Carcassonne, Rum and Bones, and Munchkin.

Alpha Games is located at 8956 Young Rd. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day except Fridays when they’re open 11 a.m. to midnight. For more, call 604-392-6679, or search for ‘Alpha Games Chilliwack’ on Facebook.



Jenna Hauck

About the Author: Jenna Hauck

I started my career at The Chilliwack Progress in 2000 as a photojournalist.
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