| Game Guys |
| 502 Almeda Mall Houston, TX 77075 (832) 463-1195 Website: game-guys.com |
The Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME is a game that transcends race, language, and culture. People originating from all over the world come together to Duel one another in their favorite game. This becomes immediately apparent when you walk into Game Guys, located in Houston, Texas. Game Guys provides a safe space for all Duelists to compete. The inclusiveness of the store is the pride of store owner Ruben Solis, who runs the store with his wife Karina Valdivia; and we are proud to recognize Game Guys as our next Featured Official Tournament Store (OTS)!
Game Guys is a journey 20 years in the making. Two decades ago, Ruben started a business repairing game consoles using self-taught skills. His business gradually grew, and he eventually acquired a 400 square foot storefront in Pasadena, Texas. Every few years afterwards, he upgraded his location to a larger space, always remaining in Southeast Texas. Despite lures to leave the area, he stayed loyal to his local patrons. In 2021, he started carrying collectibles, including the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG), and offering premium gaming experiences for video game and TCG players alike. All of this led Game Guys to become what it is now – one of the largest gaming stores in Texas, occupying a 30,000 square foot retail space in a mall!
But it isn’t just the space that attracts the players. Ruben and Karina prioritize making Game Guys known to local players. Once players learn about the store and visit it, the products and gaming experience that the store offers keeps them coming back. “Customer service is our number one priority,” Karina emphasized. “We train staff to be friendly, proactive, and provide good customer service. A lot of customers are shy and overwhelmed by the size of the space, so a friendly staff with good communication is important. We just want people to know that we are available whenever they want to begin or explore their hobby.” Their Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG experts are well versed and take pride in following this philosophy to explain the nuances of the game to the new and lapsed players that come into the store.
A friendly in-store experience isn’t the only way Game Guys works to grow their gaming communities. To raise their profile and spread awareness about the store and the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG and other games that they offer, they attend large conventions and engage in local outreach. Among their many philanthropic endeavors, they run tournaments with proceeds going to charity, and they also provide their space for charitable organizations to use at no cost to them. Doing community outreach is a unique way to acquire new players as it brings awareness of the game to untapped consumers. They also take advantage of hosting as many official KONAMI events as they can, including Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG OTS Championships and Regional Qualifiers. These events are often massive. Game Guys’ largest Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Regional Qualifier had 556 Duelists comfortably competing in the store last year!
“We train staff to be friendly, proactive, and provide good customer service. A lot of customers are shy and overwhelmed by the size of the space, so a friendly staff with good communication is important. We just want people to know that we are available whenever they want to begin or explore their hobby.”
– Karina Valdivia, owner
In addition to outreach efforts through conventions, events, and philanthropic efforts, Game Guys offers great amenities that are unmatched by most gaming stores. These include custom black wood tables for Duelists to play on, gaming chairs, and a gaming theater with recliners and surround sound. Parents of kids competing in Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG tournaments particularly like the Game Guys’ free Wi-Fi and recliners since they allow the parents to sit back and relax in comfort while their children compete in a safe and well-lit environment.
Many parents and grandparents of gaming hobbyists enter Game Guys with their children or grandchildren and have trouble understanding the appeal of the hobby merchandise that Game Guys sells. Game Guys is centered in a predominantly Latino, Spanish-speaking community where the older generation don’t always understand the wants and interests of the younger generation. Ruben, Karina, and the staff at Game Guys always take the time to explain the basics of it to these parents and grandparents in the simplest way they can. Many on the Game Guys staff are bilingual and are able to bridge that gap. Karina and her team look for ways to connect with the older generation. This not only helps the parents and grandparents understand what hobbies like the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, are all about, but also helps them get excited about these hobbies too! This store is for everyone – young, old, and in-between.
Thanks in part to the efforts highlighted here, Ruben and Karina run a thriving gaming store that is constantly packed with players. It is a staple in the community. We asked Karina what advice she would give to someone who is considering opening an OTS of their own, and she answered, “do the best for the overall community, and not for a small group of players who have the loudest voices. A lot of this job is listening to the players and asking them for feedback. A lot of the time, the loudest voices don’t align with the overall sentiments of the community, and only benefit those few.” She urges OTS owners and individuals planning to open an OTS to do things that cater to the overall community, and not just the ones that don’t always have the best interest of the entire community at heart.
Game Guys is an OTS that has learned that by embracing its local community, it thrives. And when they are thriving it promotes the growth of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG for all ages. We are honored to recognize Game Guys as our next Featured OTS.
