Chicagoland Games: Dice Dojo With Store Owner, Lexx

In this episode, we're talking with Lexx, owner of Chicagoland Games: Dice Dojo in Chicago, Illinois. This episode was recorded live at Dragon Con 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.

The store was born in 2008 after a store Lexx worked at called Gamers Paradise went out of business. He's been a gamer since youth, with his first love being Dungeons & Dragons. The store sports 3,000 board games in their lending library for free, with 50% of the store occupied by tables and chairs.

Chicagoland Games: Dice Dojo is more than just board games. According to Lexx, they cater to all the giant fandoms. For example, we're told that they sell as much Warhammer 40,000 as they do Magic: The Gathering. However, EDH is their biggest night in terms of gaming. Moreover, they provide weekly open play and "learn how to play" nights for various games.

Conventions are another aspect of the business and something Lexx enjoys going to. He says it's his way of re-engaging why you do what you do. This is evident by his more than a decade of attendance at Dragon Con. 2024 marks his twelfth year vending.

While he has ten employees and two managers, Lexx concedes that "staffing is hard." Employees specialize, but with the volume of online orders incoming, everyone needs to do a little of everything. Scaling is challenging when factoring in the number of products that come in a year and deciding what to buy. This is where Lexx says you "read the room" and pay attention to what your audience wants.

In addition to dealing with shipments as his primary responsibility, Lexx holds events at breweries and libraries and hosts Dungeons & Dragons birthday parties, all to help facilitate the growth of gaming.