New Fountain Square gaming store goes 24/7, just in time for Gen Con
INDIANAPOLIS (MIRROR INDY) — During the COVID-19 pandemic, John Rantanen found himself at a crossroad. After a little more than a decade as a chef — at Indy’s Ram and HopCat — he was over the industry. With his childhood friend, Scott Wooldridge, the two self-professed nerds decided to open Elf ’N Moon, a shop dedicated to tabletop games.
Last November, the duo bought a space in the Fountain Square neighborhood. Using wood that had been stored in their garages, they built the tables that sit in the lobby area, installed lights to match the vibe of a tavern straight out of “The Lord of the Rings,” and scoured through Facebook Marketplace for the bourbon barrels and cabinets that fill the space.
When the shop opened in March, it was clear their hard work had paid off: The line to get in stretched around the corner.
They have no plans to slow down. The pair was recently approved for a beer and wine license and is adding new events to their calendar. Their most daring endeavor to date? Gen Con Indy 2024, which comes to Indianapolis Aug. 1-4.
From July 29 to Aug. 5, Elf ’N Moon will be open 24 hours a day, allowing Gen Con locals and out-of-towners a chance to play games such as Dungeons & Dragons and Twilight Imperium, meet new friends and snag 3D-printed goblets, which can be used to store dice.
Rantanen and Wooldridge are also hoping to bring actor Matthew Lillard of “Scream” and “Scooby Doo” fame to the shop during an in-shop screening of his 1999 sci-fi flick “Wing Commander” while Lillard is in town for Gen Con.
Try new games, eat good snacks for free
The duo sees their shop as a way to build community. While there are two gaming rooms that parties can rent for a four-hour block, the tables in the main lobby area are free.
There is no entry fee, no charge for trying out the myriad games available to play in the shop. Nostalgic snacks — Ring Pops and Little Hug Fruit Barrels — are also free.
“We wanted to be as welcoming as humanly possible,” Rantanen said. “If there’s a reason to not have somebody in, we got rid of it. We won’t charge people to sit at a table. We’re dog-friendly. We allow people to bring in food.”
The goal for the veteran-owned shop — Rantanen served in the U.S. Air Force, Wooldridge in the Marine Corps — is to give others the sense of community and belonging that Rantanen and Wooldridge found in gaming.
“Dungeons & Dragons and other role-playing games can be an outlet for people who are maybe a little socially awkward outwardly,” Rantanen said. “They can find friends and a network of people.”
Rantanen said over the past decade, especially since the release of the Netflix sci-fi series “Stranger Things,” there’s been a shift in who’s interested in immersive role-playing games.
“On any given day in this store, you get the stereotypes of who might be into this, like introverts, but you also can look at one table and find the stereotypical prom queen and jock and nerd. It’s like the ‘Breakfast Club,’” Rantanen continued. “People are put into a group together, and they get close. It doesn’t matter where they came from.”
Less than six months after opening, the shop already has a dedicated group of regulars. A Discord channel helps Indianapolis gamers keep in touch and schedule meetups.
Beyond dungeons, dragons and dudes
Charity Baker comes to Elf ’N Moon regularly to play the popular card game Magic: The Gathering. On July 15, she was at the shop with her friend, Morgan Evans, who was there for the first time.
“As a woman, there are some places you don’t necessarily want to go by yourself,” Baker said. “I could just come here by myself, and it would be fine.”
Evans, who has been going to card shops for about a decade, concurs.
“I have a lot of female friends and friends who are LGBTQ, and sometimes they can be treated differently in certain shops,” he said. “This is my first time here today, but it’s a nice shop.”
As Elf ’N Moon continues to grow, Wooldridge and Rantanen say they plan for it to constantly evolve. Whether it’s adding new decor, incorporating more games or hiring more workers to their two-man show, Rantanen views this as the perfect time to expand a game shop.
“Scott and I are both children of the ‘80s,” he said. “If we would have opened this store up at that time, it wouldn’t have been this big. We probably would have been shoved in a locker. It’s quite different now. You’re almost the outcast if you aren’t into pop culture.”
Mirror Indy reporter Breanna Cooper covers arts and culture. Email her at Breanna.cooper@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @BreannaNCooper.