Area gamers have a new place to literally hang their hats. Manaform has coat racks plus a hundred boxed role-playing games to buy and play right out of the box on tables set up in the back half of the store.
Manaform held its grand opening in the Soo Plaza this past Monday. Its storefront faces the same lot as Big Lots and Indochina Gardens, two thirds down the plaza’s northern wing next to Ink & Toner Alternative and Sault Vision Clinic.
“Mention physical gaming and the first thing that comes to mind is Dungeon & Dragons,” said Manaform store owner Noah McNitt. “We sell D&D boxed games, but today there are hundreds of games in physical form that have leapt out of consoles and computers and out of popular movies and series.”
You won’t find gaming consoles and streaming options here because Manaform is strictly analog. It’s a dedicated place to play with friends and other analog enthusiasts face to face.
In a nutshell, the store sells trading cards, board games, Role Play Game (RPG) books, miniature games, art supplies, gaming accessories, gaming dice, card sleeves, and play mats.
It also has space to play tabletop games, host tournaments, or build and paint game-related models.
McNitt thinks that gaming in-person is a completely different experience than plunking down in front of a screen and playing someone remotely or matching wits a pre-programmed microchip.
“It’s like flying an airplane simulator and actually being in the sky,” he said. “Board games move at a pace of the people who play them. They are social events where you can pick up on an opponent's subtle queues that might be missed in virtual play. Ask any poker player.”
His new store is laid out with that in mind. Fully half is set up with tables and chairs with a fridge and snacks. The front half is retail with games for sale along with accessories like dice and figurines. McNitt sells paints and brushes to customize game pieces.
“I will sell trading card games, Magic, Pokémon, Pathfinder; Warhammer and other war games like that, and tabletop board games of all variations,” he said. “I stock what people demand and will use demand as a template to grow in-person gaming. Whatever I don’t carry in stock I’ll special order. You can even rent some of the more popular games to play in the store.”
Word is already getting out, especially after a grand opening that was bigger than McNitt was expecting.
“I’m hearing from groups that want to play D&D parties,” he said. “There is a small fee for D&D, $5 per player for unlimited time during store hours. We can negotiate price breaks for multiple days of play.”
McNiitt is also scheduling tournaments for Magic, another popular game. He sees the end of the week as being Friday Night Magic.
“Depending on what the community wants I’ll be adding other events based on what people want,” he said.
Before coming to Sault Ste. Marie, McNitt managed a game store in California that closed coming out of the Pandemic.
“I was looking for a place with cooler climate and lower cost of living,” he said “It seemed like a good time to plant a store. I used store locators to figure out where the dead zones were for an operation like this. I found three places, but this one had the best demographic for it.”
One of the factors that clinched it was the Sault being home to Lake Superior State University. “Where there’s a town with a college, you’ll also find a healthy gamer community,” McNitt said.
Being across the border from Canada intrigues McNitt as well.
“There’s quite a big in-person gamer scene in Ontario that is naturally welcome to come over,” McNitt mentioned. “Two great guys who own a store over there called Game Nook Two helped me through some distribution issues and sold me some furniture as my store came together.”
But Manaform’s main market is the Eastern UP.
“First and foremost, there’s a demand for something to do up here that doesn’t involve drinking,” he posited. “We want the space to family-friendly.”
“Here, here . . .,” a customer browsing the game section chimed in.
Follow Manaform on Facebook as tournaments and game sessions come together.
