Building a Community
Focusing on Kids at Matrix Cards and Games…
Within a scant year under new ownership, the popular Matrix Cards and Games in Redding rose to become one of the top Pokemon card sellers in the country, and this did not go unnoticed by Pokemon – which honored store owner Drew Silva with a rare invitation to join the players at the Pokemon World Championship in Honolulu.
“They actually paid for me to go to Hawaii and summit with Pokemon International for five days before the World Championship started,” says Silva, who with wife Kaylee co-owns Matrix Cards and Games. “It was a pretty incredible experience.”
Every place he went, there were Aloha trainers, because in Pokemon, a player is called a trainer. Every restaurant had drinks named after characters from the internationally renowned card game. In the convention center, he saw the 36 countries represented for the games, but only he and 16 other stores worldwide were invited to summit with Pokemon Company International.
What did a tiny card and game store in Redding do to receive such a grand reception? The Silvas possess a modern business sense, so for the first time in the store’s 10-year existence, Matrix Cards and Games expanded into social media and e-commerce. A core community formed around the store and sales boomed. Then Pokemon International sent someone to their store incognito, a secret player who reported back to Japan that this place was indeed worthy of the company’s attention.
Meanwhile, the owners only wanted to host a game community. “We had no idea how successful we were,” says Silva. “We knew that if we could build a Pokemon community, we could build something that was going to be kid-friendly,” he says. “And if you captivate the hearts of kids, you’ll naturally captivate the hearts of parents and those involved.”
One of those hearts belongs to a bus driver for Millville School. Rick Bashaw witnessed a dramatic change in his son Timmy, 12, who had fixated on Pokemon cards since age 6. “He was quite timid and anti-social,” Bashaw says. “And we went, and his head really just exploded because Pokemon, that’s like his second language. I was so ecstatic and happy for him to find a place where he can be himself and be able to talk to other kids about things he really enjoys.”
For the past year and a half, Bashaw has brought his son and younger daughter to Matrix Cards and Games nearly every week. He’s learned of other benefits Pokemon offers. “It helps build communication, mathematics. Game players learn trust, on what the other person says and what cards they lay down,” he says. “And the store itself is phenomenal. Just the way they focus on the kids and get them in there and get them playing and giving them free cards and stuff so they can learn and move forward.”
Naturally, this store offers more games than just Pokemon – Magic the Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons and Warhammer 40K, to mention a few. And not just games. You will find accessories, miniatures, painting kits. The shelves here are filled, and Silva says their inventory tops 25,000 items. He also says a lot of them come with a learning curve, so he made sure to hire select staff with distinct expertise.
“When you walk into Matrix Cards and Games, you get a catered experience,” he explains. “If you say, ‘Hey, I’m here for cards,’ we have an expert in that field. If you say, ‘Hey, I’m here for paint and models,’ we have an expert in that field. If you say you’re here for board games, we have an expert in that field.”
In each area of the divided building, in the store and the play room, hangs a whiteboard calendar showing the dates that each game league meets to play. Every square in those calendars is filled in, many with more than one event. And the games are all old-school games, batteries not needed. Silva emphasizes that this is by design. No screens.
“We’ve seen families with kids who were heavily, heavily addicted to tablets and really struggled to even look adults in the eyes because they didn’t have those social skills,” he says. “We put them in front of a board game like Ticket to Ride, and watch those kids light up when they start playing. For us, that’s the coolest thing.”
Anyone looking for a retreat from the quick gratification and distraction of tablets and phones can find hands-on gaming fun, playing while communicating with others, face to face. Many, children and adults, have found friends here at Matrix Cards and Games, and all who have tried out one or more of those calendar listings have found a tightly knit, yet welcoming, community of dozens, eager for more players.
And who knows? Maybe you will be one of the chosen few to receive the coveted invitation to join the World Championship. •
Matrix Cards and Games • 1185 Hilltop Drive, Redding
www.matrixcardsandgames.gg