The coronavirus has made an impact on many lives over the past couple of months.
Many have lost jobs with few still retaining them, as well as store shelves being cleared. One industry seeing a dramatic shift is entertainment, specifically the gaming industry.
Manhattan boasts a rather sizable gaming population. Some of the more popular games include Dungeons & Dragons, Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! and several board games. Before the coronavirus pandemic many would get together and play these games to forget their troubles. However with the threat of getting sick, gamers are now staying home, finding new avenues for entertainment.
It’s forced business owners like Joey Wyatt of Goblin Games to shut their doors.
Shortly after, Wyatt had to make the difficult decision to run the final payroll and lay off his employees.
Wyatt also admitted these are challenging times as this pandemic hurts his store’s bottom line.
Wyatt says that while the physical store may be closed they are offering delivery to select locations. For more information, call Goblin Games at 785-317-7048.
Dakota Finn, a local gamer, shares why this situation is difficult not just for the game shops themselves but also for the community.
Finn works for the USD 383 food services, and is also a volunteer firefighter, and says unless he’s at work he is just at home.
Angela Peterson is another gamer that lives in the community. She would normally hold what she calls “D&D and Dinner”, a weekly get together with friends to play Dungeons & Dragons while they eat a large meal. Peterson also says that she used to frequent the local shops to play Magic the Gathering, a trading card game, but now only has been playing video games both on her computer and PlayStation 4.
Peterson shares what she has been doing with her free time since being stuck at home.
Both Peterson and Finn said they are planning to keep following CDC guidelines. Wyatt added “We’re all in this together, and we’ll make it through the other side no matter what.”
