Husbands DR Hanson and Jamison Sacks reopened Common Ground Games in its new, larger space in April.
(Rich Lopez/Dallas Voice)

Big Game

Common Ground Games levels up with inclusive new space for its gaming family

RICH LOPEZ | Staff writer
rich@dallasvoice.com

Gamers — especially queer gamers — have a new, bigger home. In April, Common Ground Games celebrated the re-opening of its larger space for its ever-growing game-play and customer base. But for owners and husbands Jamison Sacks and DR Hanson, the growth isn’t just a reflection of the shop’s success, it’s a gift to the game-playing community that has found a home there — a home that had become a little crowded in the original space.

“We were running out of space to comfortably hold people and events in the store,” Hanson said by phone. “We kind of plateaued in how we could serve the gaming community of Dallas. We were hosting events every night, and we had thought about expanding about a year-and-a-half after we first opened nine years ago.”

A few weeks ago, that new space opened with a bigger and better Common Ground Games. But with a pandemic landing in between nailing down the larger location and the opening, it was a challenging ride.

The new space became available at the end of 2019. But just as the CGG team was ready to move forward, Dallas shut down due to the coronavirus. So instead, Sacks and Hanson pivoted, as did most businesses.

“We spent that time putting up our website to an e-commerce site and made it so people could place orders with us,” Sacks said. “DR and I were then driving around the city delivering orders.”

Owners DR Hanson and Jamison Sacks and their staff at Common Ground Games show off the shop’s “Demo Wall.” (Rich Lopez/Dallas Voice)

They had to furlough staff but kept their manager who helped with the e-commerce transition. By moving to e-commerce and contactless delivery, the Common Ground team could still be present for their customer base.

The two men spent their lockdown time wisely. They took time to really think out their new space as Sacks was designing fixtures for the store. Then they bounced back in a short time, reopening in June after the March 2020 shutdown.

“We were grateful to pause in that moment because there was no way we could move and survive during the height of the pandemic,” Hanson said. “This gave us the opportunity to restructure and reformat and put time and energy into the store the way we wanted and needed to create our dream space.”

The new location more than doubles the size of Common Ground Games, and it certainly has the room to fit the number of people who come in to play board games. There is a large open area of tables for game play, but Sacks and Hanson went next level with available space.

“We now have about 3,500 square feet for play space and another 4,000 square feet just for retail,” Sacks said. “Each half of the store is the size of the former place.”

There are four large rooms for more private gaming or events such as birthday parties or team-building events. The rooms are customizable as well, with collapsible walls that can create one massive space or smaller areas, depending on the needs of the party.

But the owners didn’t just take their customers into consideration in designing the new space; they also thought about the staff.

“The great thing about the new space is the behind-the-scenes space for our employees,” Hanson said. “We have a breakroom and a meditative room as well for employees to just unplug when they need to.”

In its own way, Common Ground Games has become something transcendent of itself. What started out as a retail shop has become a gathering place for gaming fans. Not only do Magic, Warhammer and Dungeons and Dragons players have a spot to meet up, the store offers classes for new and uninitiated game players, a demo wall of games to try out for free and a calendar full of specific game nights.

Plus, being queer-owned, CGG is a safe and inclusive space for the queer gaming community. Among CGG’s events is a monthly LGTBQIA+ Gaymers Meet-Up.

When Sacks and Hanson celebrated the reopening of CGG, the store also joined the North Texas LGBT Chamber of Commerce — an important move for Sacks and the store.

“Ninety percent of the staff identify as LGBTQ, and it’s important to me to show up for the community and have that energy that attracts people to work here,” he said. “It made sense to join, and they are wonderful partners.”

At April’s grand reopening, the store had its first ever ribbon-cutting and, according to Sacks, about 100 people were in the store at any time throughout the day. They described it as the busiest ever the store has been. They also described it as unreal.

“It was a wonderful day to celebrate our ninth year of being open and provide a space for our community who has stayed with us,” Hanson said. “We’re really excited for people to come and see what we look like now.”

Just doors down from its original location, Common Ground Games now holds the corner spot of the strip center on Inwood Road, but more importantly, it’s a bigger home for its extended family.

“Everything has happened organically for us, and we’re glad to have people in the store again,” Sacks said.

Common Ground Games is located at 1314 Inwood Road. BoardGamesDallas.com.