Keizertimes., March 26, 2021, Page 5, Image 5

MARCH 26, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5
Rogue Knights offers space for card
traders and dungeon crawlers
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The last thing Evan Griffith expected
his grandparents to say was, “We’ll look
into it.”
Griffith, a senior at McNary High
School, pitched the idea of a gaming
space and collectible card game shop
almost as a joke, but his grandparents
were looking for something to invest a
portion of their retirement income in.
“When they said that, I was like, ‘Wait.
What?” Griffith said.
Not long after, he and his grand-
mother launched Rogue Knights at 4104
River Road N. Unfortunately, they were
set to open right as the COVID-19 pan-
demic shut down nearly everything.
“We had to pay rent on the space with
no income for a couple of months, but the
reception was good when we opened in
June,” said Maxine Armstrong, Griffith’s
grandmother.
After another shutdown in late 2020,
customers again returned in even larger
numbers.
“Right now it’s a lot of gamers in
their twenties, but we are hoping that we
start getting some of the younger kids
into the shop once the schools reopen,”
Armstrong said. “That was one of the rea-
sons we looked for a location central to
the middle and high schools.”
Rogue Knights focuses on collectible
trading card games, such as Pokemon
and Magic: The Gathering, with a grow-
ing selection of tabletop games. Don’t
go in expecting to pick up a copy of
Monopoly at Rogue Knights, but if you
are looking for other types of games that
involve just as much storytelling as com-
bat, you’ll be in the right space.
There are also dedicated rooms
groups can reserve for $10 and stay as
long as they want during store hours.
“We want to be able to host birth-
day parties in the rooms, eventually,”
Armstrong said. “We’re trying to create a
space where the kids who are into these
types of games feel safe and warm and
loved.”
She and her husband worked in foster
care for 25 years before retiring and the
transition from one nurturing space to
the other feels like a natural fit.
The shop also hosts tournaments
on a regular basis for gamers who play
ABOVE: Evan Griffith and
grandmother Maxine Armstrong
inside Rogue Knights on River
Road North. RIGHT: Plastic shields
protect players while gathering
for a tournament.
Photos by ERIC A. HOWALD of Keizertimes
in particular realms. There are
weekly groups for Pokemon,
Magic: The Gathering and
Commander, a Magic variant.
New tournaments featuring
other games are scheduled
according to demand. The
shop’s schedule can be viewed at rogue-
knights.myshopify.com.
“I got into gaming through Pokemon
and switched to Magic, but I never real-
ized quite how much is out there,” said
Griffith. “Every day someone comes in
and asks about a game I’ve never heard
of, but we can do special orders.”
Armstrong said she and Griffith are
working with Keizer-based Satellite
Gaming to possibly host some video
game tournaments as well.
Rogue Knights is open noon to 6 p.m.
Wednesday through Saturday, and 1 p.m.
to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Call the shop at 971-
915-2385 to make inquiries about items in
stock, special orders or to reserve a gam-
ing table.
Woodburn Chamber honors Keizer business
J Turner Solutions, based in Keizer
and owned by Jeremy Turner, was
recently recognized by the Woodburn
Area Chamber of Commerce as its 2020
Business of the Year.
J Turner Solutions offers a wide vari-
ety of services for business clients want-
ing to reach a larger audience online and
through branding strategies.
J Turner’s office is located inside
the Lewis Media Group offices at 126
Chemawa Road N.E.