Gathering for Magic

Group meets twice weekly to play old-school games

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On any given Wednesday or Friday, Steve Goldenbogen can be found in brutal combat with other Magic the Gathering players in downtown Port Townsend.

“We never know how many people are going to come,” said Goldenbogen, the event organizer and owner of Whistle Stop Toys.

The informal group meets at 6 p.m. on the second floor of the Flagship Landing building at the corner of Water and Tyler streets.

“We have Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons,” Goldenbogen said. “We have some board players come sometimes, but it is usually Magic.”.

All are welcome at the gatherings, Goldenbogen said.

“I ask people to donate $1 or $2 to play to replace chairs and lightbulbs, basically,” he said. “We have a ton of games for people to try if they want to play games.”

Old-school gaming in analog format is thriving in Port Townsend, Goldenbogen said.

“There are a lot of gamers in town that have been here for a long time,” he said. “People come and go, but there have been people in town that have been gaming forever. There are a lot of them.”

This past Wednesday, Goldenbogen was involved in a four-player Magic the Gathering match, and a separate four-player group was involved in a similar game at a different table.

“Magic is the best game ever made,” Goldenbogen said. “You can play it four times a week. They have added a lot of things, but what hasn’t changed is you never know what you are going to play against when you sit down with somebody. There is always an element of surprise.”

The game

Magic, created by Richard Garfield, was launched in 1993 at the Origins Game Fair in Dallas, Texas, according to its official website. Since then, more than 12,000 different cards in 11 languages have been added to the game, which is played by more than 12 million people.

In 2002, the game became available online, but the players who gather at the Flagship Landing prefer in-person play.

“It is more fun to play,” Goldenbogen said.

Joel Whicher, of Port Townsend, said it’s better when the opponent is just across the table.  

“It is more fun to play with people because there are interactions,” Whicher said. “You’ve got some rage, you’ve got some excitement. You never know when you are going to pull a win out of the claws of defeat.”

Whicher said he has become more active during the past three years.

“I was playing for a long time, but I lost my collection,” he said. “Growing up can do weird things.”

Getting started

Whicher said newcomers are treated well.

“You want someone who already knows how to play the game to be helping you,” he said. “The No. 1 rule of Magic the Gathering is everyone is welcome.”

Another way for newcomers to get a leg up on the game is to play it online first before they attempt an in-person match.

“Magic the Gathering Arena, the online medium, is actually a really good way to learn how to play the game because you don’t need anyone (else), and it teaches you how to play the game,” Whicher said.

For new players, the game is relatively inexpensive, Goldenbogen said.

“A new player will spend $20 or $30,” he said. “But the people who collect any set that comes out, they will buy a lot every couple of months.”

Whicher said he has more than eight decks.

“We get really into it,” he said. “You can go to a store and pick up a deck. They have that old trading card aesthetic, too, where you can pick up a pack for $3, and you get that ultra-mega-rare card and you are like ‘Whoa!’”

Goldenbogen, who has been playing since the game launched in 1993, is a big fan of both the game and the hobby of collecting the cards released throughout the years.

He said losing a card or series would be devastating.

“It would be like losing part of my soul,” he said. “It is that important. Some of these cards are 25 years old. They are difficult to replace.”

When picking a deck, the player must decide what type of game they intend to play.

“Every deck has a different strategy,” Goldenbogen said. “You pick a strategy and then build a deck around that, so you put the cards in that match that strategy.”

The game is a great way to pass the time indoors during the gloomy winter months, Whicher said.

“It is a great rainy-day thing,” he said. “You can snug up to a fireplace and get angry at the person next to you.”