Look, I miss Aric more than anyone. His sassy charm. His charming sass. I’m even a little bummed that nobody ever calls me and Rune brothers or mistakes me for the other employees any more.

But he’s gone now (abducted by wizards) and somebody has to manage this damn bar so, in a dictatorial style I’ve always known I was capable of, I’ve elected myself.

First order of business: review the beer. I want to bring in some deep cuts, flavor-wise. It’ll be only high potency micro-brews, all saint’s tears and artisinal owl pellets for us around here from now on. So I hit up the fresh sheets. Did you know they make a guide the size of a phone book just for beers I could buy? What a country!

Under my new regime, we’ll be bringing back some old favorites like Odin’s Gift and Green Goblin and unleashing a whole new mess of beers like Velvet Merlin, Sharkinator, and DJ Jazzy Hefe, whose too-clever-by-half names alone will have you reaching for a palate cleanser. And lets not forget those ghost pirates.

My second order of business? The business. Why is our menu all cluttered up with all these different prices? Who’s benefiting from all of this double-entry deviancy? After asking the hard questions and pounding on that bottom line, I’ve decided, all on my dictatorial own, to standardize pricing. That’s right! All of our 12oz beer, cider, and any pour of wine are now ONLY $5! It makes counting drinks easier for me and drinking them cheaper for you. There’s the invisible hand of the economy for you!

“But what about our Rainier?!”, I hear you crying out from beyond the vast reaches of the internet as if someone just blew up Alderaan again or something. Well never fear, I tell you! The Emperor of Beers lives on in his gold and white aluminum throne! $3 Tall Boys for everybody! May Yakima Valley Hops have mercy on us all.

So eat, drink, and be merry my lovely patrons, and know that my rule as bar manager is only just beginning.

Just wait until you see the new Tip Wars.

YES! We will be OPEN every day between now and Christmas! Including MONDAY! And! CHRISTMAS EVE!

But don’t worry! No employees will be harmed or even inconvenienced by our decision to do this because this Christmas Eve, shopkeep Eric will be coming in with his voluntary co-host Andrew to perform their Annual Holiday Show while Aric, Dominic and Rune are all safe and cozy in bed with dancing in their heads.

Yes, while the staff as the result of their highly questionable choices the night before, Andrew and Eric will be performing all of their classic holiday routines. Who knows, we may even have special guests!

There’ll be laughing, and dancing and festivities galore!

So whether you’re looking for a last minute prewrapped white elephant or secret santa gift, dropping off used games for our annual Treehouse Game Drive or just coming by to buy a great game for a gift or to play with your friends or relatives this Christmas, come on by, any time, for the next 7 days and we’ll be here for you.

We’ve been at this for about 6 years (I know, right? Get ready for some anniversary parties starting this June!) and when I say we, most of the time I mean all of us. You, me, Dane, Amy, Skylar, Aric, Andrew, other Andrew, Chrithew, various Jakes… everyone.

But sometimes… just sometimes, people who know me we well know that when I say we, I actually mean just me and the imaginary Dominic over there in the distance, giving obscure advice when I’m near unconsciousness from another unneccesary fight again.

Dominic, more than anyone else, was responsible for building and optimising many of the systems that we still use here today but more than that, he was a friend. A good friend. And I’ve been at a bit of a loss ever since he left for the wilds of San Diego.

So it’s with great joy and enthusiasm that I announce that Dominic’s coming back!

Yes. I know that it’s “just for the Summer,” and that I “shouldn’t expect much,” but you know what? Quit being a Debbie Downer!

Dominic’s coming back! And I am stoked about it. If you’re as stoked about this as I am and would like to see him during his limited counter engagement here, you can see him this Tuesday, Wednesday & Sunday as well as more shifts as the summer progresses.

And for those of you who don’t know Dominic and are thinking, “but Eric, you’re a notorious evil genius. Is Dominic going to be okay around you?”

Don’t worry. He’ll be just fine.

Oh man! I haven’t had this much to report about a single weekend since that time I left Aric & Benjamin in charge and they tried to rob a cold storage facility only to discover that Kumar couldn’t crack the safe and that Mr. Henry had robbed Bob’s house instead.*

Yes, we will still have our regular Magic drafting on Saturday at noon and 4pm. PLUS we’ll also be co-hosting the Hurley 3000 M15 Release Weekend Sealed Event with Mobius Cycle. Spaces for this 12:30 Sealed Event are still open, buy in is $30 and prize support will be generous. Yes, you heard that right, “generous,” now quit carping, you sharks. Sign in is at noon and caps at 8 people so arrive early and be ready to bring it!

What we WON’T have this Saturday is our 8pm draft. Because at 7pm on Saturday, immediately following our 4pm draft, the lounge closes for a private event to celebrate the upcoming wedding of our very own Dominic and Jenna.

That’s right, somebody’s getting married.

My son just loves those muppets.

And because I’ll personally be very involved with said wedding all weekend, we’re pulling an AL TV

and turning the shop into

Chrithew Ray Games

Just imagine what I could have done with time and some photoshop skills right there.

That’s right, we’re bringing in the philosophical genius of comedy duo and Matthew Martell to the shop and just letting them do whatever they want.

I mean, that’s a good idea, right?

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!

In addition to all the magic, the weddings, the Christhewsphere, there’s also The World Cup (of DoTa). Right here in the Emerald City. This weekend! And to celebrate, we’re hosting an official at the Lounge with Saint Isaac because Skylar’s off in New Jersey conquering Dystopia.

It’s gonna be the greatest weekend EVER!

So get your butt on down to the shop or the lounge, get involved, get crazy, hell, get married! And above all, be you, be happy and keep playing.

I know I will,

-Eric

*Totally happened.

The initial buildout projects are nearly complete thanks to the super human speed, efficiency and focus of Nick, Jensen and Dominic. And not a moment too soon with Wednesday’s big Lounge preview event just around the corner. An important note about Wednesday’s event – it does NOT require an invite and IS totally open to the public. The private, invite-only founders party advertised as part of our Kickstarter backer rewards will be happening in September when we’ll have all the pledge rewards ready to go – stay tuned.

And just when we thought things were as busy as they could get, this upcoming week we triple the stakes! In addition to continuing to develop the lounge (upgrading the lighting, installing the sound system, establishing new vendor relationships, forwarding the licensing process, etc), we’ll be hosting FIVE special pre-opening PAX events (some open to the public, some not- stop by and ask if you’re not sure). AND we’ll be building and running our amazing Gamma Ray Games booth inside PAX itself (located in glorious room 305/306 this year- stop by and say hi!).

I will be bouncing between all three locations (store, lounge, PAX) from about 10:30am until around 10:30pm every day for the next 10 days or so, keeping everything moving and trying not to get in the way. If you have any questions feel free to flag me down or ask one of the team. Just know that if it’s me, both the question and the answer will need to be short and I’ll probably be walking or working while we talk. Heck, some of the last people that stopped by to chat with me wound up helping unload a trailer full of benches with a lawyer and a Pentecostal pastor. You just never what’s going to happen around here. Which is why, for the next ten days or so, I’m going to be around a LOT.

See you soon,

-Eric

I’ve promised to make the lounge development as transparent a process as possible so for those of you who don’t walk past the new lounge space as part of your daily commute, here’s a quick visual guide to what’s going on.

We’ve completed the floor treatment.

And the custom 4’ x 6’ tabletops.

Our native craftsmen, Nick and Jensen, are over on Vashon cutting all of the pieces for our custom countertops for assembly back here in 48 hours.

While Dominic and Andrew (no, not that one, the other one) finish and base the custom tops.

Behind the scenes, I’ve been meeting with the designers at Zone Four and Danial Webster about branding and clothing manufacturing and talking with J3 Concepts about the possibility of collaborating on our Wall of Awesome while new Store Manager Jake takes over for former Store Manager Dominic behind the counter as Dominic prepares for his move to San Diego.

Coming up, we’ll be collecting our table backers logo files and taking them over to for laser etching into the tops before their final coating, assembling our counters and benches, bringing in chairs and smaller tables, establishing food and beverage supply chains and acquiring all of the necessary permits for our upcoming events.

Questions? Post them here or just come by the shop or lounge anytime. We’re happy to talk with you and the chances are very good that one of us will be here. As long as you don’t mind that we’ll be working while we’re talking. After all, we’ve got a long ways to go and a short time to get there and we’re going to do what they say can’t be done.

See you soon,

-Eric