And that means that we’ve got a ton to talk about.

First up, our annual used games for new games program for Seattle’s foster families is in effect. As detailed in the link above, you bring us all of those good condition used games cluttering up your closet. We take the store credit that we would normally give you for all of those games (you know we buy and sell used games, right?) and put it into a big credit pool (kind of like alchemy, but with numbers)

and use all of that combined credit to buy a whole bunch new games for the Treehouse free Wearhouse for Seattle area foster children and their families during the holiday season. It’s a really, really great way for you to make a huge difference in the lives of your community just by cleaning out your game closet. Tell your spouse/fiancée/life partner/current boy- or girl- friend about it. They’ll love the idea and help you get cleaning much faster and more enthusiastically than you ever would have expected.

And yes, you may also purchase new games from us and put them straight into our Wearhouse box if you would like to. All new games purchased for the Wearhouse are 20% off as our way of saying thank you for being so great and making sure that the boxes that I hand deliver to the Wearhouse are as full as they possibly can be (It’s one of the highlights of my year. I get joyously teary every time I get to do it. Thank all of you so much for giving me the opportunity to do so).

Next, because we know that the holiday season can get pretty hectic (oh believe me, we know) we keep the shop open extra hours to make sure that we’re there for you when you need us.

So! Gamma Ray Games will be open Monday – Sunday, 7 days a week, from now until Dec 29th. In addition, we’ll be open from 10am to 10pm on Monday the 23rd and on Christmas Eve to ensure that you get every opportunity to find the perfect gift or holiday game for your family.

And! For the first time ever, we’re bringing the lounge into the holiday spirit too! On Sunday, December 22nd, the Raygun Lounge will be hosting their first ever ! Featuring plush monsters by Careful It Bites, comic book jewelry by LuvCherie, crocheted oddities by the Scary White Girl, kids superhero costumes by World of Whimm, geeky cross stitch by the Stitch Duchess and art and merriment by Stasia Burrington, Ugly Baby, Mayhem Here and, space permitting, possibly even the LTD Gallery.

Plus treats, music and cartoons all day long. Greatest thing ever? Yes. Yes it is. I know I’ll be doing all of my last minute affordable pop craft shopping there.

So there you have it. Another amazing holiday season in Gammaland.

As always, if you need anything or have a great idea don’t hesitate to call, email or, best yet, stop by and see me in person at the shop. I’ll be here, making special orders, checking my list, occasionally twice, and wrapping gifts in the most amazing and beautiful ways possible, all while repeatedly attempting to justify my choice to dare to wear a santa hat on ever-so-dear, always-too-hip Capitol Hill.

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