Welcome to the Manaverse Podcast
The Manaverse Podcast is where we explore what it takes to build a successful friendly local game store! Since 2015, I’ve been interviewing a wide variety of game store owners and industry professionals doing some really interesting things in the world of trading cards, minis, games, and more.
If you want to learn how some of the best game retailers in North America have built their businesses and local communities up from the ground floor, you’ve come to the right place!

MVP096: Dized – How To Automate Your Board Game Demo Table and Sell More Board Games
Jouni Jussilla is on the Manaverse Podcast to talk about Dized, a digital companion designed to be used next to physical tabletop games. We all know that one of the biggest obstacles to picking up a new game is learning the rules, which is why we often refer to our...

MVP095: GAMA EXPO 2021 Review
GAMA EXPO 2021 has come and gone so let's talk about what went well and what could be improved on. Today, I'm breaking down my experience with the GAMA Expo and some of the difficulties I ran into while registering for the event, as well as talking about some of the...

MVP094: Hold The Line! One Star Reviews, Speculators, and Pricing To The Market
If you’ve been open for any length of time in this business you’ve probably run into someone who thinks they deserve a special deal. Maybe they’ve been a long time customer, maybe they’ve just rolled in off the street and feel like you owe them cheaper prices. At the...

MVP093: Grow Your RPG Community with StartPlaying.Games
Devon Chulick is the Founder and COO of StartPlaying.Games, a service that helps connect tabletop RPG gamers and professional game masters together to create amazing gaming experiences. Devon has been involved in the eCommerce industry for over a decade with a number...

MVP092: Melee.gg: How To Run Magic Tournaments Online
Steve Port joins me on the podcast to discuss his latest project, Melee.gg and the future of Magic tournaments, online and offline. Learn how Melee.gg can allow your game store to run Magic tournaments more efficiently than ever, both in store and on Magic: Arena....

MVP091: How I Would Improve Star City Games Marketing
Join me as I tell the story of interviewing for the position of marketing manager for Star City Games and my plan for improving the marketing strategy of one of the biggest Magic: the Gathering businesses in the world. Resources Mentioned semrush.com...

MVP090: Knight Watch Games on the New Gamer Demographic of 2021 and Beyond
Brenda and Paraic Mulgrew are the owners of the incredibly thematic Knight Watch Games in San Antonio. Knight Watch Games is a full service gaming center that specializes in board games, card games, miniatures, and role-playing and is beautifully decked out in...

MVP089: How Games Unlimited Raised $11,085 in Under 24 Hours
Kylie Prymus has been the owner of Games Unlimited in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since 2015 but Games Unlimited is one of the original founding game stores in North America. Opening their doors for the first time in 1979, Games Unlimited has been serving the Pittsburgh...

MVP088: The Mana Boardgame Tavern is Open For Business
Shannon Ebbitt is the co-owner with husband Vince, of the Mana Boardgame Tavern in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, a steampunk inspired venue offering a variety of adult beverages combined with a library of board games for their patrons to enjoy. The Mana Boardgame Tavern...

MVP087: Three Major Changes for Qualifying as a WPN Premium Store
Wizards of the Coast made an announcement recently on the WPN site detailing the changes to the program and what it takes for local game stores to qualify for WPN Premium status. So let's dig into the announcement and talk about the three major changes to the program...