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<p>EDWARDSVILLE &#8212; On Aug. 31, retail space 4B in Edwardsville&#8217;s Gateway Shopping Center will turn into a battlefield when Tactical Advantage Games and Hobbies opens its doors for its first day of business. The store will carry all manner of tabletop games, including pen and paper, role playing games, war games, card games and board games. This isn&#8217;t the first time Chris Ormando has selected &#8216;business owner&#8217; as his job/class, but he&#8217;s confident he has ground out enough experience to made this venture a success.</p><p>&#8220;I had a game store before (and) I sold what I liked, not what was selling,&#8221; Ormando said. &#8220;It sank because I wasn&#8217;t making business decisions&#8212;I was making personal decisions. Ten years later I know it can work. Let&#8217;s do it professional, bight (and) welcoming. Let&#8217;s do the best we can.&#8221;</p><p>Ormando refused to carry card games at his first store and ran a costly local area network (LAN) for multiplayer gaming in an era when home PCs and the Internet were becoming more accessible. A lot can change in 10 years, though, and a marriage, a house and two kids later, Ormando is ready to run the retail raid again. This time around, he only plans on housing enough computers to run the store. He has also put together a well-rounded party to help him face the trials ahead.</p><p>Victor Rivera&#8217;s uncle used to take him to a card shop in Stroudsburg regularly. He started by playing Naruto, but he quickly moved on to Yu-Gi-Oh!, Magic: The Gathering, and Pokemon&#8212;what he calls the &#8216;big three.&#8217; When Ormando learned that Rivera used to serve as a judge in card game tournaments, he knew he found a member of his team.</p><p>&#8220;What I&#8217;m trying to bring in is the card community itself&#8212;that&#8217;s literally the niche of the nerds,&#8221; Rivera said. &#8220;A lot of the card gamers out there don&#8217;t like mixing in with tabletop players because they feel intimidated and I want to bring them in so I can integrate them with the tabletop gamers. (We want to) have a nice big happy family.&#8221;</p><p>Ian Casterlin, another member of Ormando&#8217;s party, echoed Rivera&#8217;s community sentiment.</p><p>&#8220;You cannot have one without the other,&#8221; Casterlin said. &#8220;You can sell the product, but no one&#8217;s going to care if there&#8217;s no one around to play it. The whole point of the store is not just to sell the product but to have a place for people to come in, experience the games themselves and interact within a group that is notoriously introverted.&#8221;</p><p>Ormando believes that the store can be more than just a retail space and a community hangout&#8212;he believes it can be a learning experience. He admits that he used to be a sore loser&#8212;Casterlin admits that Ormando may still be one. The group said that Tactical Advantage is for ages 9 to 90 and that it&#8217;s never too late to learn humility, sportsmanship or communication skills. Ralph Pierce, the fourth piece of Ormando&#8217;s puzzle, has seen first-hand how gaming can change someone&#8217;s life.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve seen a person who refused to talk to anybody&#8212;who was very introverted&#8212;come to a gaming place, play a game for a couple months and be the extroverted person I know today,&#8221; Pierce said. &#8220;He&#8217;s a salesman. His job is talking with people. Gaming in person has always helped people to grow in charisma. Basically you learn how to talk with people.&#8221;</p><p>The store has a bright aesthetic with tables in the middle and shelves along the walls. It&#8217;s welcoming and, from a retail perspective, it&#8217;s practical&#8212;games come and games go, so the expandable shelving allows for rotating display while the play area allows for showcase and demonstration. Ormando&#8217;s final party member and resident carpenter, Mark Navin, has created a retail and community space to match the group&#8217;s vision.</p><p>Together, these five self-proclaimed nerds aren&#8217;t just looking to establish a business&#8212;they&#8217;re looking to grow a community. Ten years ago it was game over for Ormando and he was all out of quarters. On Aug. 31, Ormando hits reset with new party members and an upgraded inventory. Ormando left the world of retail once, but this time he may have the tactical advantage.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Tactical Advantage Games and Hobbies logo. The store is scheduled to open on Monday, Aug. 31. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_TAG2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Tactical Advantage Games and Hobbies logo. The store is scheduled to open on Monday, Aug. 31. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_WBW082615GameStore_1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Tactical Advantage Games &amp; Hobbies sales associate Ian Casterlin stocks games on the shelves of the new store at the Gateway Shopping Center in Edwardsville slated to open on Monday, Aug. 31. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_WBW082615GameStore_1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Tactical Advantage Games &amp; Hobbies sales associate Ian Casterlin stocks games on the shelves of the new store at the Gateway Shopping Center in Edwardsville slated to open on Monday, Aug. 31. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_WBW082615GameStore_2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Tactical Advantage Games &amp; Hobbies sales associates Ian Casterlin, left, and Ralph Pierce work on a game setup at the new store at the Gateway Shopping Center in Edwardsville slated to open on Monday, Aug. 31. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_WBW082615GameStore_2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Tactical Advantage Games &amp; Hobbies sales associates Ian Casterlin, left, and Ralph Pierce work on a game setup at the new store at the Gateway Shopping Center in Edwardsville slated to open on Monday, Aug. 31. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Gene Axton</p><p>gaxton@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>IF YOU GO:</p><p>What: Grand opening of Tactical Advantage Games and Hobbies</p><p>Where: Gateway Shopping Center space 4B, Edwardsville</p><p>When: 3 p.m. Aug. 31</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Gene Axton at 570-991-6121 or on Twitter @TLArts</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Gamers go to war in Edwardsville