The Manaverse Podcast

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 analytics.google.com mailchimp.com activecampaign.com Get your FREE ticket for the LGS Success Summit right here!

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 Medieval fantasy decor. To quote one of their customers: THE OWNERS AND STAFF HAVE CULTIVATED A NIRVANA FOR GAMERS. A MORE OPEN AND WELCOMI...

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 community for decades, bringing people and games together the whole time. With a special focus on being community oriented, family f...

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 was conceived with the idea of bringing great games, great drinks, and great people, all together into a welcoming atm...

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 and some options for game store owners looking to become Premium. https://wpn.wizards.com/en/article/evolving-wpn-premium-covid-19-a...

If you're in the planning stages of your future game store or were about to launch, you should put everything on hiatus right now. Hold off on opening your doors or making any major purchases in the near future because the circumstances in which you would be operating are changing, almost by the day. If you went through the effort of putting together a business plan, the very assumptions the plan...

The situation is changing day by day and for many game store owners, business is anything but the usual. Social distancing and isolation have made the traditional model for local game stores unfeasible if not impossible. Hosting events is no longer an option and likely won't be a long time. And for the stores in regions that are particular hard hit like California and New York, options are ev...

Joe Masilotti is on the show to talk about how WeTabletop can help game store owners get in front of more customers and fill up their events more consistently. WeTabletop allows players looking for games to connect with store owners hosting those games, and they're not just restricted to the usual suspects. Players can find nearly any table top game on the system. For game store owners, WeTabletop...

Is coronavirus worse than the flu? At this point it doesn't matter, the panic and fear is real. Governments are taking this seriously. Coronavirus is going to affect all retail but game stores are a unique business model and are very focused on face to face interaction. So what do local game store owners need to be concerned with over the coming weeks and months? Health Concerns Do you have a plan...

For those who haven’t heard the tale, Pat’s Games was robbed a little over three years ago and the bad guys made off with over $60,000 worth of high value Magic cards. The story of the burglary went far and … Read More The post MVP083: Justice Has Been Served appeared first on Manaverse Saga .

Since the day I started the Manaverse Podcast I've wanted to interview certain people in particular. John Coviello and Gordan Johansen were high on my list, as well as Pat Johnson and Kelly Ackerman, KYT, Derium's, Card Kingdom, and many, … Read More The post MVP082: Pete Hoefling on Star City Games appeared first on Manaverse Saga .

Over the course of the last year, Chatbots have been making a lot of noise in the industry. They are either the cutting edge in marketing technology, poised to change the way people interact with businesses, or they're a fad … Read More The post MVP081: Chatbots: What They Are And Why You Should Care appeared first on Manaverse Saga .

  Gordon Johansen is back on the Manaverse Podcast along with John Coviello and Wayne Mittlesteadt to talk about holiday sales and driving big numbers during the holiday season. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and the Christmas season are the … Read More The post MVP080: How Gordon Johansen Sold $36,000 Worth Of Product In One Day appeared first on Manaverse Saga .

2018 has been an interesting year for the games industry. We've seen a glut of excellent board games hit the market and more mainstream adoption of the gaming hobby by the 'mundanes' as John Coviello would say, but we've also … Read More The post MVP079: The State Of The Games Industry appeared first on Manaverse Saga .

The days of Magic Online are numbered, at least in its current form. The question we explore today is "Will Wizard's of the Coast shut down Magic Online?" and how will this affect local game store owners. The short answer … Read More The post MVP078: The Death Of Magic Online appeared first on Manaverse Saga .

In this super short episode of the Manaverse Podcast, we ask the question "are you focusing on the right things?" Specifically, are you building a business, or are you building a community? I'm going to give away the plot on … Read More The post MVP077: Are Your Building A Business Or Are You Building A Community appeared first on Manaverse Saga .

Matthew Vercant has worked for three game stores, done shipping fulfillment for various Kickstarters, managed shipping for Minion Games, and now owns Just Games Rochester. His background before entering the games industry was in publishing and teaching. He also just … Read More The post MVP076: Marketing Strategies That Drive Sales appeared first on Manaverse Saga .

Do you know what it takes to start a movement in your local game community? That's the essence of this episode of the Manaverse Podcast. Darcy and Daniel Leech, the owners of Mind Sculpt Games in Great Bend, Kansas, have … Read More The post MVP075: Starting A Movement appeared first on Manaverse Saga .

Sometimes you reach a point in your business where you begin to question whether or not the whole endeavor is worth the effort. You face a crossroads where you can either choose to quit and walk away, or push through … Read More The post MVP074: When To Give Up And When To Push Through appeared first on Manaverse Saga .

The first episode of the Round Table is back after 8 months. The whole gang returns to discuss the recent developments in the industry including the rise of D&D. Roleplaying popularity is surging and for the guys, driving sales in … Read More The post MVP073: Round Table – The Rise Of D&D And The Impending Doom Of Magic appeared first on Manaverse Saga .

Everyone gets burnt out every once in a while. The question is what to do about it when it happens. Even gaming can become exhausting and stressful once you make it your profession, and that's the path a game store … Read More The post MVP072: The Gamer’s Paradox And Dealing With Burnout appeared first on Manaverse Saga .

John Coviello (Little Shop of Magic) and Gary Sproul (The Haunted Game Cafe) join me to discuss every retailer's favorite topic: dealing with distributors and figuring out your supply chain.  If you want to run a game store, you need to … Read More The post MVP071: Round Table – Distribution… It’s Not Just The Games That Are Analog, It’s The Industry appeared first on Manaverse Saga .

The round table is back.  John Coviello (Little Shop of Magic), Wayne Mittlesteadt (Dueling Grounds), and Gary Sproul (The Haunted Game Cafe) join me to discuss two things: Wotc's new digital offering MTG Arena and the impact of counterfeit games … Read More The post MVP070: Round Table – MTG Arena And Counterfeit Games appeared first on Manaverse Saga .

Learn about the three growth hacks that you can implement in your game business today that can potentially lead to exponential growth. Discover how to build in a viral component into your events and your offers that will make your … Read More The post MVP069: 3 Growth Hacks For Your Game Store That You Can Implement Today appeared first on Manaverse Saga .

Nate Petersen is the owner of Backstage Hobbies and Games, West Michigan's premier vintage Video Game, Board Game, and Trading Card Game store. This episode isn't just a feature on Nate's game store in Michigan. Nate is also the Director of … Read More The post MVP068: The Future Of MTG E-Commerce appeared first on Manaverse Saga .