There wasn't much fanfare to it, so you might've missed the news that Gamma Ray Games opened last week on Pine. Like most hobby shops around town, Gamma caters to tabletop purists without going too hardcore; you won't find copies of Risk, but you also won't see a table filling the center of the store with a 50-man World War II simulation. Think Catan and its modern-nerd board-gaming brethren.

So far, the limited selection and barebones interior scream soft open, but the balcony space with tables and open windows is already the store's greatest asset—it's not a cramped locker in there. Store founder Eric Logan is already talking up the store's future, but thankfully, his doesn't come off like a bullshit sell.

As of today, its upstairs lounge has 12 open boxes of more famous nerd games to try out for free. "We also welcome people bringing in their own to play," Logan says, and adds that people can request to check out the space for game sessions if they want to take their regular games out of their basements, and public events should follow shortly.

Logan says he has already partnered with Capitol Club across the street to host a gay game night there in the near future, and he's working up a map for his own store that details every unofficial/de facto gaming event you might find at bars and spots in Cap Hill, downtown, the U District, and more.

"Nobody's tried a spacious games store before in Seattle," Logan says before breaking into laughter, and points out that his is the only games store he can think of with a girlfriend / significant other lounge, complete with table, chairs, and "decidedly non-gamer magazines." (He had no response to a vending machine stocked with replacement boyfriends.) When asked about plans to monetize, Logan says his store will compete with a buy/sell/trade system ("so people can find secret rarities on a weekly basis," referring to out-of-print games), along with shelf space for indie/homemade role-playing games (the zines of nerds). He's most confident, though, in the sheer location: "We're the only games store that anyone on the Hill can get to without taking two buses."