Dungeon's End: More than just a game store

Dungeon’s End is a local game store located in west Duluth and houses many table top games, from Magic: The Gathering© to good old fashion Monopoly© Dungeon’s end has something for just about anyone.

I've worked at DE for quite a while now and it’s been a great job experience. My bosses are the married couple of Mason Froberg and Alta Wickham and they are fantastic bosses that always look out for me and my other co-workers.

Now DE Isn't an amazon or target but what it does bring is a local community that is built off of family friendly gaming and good times. From Magic tournaments to board game club there is pretty much something for anyone at DE depending on what their interested in. There are also plenty of people to play games with of any kind as the main focus of my bosses has been to create a strong community for any game that people want to play and the place to play their games. We have had upwards to 70 people for some events that we host and we strive to make sure everyone leaves with a smile and content with their time they spent with us.

My role at DE is the same as everyone else’s, doing anything and everything. Whether the cooler needs to be stocked or costumers need to be rung up, it’s up to everyone on the crew to do what needs to be done. That doesn't mean though that it’s no fun as events are always exciting to see and helping people find just the right board game for their weekly get together with their buddies is awarding in itself and getting to see all the new stuff we get in sometimes makes me feel like the candy man spinning taffy.

But working at a game store is work I've had to tell many of people that say “Awe man your job is so easy, all you do is play games all day!” It is a job with expectations for performance and customer satisfaction, I still put in my time and effort as it is my job. The difference is that because of the awesome people that both work and go to DE it’s a fantastic experience regardless and most of the time doesn't feel like work because I enjoy it. There’s no middle management breathing down my neck that doesn't care if they grind me in the ground because I can be replaced, everyone cares about each other at DE and we work together as a team and project that feeling on to others so they too 

want to join in on the DE community.

Overall Dungeon’s end has been a very important part of many people’s lives including my own and I appreciate all the work that both Mason and Alta put into the store as well as everyone who stops by to both stick around and play as well as just browsing as a Duluth without DE would be a sad place indeed.

A Travelling experience: Going to Tennessee 

I thought I’d hate going south but what I found there couldn't have changed my mind more.

Last summer I took a trip to Tennessee with a summer program I was in for a week and honesty I thought I’d hate it. I’m not into country, long bus rides, or 110 degree weather, but what I found down there was quite the contrary. 

I started my trip with a 12 hour bus ride to get down to Knoxville where my group and I stayed in a rather sketchy hotel to say the least (one person even had mold in their shower). But we kept on and went white water rafting the next day and it was an experience I’d highly recommend. We then 

continued to trek on into the heart of tenseness, Nashville.

Nashville was quite the experience, there was music coming out of the street corners and crowded sidewalks of bustling people, big city life is quite different for sure. There we went to the country hall of fame and like I said I’m not particularly fond of country music, but once again Tennessee surprised me with its vintage Gibson guitars and other random neat musical instrument that where not only cool to look at but interesting to learn about their history and who used them. I even found a little hole in the wall coffee shop that I could get my daily dose of caffeinated goodness. Once we were done their we visited some of the local collages to get a feel for what I would be like to go out of state for school and they were rather beautiful schools, but not my style. After that we headed out once again to our last stop before coming back home, Memphis.

Now I didn't even know Memphis existed until I went down and I still don’t understand how. From they’re intense blues and jazz culture, to the Gibson factor, Memphis should have been on my radar year ago but for some reason it wasn't and I’ll never forget what I saw down there. We went to the civil rights museum first which was located were Martin Luther King Jr. got assassinated and it was both moving and powerful with a lot of interesting historical context that can really teach people how the civil rights movement accomplished their goals for equality. After that we visited Beale Street, a walk only, shopping street with a whole mess of interesting stores and people. From the street performers doing flips and cartwheels over on another, to the open performances in every restaurant. I could walk down the street and go from listening to old delta blues to a Johnny Cash cover all on the same street and as a music enthusiast this was truly breath taking.

After that we headed straight home only stopping for breaks every now and then and made it back in Duluth within a day. Overall my experience down south was all positives as everything was enjoyable, from the white water rafting to Beale Street everything was different but familiar and I could always find something to enjoy.