Dragon's Game Cave: A place of fun, adventure and acceptance

MOSES LAKE — Through these doors are tales of adventure. Through these doors are tales of triumph, victory and defeat. One can also find tales of solace and acceptance at Dragon’s Game Cave in Moses Lake. A place locals can come to and connect with others, goals the owners of the business had in mind when they decided to open up shop.

Miguel Barajas, owner of Dragon’s Game Cave, grew up in the Yakima Valley and ran a couple of businesses before his move to Moses Lake. He learned a lot about how to take care of customer needs while working at Ron’s Coins and Collectibles in Yakima and Toy Dreams in Sunnyside. Wanting a change of scenery, Barajas and his wife Bridget moved to the area about five and a half years ago.

“I just kind of moved over here to get a change of pace, a change of scenery. I realized that there was nothing in this area and so we sat down and thought about opening up a shop,” Barajas recalls. “But we ended up waiting. I had the funds, but I hadn't done my research yet so I went and took a business class and did some studying.”

After doing research on the area and a targeted analysis of potential clientele, the Barajases opened Dragon’s Game Cave in Moses Lake on West Broadway Avenue in October 2015. The location of the building itself offered the Barajases a unique spot on a highly-traveled road, which has led to countless customers walking through the doors simply by driving by and seeing the shop’s sign.

“We do collectible card games, we do Magic: The Gathering cards, Pokémon cards. We buy, sell, trade. We do a little bit with Yu-Gi-Oh cards, but our two biggest are Magic and Pokémon,” Barajas explained. “Also, if people want specific board games, we custom-order board games.”

Dragon’s Game Cave does more than simply sell items. The shop regularly holds events for Wizards of the Coast, which publishes Magic: The Gathering, and Nintendo, Pokémon’s publisher. The events are officially sanctioned by each of the respective companies.

“When we run events, we do entry fees for the events and then we do prizes at the end and stuff,” Barajas said.

Barajas describes the culture of gaming in one word; unique. He says some people can get into the culture fairly easy, while for others it takes a little bit more time.

“The culture is kind of fun though. This area is very relaxed, there is a lot of casual players here. If you get into other places you are going to see a lot more competition. So the culture can be kind of casual or competitive, dependent on the area.”

For the Barajases, however their business is not simply about the sales. Dragon’s Game Cave provides a place for kids to come in off of the street and be in a safe environment with like-minded people who share a common interest.

“For us it was to get the kids off of the streets. Give them something to do. Something different for the community,” Barajas explained.

The shop is open 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and 1 p.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday. To keep up to date on events at Dragon’s Game Cave, find the business on Facebook.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.