Brieann Charlesworth’s favorite card game is not easy to win.  Boss Monster is a dungeon-run game where players experience increasingly difficult challenges as they level up. Teamwork is eventually required, and players can tackle rounds as duos to defeat each dungeon section.  It’s dif ferent every time. “I bought that game on a whim,” Brieann said. “I was like, I really am hooked. … It moves fast.” That variety is something Brieann’s life partner, Matthew Goodrich, also appreciates in his games of choice. His favorite, Betrayal at House on the Hill, is a cooperative, hidden-traitor board game.  “Think of it as like being in a ‘Scooby-Doo’ episode,” Matthew said.  A team of players enters a haunted house to a slew of awry situations. New rooms are unlocked as the game progresses, eventually building the entire haunted house.  “Then eventually there’s a haunting and one of the players is revealed as the betrayer,” Matthew said.  It becomes all-against-one. The game has 100 different scenarios, and every new play is randomized.  “So … almost infinite replayability,” Matthew said.  Matthew still hasn’t played every possible version.  The couple’s love of games is part of why Brieann became the owner of one Game Grid franchise location in Saratoga Springs. There, the couple found a community dedicated to learning and playing trading card games.  Brieann said that community was sure to be found elsewhere. So, she decided to open a new location in Heber City with Matthew’s help. It’s set to be open to collectors, players and enthusiasts by the end of September, or as early as Wednesday.  Matthew said there are still a few kinks to work out and plenty of store setup to do before doors open to the public. He and Brieann said they are looking forward to what the Heber City community has to offer.  Game Grid won’t just be a store that sells board games, trading cards and the like. It will be a home base for gaming enthusiasts to play with friends or meet new ones.  That’s what the couple’s Saratoga Springs location has become.  “There weren’t any amenities for people to just go and enjoy an evening that didn’t involve driving out somewhere,” Brieann said. “We wanted to do a community-like center, but it’s focused on games and just making sure everybody finds an interest in a group they want to be a part of.” Matthew said these days he and Brieann don’t have much time to play games. But that’s because the pair are putting on near-nightly events, hosting new people and those already well-versed in the gaming community.  In a post-COVID world, Matthew said Game Grid provides an intentional place where people can hang out, be social and have a reason to leave the house.  “It’s been met with very good will and favor,” Matthew said. “People seem to really like it.” There are plenty of game stores in Utah, Matthew said, but their Game Grid franchise stands out.  “I think that we have set ourselves apart as a game store,” Matthew said. “Our location seems to stand apart as being meant for more people than just the hardcore gamers.” There’s a feel to Saratoga Springs’ Game Grid that people appreciate, Matthew said.  “They tell us that they like being here, and that it’s a place where they can come be a part of a community,” Matthew said. “Where traditional game stores are kind of more built around the competition and being good at games.” It’s meaningful to the couple. “The tables are open to use, so if you have a group that wants to play a game, maybe I have a demo available and you’d like to play. That’s open for you to sit down and try it out,” Brieann said.  Brieann said the pair have not pursued much advertising for Game Grid Heber City, but they are already receiving calls asking if specific board games are in stock.  While Game Grid is a Utah franchise, each store is independently owned. Brieann said that system works for her.  “What works in one Game Grid and what’s popular there may not be popular in Heber, so it allows us that flexibility to change,” Brieann said.  She chose Heber City as the next location because it had a “similar feel” to Saratoga Springs.  “We’ve identified it as similar, as just maybe needing that community,” Brieann said. “You have a lot of new people that have moved in. A lot of new people looking for something to do.” Brieann and Matthew hope to strike a balance between casual and competitive. But no matter what, their main goal to foster community remains the same.  The post Couple levels up Heber City with new Game Grid location appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less