New Store Caters to Gamers

Paul Perez, owner of Big Rock Tabletop, a new gamers store in Morro Bay, holds a couple of the props used in role playing games. Photo by Neil Farrell

A new store in Morro Bay designed for and catering to modern gamers of all ages, recently opened on Quintana Road.

Big Rock Tabletop, located at 620 Quintana Rd., next door to Round Table Pizza, is owned and operated by Paul Perez, retired military veteran and law enforcement officer who is into the modern gaming genre in its various forms.

The store, he said, is for anyone from young kids to adults who are into TCG gaming and tabletop gaming. 

TCG gaming involves collectible trading cards like Pokemon Cards, he explained to a reporter who admittedly knows nothing about this world of gaming. 

TCG stands for Trading Card Games, aka Collectible Card Games (CCG). “It’s like chess,” Perez said, “you know what each piece does.”

Tabletop games are role-playing games (RPGs) like Dungeons and Dragons, War Hammer, Marvel Protocol, Starcraft and Lord of the Rings. 

With RPGs, players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting and act out a narrative that drives a storyline.

The store has special rooms where these games are played including a really cool D&D room Perez decorated himself with a nautical, pirate-like motif complete with mood lights and a big screen TV where the games are displayed. 

Throw in some costumed players and the setting becomes a different world.

The Morro Bay store is the second for Perez who also has Cosmic Heroes in San Luis Obispo. As popular as these games are today, there is only one competitor in SLO and none on the North Coast. 

“We sell products, paints, games and books,” he explained. “And we host game nights. It’s a place where you can buy and play the games you love.”

Perez said he spent 21 years in U.S. Air Force before retiring. Boredom led him to a second career as a probation officer in Santa Barbara County, he explained, where he worked with gang members.

He started the gaming stores after his wife died, he said. “I found another direction in life. It’s been a fun journey.”

His stores provide a place where those into this genre of fun can gather and be comfortable. “This gives gamers a place to play,” he said, adding, “it helps keep kids out of trouble.”

He has employees that run the stores with him and who have bought into his business philosophy. “I want to make the stores community stores for the people that come in.”

He listens to his customers to find out what they want and need and then “we make sure they have a good experience.”

The store opened June 20 with a War Hammer game night that packed the place. He chose Morro Bay for his second store for several reasons. “I didn’t want to go into my rivals’ territory, and I wanted to branch out to a city without a shop.”

He added, “Most tabletop gamers are from Morro Bay, Los Osos and Atascadero.”

Also, his store employees live in Morro Bay.

So far, they’ve held several game nights that have been successful and well attended. “They love it,” he said. “We’ve held many games already.”

Eventually, he said, he will put together a schedule for games for his customers and local gamers, so they can make plans to attend and play the games they like most.

“It’s growing,” Perez said, “we’ve exceeded our expectations already.”

Big Rock Tabletop is open daily from 1-9 p.m. but, “We’ll stay open late if we have people here,” he said.