This vibe check is courtesy of Red Raccoon Games, which is located in historic downtown Bloomington, Illinois. This establishment is owned by Jamie and Kelly Mathy; Jamie was recently re-elected to GAMA’s Retail Team (see “Election Results“) and is currently serving as the Treasurer for the GAMA Board of Directors. The store was originally founded as Gryfalia’s Aerie in 2007, but was purchased in 2014 by Jamie and Kelly, who renamed the store Red Raccoon Games in 2015. Their store has been in business for almost 20 years.
The shop carries thousands of items, which include board games, card games, miniatures games, children’s games, RPGs, and geek merch. The shop also has a large play space that can accommodate bigger events, such as a Star Wars Unlimited Planetary Qualifier they will be hosting on September 5, 2026.
Red Raccoon Games Current Vibe
Location: 301 N. Main Street
Bloomington, IL 61701
Store Specialties: Board Games, TCGs, and RPGs.
Red Raccoon’s Current Hotness: The Sheep from Zero Strategy Games, Honeycomb Hustle from Last Night Games, and PocketParks from Pocket Games are the new hotness post-Origins Game Fair. Lairs from KTBG and Ruins from Allplay have performed well; Dungeon Crawler Carl pins from Foam Brain are flying off the shelves. Warhammer 11E: Armageddon boxes sold out instantly, and Marvel Super Heroes sold better than expected.
Games That Are Growing Playgroups: One Piece CG, Warhammer, and Pokemon TCG: “Everything for all three of these games is dependent on access to product for the store.”
Buying Mood of Customer Base: Positive and upbeat, “We have been hearing many more comments about games being the escape from the crazy world we are living in.”
Pick Hits for Q2 into Q3: Cyberpunk TCG, the Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG, Brass: Pittsburg, and Thunder Road: Ignition.
Notes About Hot Merch: The store has been unable to keep up with demand for NeeDoh, Squishy Dumplings, and Gump by Speks. Jamie also noted that “Hacky Sacks are having a moment again on TikTok, and we hope to capitalize on those sales as well.”
Additional Commentary: “This year Red Raccoon Games celebrates 20 years in our wonderful hobby, and I love how many new players are finding hobby stores to join in our fun. As store owners, we have the obligation to welcome these new players in and delight them with amazing customer service. The experience we offer in our stores in the differentiation from mass market or online sales. Online sales may be more convenient, but the discovery of new games remains absolutely horrible. Only absolute fanatics are using crowdfunding sites or watching game influencer videos (to discover new games). The other 95% of the market continues to reply on the FLGS to be the taste makers. Games retailers should all take that role seriously, and make sure that our staff training includes the ability to help convert the newest interested players into longtime customers of our stores.”
Source: ICv2
