Many towns just like Downers Grove have a local game store, a multifaceted shop where a plethora of games and types of games are sold to various customers. Fair Game, stationed on Main Street downtown, has recently come across popularity,

When you walk into the store, you’re greeted by the friendly staff behind the counter, even when they’re busy helping someone check out or need recommendations. One of those employees, Dave Lipowski, has been with the store since new management took over in fall of 2016.

“Dave is one of the kindest souls I have ever met and he is the reason Fair Game has done so well,” junior Donald Peters said.

Lipowski became interested in games with his brother at a young age in an unusual way.

“My twin brother is a really big sports guy, and he’s really competitive, and I was sort of the opposite side of the coin,” Lipowski said. “I was more of the english and arts kind of person, so we really had trouble relating over a lot of things, and gaming was one of the few things we found we could share in common.”

Lipowski brings his enthusiasm to the forefront, investing himself in anything someone needs until he helps them find what they’re looking for, or didn’t know they wanted.

“What I’ve always liked about Fair Game was I always felt like I was welcome, so I make sure that people feel like they’re wanted and have a feeling of inclusiveness regardless of age, gender, race, or experience with board games in the past,” Lipowski said. “This is a hobby that can be enjoyed by all ages and making sure that this is an environment that is appropriate for everyone is very important to me.”

One thing you won’t find at Fair Game is video games. Former owner Josh Stein preached face-to-face interaction early on in his mission statement for the store.

“When I started a family, I saw my own kids and their friends playing a lot of video games, and I noticed it was a pretty disconnected way of playing in general,” Stein said. “So I thought it would be nice to have a game store in our town to introduce the concept of face-to-face gaming to my kids and their friends. With some encouragement, I went ahead and gave it a go.”

Fair Game has been operating since November 2010, but nearly closed down back in 2016, due to the former managers not wanting to continue with the upkeep on the store.

“My son’s second home has been Fair Game for about seven years, and we knew the previous owners,” current Fair Game owner Eric Brezina said. “When they decided they wanted to do something else with their free time, and when it sounded like there wasn’t anybody stepping up into that role, the likelihood that the store was going to close down became more apparent.”

Fair Game is home to a vast selection of gaming arts, including card games, board games, and tabletop games, all which the store holds events for, such as Friday Night Magic, a card game that brings many familiar faces, such as Peters to the store week after week.

“I started going to Fair Game around the sixth grade and immediately got hooked on the card game Magic: the Gathering and soon when to Friday Night Magic as much as I could,” senior Daniel Slattery said.

The future for the store, according to Brezina, is to stay the course and continue to reach out to new audiences and cater to their current audience, especially targeting DGN students.

“I know I can hang out with my friends and not feel judged for my any of my interests,” senior Marz Tingzon said.