Plenty of people are familiar with D&D, the story-based tabletop game Dungeons and Dragons. But how many know R&R — Robert and Ryan?
Friends and now-business partners Robert Cormican and Ryan Wales teamed up to create something new: Chaska’s only game store.
It all started with a seemingly simple question.
“Hey, you want to do something really dumb?” Wales asked in the middle of the pandemic, referring to opening the game store.
Cormican’s immediate answer? “Yes.”
Now, that question has shifted to, “How will you ‘Forge’ your adventure?”
It’s the tagline atop the website of The Forge, Chaska Commons’ newest addition in Beadville USA’s old lime-green and purple-painted space. Since opening in February, just four weeks after taking over the space, customers have been streaming in.
Walk inside and you’ll notice the atmosphere immediately. Tattoo parlor meets coffee shop meets game store, as the two put it.
“You know what I mean? All the cool lo-fi (music), really fun feelings, but at the same time like you could also walk in and we’re jamming metal,” Cormican says.
Wales grew up in game stores just like the ones they spend 70 hours a week working in now. The two play everything, for the most part: Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer, the list goes on.
Wales lives in Cologne with his wife and two dogs;…
