POCATELLO — Whether you are entrenched in the brutal science fiction world of Warhammer 40K, channeling your inner planeswalker to play Magic the Gathering or an avid board game player who loves Settlers of Catan, you’ll find yourself at home at Gate City Games, which has been an important pillar in supporting the geek community in Southeast Idaho for years.

Located at 777 Yellowstone Ave., Suite A, in Pocatello and owned and operated by Scott Van Der Horn and Tambra Lockheart, Gate City Games has been supportive of a wide array of tabletop games and geeky sundries. The store also hosts officially sanctioned tournaments and pre-releases for popular franchises.

“We do Magic and Pokémon pre-releases,” Van Der Horn said. “Pokémon is a newer thing that we’re trying to build a community around. We’ve got a good 10 to 15 regular players for Pokémon, which is pretty good for Pocatello. We’re the only authorized Pokémon store in Pocatello. (We) also do Magic events. ... We usually run two to three events (every couple of months) and then just regular Magic play during the week (and) Friday Night Magic.”

One of the primary draws of the store is the local community. A whole gamut of tables are chairs are set up in the back room, including a table setup for Warhammer with intricately painted and designed miniature buildings that display a war-torn battleground of blasted apart ruins and the vestiges of rusted, industrial constructs.

Players can plan meetups for larger pick-up style game nights or simply walk in and see if anyone wants to engage in a friendly 1vs1. Around 20 to 30 board games are available for anyone to demo before they buy, allowing consumers to purchase games that are the perfect fit. The local community of regulars are happy to assist any newcomers or curious veterans.

“We have a lot of very enthusiastic players that are very happy to help out and teach new people how to play the games that they might be interested in, show them demos, things like that.” Van Der Horn said.

Other popular tabletop roleplaying games, or TTRPGs, like Dungeons and Dragons are also available at the store. Newcomers and wizened Dungeon Masters can indulge in a catalog of books that teach the basics or scour through the advanced expansions for those interested in crafting intricate fantasy worlds for their friends to explore. The books are guarded, of course, by the five-headed dragon goddess Tiamat, an incredibly massive “miniature” that has been painstakingly painted by someone in the store.

It goes without saying that everyone in the tabletop community in Pocatello has spent time at Gate City Games. Its reputation is one of friendliness, inclusivity and a willingness to accept both brave new adventurers and storied legendary heroes.

“If you’ve been looking for a group, hesitant to try a new thing, nervous about meeting new people, come on down,” said Jaron Boswell, Gate City Games’ longest tenured employee. “We have players and members from all walks of life. We don’t care about color, creed or bubblegum flavor. Just be nice, be friendly and play honestly and we’re always happy to have new players.”