Dungeons and Dreams: Interview with the owner of newly-opened hobby and board game store Dragon Horde Games

We interview Paul Maloney from Dragon Horde Games about how he made his dream of opening a hobby and board game store a reality…

In a world of corporations, chain stores and next-day delivery, local businesses are becoming rarer as the years go by. Thankfully, Wexford remains home to many fighting the good fight, offering the kind of personal touch found only in homegrown business.

The latest addition to Wexford local business is Dragon Horde Games, a newly opened hobby and board game store owned by Paul Maloney.

Paul, originally from Longford, worked as an accountant before deciding to take a leap on his dream. The seeds for this dream were planted during his time working in Galway’s ‘Dungeons and Donuts’.

“Before this, I was doing admin and accountancy work. Accountancy is what I did in college. I worked in a shop like this in Galway. Shout out to Dungeons and Donuts – Ronan is one of my best friends. I knew this was what I’d love to do. Everyone has that job that they’d love to do but don’t know if it’s viable.”

I always did things like bar work and retail through college so when I went into office work, I missed the day-to-day of meeting and greeting people. About a year ago, I finished my last contract and decided it was now or never.”

Such stores are common in big cities but rare in towns and villages. The only other hobby and board game shop in Wexford is Mountain Gremlin Games in Castlebridge.

“A lot of the stuff you could only get in Dublin. People were waiting until they were travelling up, or if they knew someone travelling there, they’d ask them to collect stuff for them. At least that’s what everyone coming in has been telling me. They’re delighted to have something local.”

Setting up your own business in the current market can be daunting. The rise of online shopping and the success of chain stores makes opening a local business harder than ever. The recent opening of Dragon Horde Games and Eclectic Avenue, a local Christmas market hosting local business, represents a desire to keep local trade alive.

“I was a little worried about how a local shop like this can compete with the likes of Amazon. They can really undercut a shop like this. But everyone’s delighted to support local which great to see.””

I went through a lot of going ‘Am I being stupid?’ These hobbies are very niche. There’s board gamers, the role players, the model painters, the card collectors. It’s very hard to judge whether there’s enough to keep a business going.”

“It’s the same with the lads setting up Eclectic Avenue. There’s that hunger in the town to support local. It’s a relief to see. But when the rubber hits the road, you never know how it’s gonna go.”

Paul’s apprehension nearly stopped him from going through with it and likely would have if not for the support of his wife, Aoife.

“It was a case that I’d rather risk it and see if it works. I wouldn’t have done it if not for my wife. I was like ‘I’ll get another accountancy job’ and she said: ‘You’ve always spoken about this. Why don’t you go and do it?’ She’s been the only reason I’ve been brave enough to do it. She’s been my rock throughout all this.”

Paul has also been blown away by the support shown by other local businesses in Wexford who are in the same boat as him.

“The lads from Red Books, Anthony from the Retro Gaming Store, Tim out in Mountain Gremlin Games – they’ve led the way and they’ve set up the bar for everyone. They’ve all called in and said hello to me. It’s been really good support. I was afraid that people might think I’m taking business from them so it really meant a lot to me that they did that.”

Dragon Horde Games offers a new space for a niche but dedicated community of gaming enthusiasts, but it also represents more than that. While the current climate has been hard on local business, it hasn’t erased the desire of people like Paul to follow their dream, nor the community spirit of towns like Wexford.