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Jul 01, 2023

Gamers unite! Hawthorne game store a place for all ages

Posted by Kayla Anderson | Jun 5, 2023 | News | 0 Mineral County finally has a

Posted by Kayla Anderson | Jun 5, 2023 | News | 0

Mineral County finally has a place where people of all ages can go and share their love of Pokémon, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and other trendy tabletop games at Klickety Klack, located on 1085 US Highway 95 Suite D in Hawthorne.

Opening at the end of April, Klickety Klack is the brainchild of Josh Gonzales. He grew up in Schurz and has always been into gaming, visiting other game stores and enjoying the feel of them and comradery found inside.

"I’ve always been kind of a nerd and been into tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons. I’ve been going to local game stores and started noticing how cool they were. I really liked the atmosphere and thought maybe I could do one," he says.

Gonzales lives in Schurz and has family both there and in Hawthorne. He would go to game shops in Fallon and Fernley; his wife Zee is from San Diego and when they went down to visit then the couple would visit gaming stores there as well.

About five years ago, Josh got the idea of opening his own game store and three years later started saving money to build up an inventory of products that he knew would sell. (Before Josh opened Klickety Klack, he was a police officer with the Walker River Paiute Tribe.) He drove around Northern Nevada, looking at storefronts and figuring out how he would design his own place. His original idea was to open a shop in Yerington but quickly noticed there wasn't much of a gaming scene there.

"Then I thought, ‘Why not open a shop up here? The place that we know?’" Josh recognized.

"I knew there was a gaming scene here, but I didn't realize the demand. During covid a lot of people were at home playing games and stayed with it," he says.

Klickety Klack celebrated its grand opening on April 30, and he said it's been busy ever since.

"It's been pretty interesting. We’re in a little four-suite strip mall and the foyer leading into the store was completely packed, it was shoulder-to-shoulder people," Josh says.

And it's kind of stayed that way over the last month.

"There are a lot of regulars, so many people keep coming back. I know everyone by name now," he smiles.

Josh explains that the store's number one seller is Magic: The Gathering, and then Pokémon which was kind of surprising to him.

"TCGs [Trading Card Games] are a pretty big thing now, but I thought that Dungeons & Dragons would sell better," he adds. Josh believes his demographic of customers ranges between 8-60, with 95 percent of sales evolved around Magic: The Gathering.

"The younger crowd caters more towards Pokémon, and RPGs [Role Playing Games] draw an older crowd," he's observed.

When asked how Josh came up with the name Klickety Klack, he says that he had been collaborating with friends and family and writing down a bunch of names. When he was playing Dungeons & Dragons one day, his friend mentioned "click clack", the sound of dice hitting a table.

"We took that name and then I thought we could make it more unique by replacing the ‘C's’ with ‘K's’," Josh says.

Along with carrying the big hits in the gaming world, Klickety Klack also has quality Loungefly themed backpacks.

"Zee picked those out, and they’re flying off the shelves," Josh says. "We try to stick with the trendy stuff. some of the other products we carry are posters and Funks Pop in multiple themes and genres from sports to entertainment. The younger generation especially loves anime and the Marvel posters."

The store also features six tables where people can sit, play games, and trade cards as well as a lounge area in the back with two couches, two chairs, and a coffee table.

"There are a lot of places to come and hang out in the store, and a free board game section with a few classics that have been donated to the store so you can sit with your family or friends and play," he says. Klickety Klack also carries puzzles, multiple versions of Monopoly, Jenga, and Jumanji. Kids come in during lunchtime, providing Hawthorne students a place to go outside of school hours.

"There is nothing to do in this town unless you’re playing sports or camping with your family, but even that is so seasonal. This just gives them another option for something to do," Josh says.

The store also hosts a lot of events, from Pokémon and Adult Dungeons & Dragons game nights to the weekly Hot Wheels Drag Racing Knight on Thursday evenings.

On drag racing nights, people can pick out a car and race it on an 8-ft., 6-lane track. It costs $10 to race, which includes picking a car off the shelf, or $5 if you bring your own car. First, second, and third place prizes are given out, that usually consist of car accessory packs or things related to Hot Wheels.

"A lot of kids are collecting those now because of past races," Josh says.

As the only FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store) in Mineral County, Josh says that he's humbled about how Klickety Klack has been received by the community.

"This has been a long time coming, and we’re pretty excited about it," he adds.

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