Thu, Jul 16, 2026 (2 a.m.)
Jose Hernandez is showing me how to play Pokémon.
“People’s decks volition amusement you a batch astir their personality,” helium says, pulling retired a kit of starter decks helium uses to assistance initiate noobs similar me. All the cards are successful protective sleeves.
First, we commence with etiquette—shuffling our decks and deciding who goes archetypal by the rotation of a die. Then, we each gully 7 cards from our decks. (Well, Hernandez’s deck, that he’s letting maine use.) And we each gully six “prize cards” that we enactment to the side, look down.
“If you don’t gully a basal card, redraw,” helium says. I settee for Roselia and spot the paper successful my progressive spot. Hernandez places a Ditto down and attaches an vigor card. The extremity is to sound retired your opponent’s Pokémon and cod six prize cards.
It takes an hour, but finally, I commencement to clasp the rules. I’m maneuvering unprompted, without having to inquire questions. And I consciousness similar I’m connected the inside.
Better known arsenic Professor (an authoritative Pokémon certification) Dogwood, Hernandez volunteers to thatch radical to play the trading paper crippled connected a play ground astatine Henderson outpost Natural Twenty. The crippled store precocious moved to a new, larger determination connected East Sunset Road and Green Valley Parkway—adding further backstage crippled rooms and much quadrate feet successful 2024 and a edifice and barroom successful 2025—to accommodate its increasing lawsuit base.
Although the store has been successful Las Vegas since 2014, co-owners Katy and Zac Weinstein accidental it was aft the COVID pandemic erstwhile they truly started to announcement radical craving the benignant of abstraction they offer—one that is centered astir tabletop games, that is accessible and inclusive.
“We each merit to beryllium capable to beryllium down and not consciousness similar we shouldn’t beryllium there. Outside of gaming, that’s what radical want. People crave connection,” says Katy. “Being capable to supply that—whether it’s a committee game, a paper game, them conscionable eating food, having a drink, sitting with their headphones on, Beyblades—that’s truly what the store has benignant of grown into. People privation a assemblage hall.”
On immoderate time of the week, the crippled store’s attached edifice and bar, Natural 21, is packed with radical playing the staples similar Magic: The Gathering arsenic good arsenic committee games and mahjong. Players whitethorn bid from the expansive fantasy-themed menu—second meal oregon Dragon Dropping chickenhearted nuggets, anyone?
Natural Twenty’s lawsuit calendar is packed with aggregate tracks of programming each day, from tabletop games similar Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer to trading paper games similar Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh. Veterans’ D&D groups, Pride nights for LGBTQ players and much cater to the community. There’s a abstraction astatine the crippled array for everyone.
There has ever been gatekeeping successful nerddom—people who privation to exclude women, radical of colour oregon LGBTQ. Natural Twenty does everything successful its powerfulness to guarantee the civilization shifts distant from that. The radical who enactment and play determination privation to invitation arsenic galore caller friends into the fold arsenic they can. And they privation radical to consciousness similar they’re helping physique this community.
“We’ve instructed [our staff] to invited everybody, careless of what age, sex, income—anything similar that. It doesn’t substance to us. People privation to person those places wherever they tin conscionable travel in,” says Zac.
The co-owners stress creating an enjoyable situation first—being the
Cheers barroom of crippled stores. And they accidental they get a batch successful return.
“If you marque that concern successful people, they’ll amusement up for you, particularly erstwhile they consciousness that it’s theirs,” says Katy.
Places to play
Natural Twenty 4136 E. Sunset Road, 702-778-6776, natural20gaming.com. Monday-Friday, noon-midnight; Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Meepleville Board Game Cafe 4704 W. Sahara Ave., 702-444-4540, meepleville.com. Daily, noon-11 p.m.
Knight & Day Games 6521 Las Vegas Blvd. S. #C105, 702-639-7835, knightanddaygames.com. Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-midnight; Sunday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Many Realms 6209 Dean Martin Drive, 725-290-7814, manyrealms.com. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Stomping Grounds 5300 S. Eastern Ave. #140, 725-287-8011, stompinggroundstcg.com. Friday, 10 a.m.-midnight; Saturday-Thursday 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
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