INDIANAPOLIS — Located on the northwest side of Indianapolis is one of the Midwest's biggest game stores.
Family Time Games has over 60,000 games, including every one of the world's top 200 board games.
The owners of the store, Shane and Sandra Priddy, are committed to finding the right games for each family, person, couple and friend group.
Being in the top 2% of game stores in the country takes nothing short of 100% passion, something that Shane has had for gaming since he was a kid.
"My fondest memories of my time with my mother and my family were playing games. And so I wanted to share that mantra that 'families that play together stay together,'" Shane said.
Shane served in the Navy for ten years, and during that time, he was involved with role-playing, board games and miniature tabletop gaming. He developed a love for playing all games with his family and friends.
After Shane met his wife Sandra, they opened Family Time Games in 2015 and far exceeded their goals right out of the gate.
"We had some projection at what we would be at come year five, and at the end of year one, we were already at our five-year projections," Shane said.
Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, business has dropped for the Priddy's, and Shane says they're selling about one-tenth of what they usually would.
"We closed everything down and isolated ourselves," Shane said of the first two weeks after Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced the closure of all non-essential businesses.
"Just to make sure, we're not sick; we're not contributing to the problem," he continued. "And then, the governor extended the quarantine and ... my wife and I said, 'well let's do deliveries, let's do curbside.'"
Shane and Sandra are now making deliveries and also offering curbside pickup and shipping.
Sandra even took their offerings a step further. As a continuous volunteer with St. Vincent, she knew that if the face mask shortage was impacting the medical industry, it could undoubtedly be effecting other folks, which was why she started making and giving masks out with each board game order.
That human element of gaming is what drives the Priddy's to keep their business's doors open.
Although Family Time Games mostly consists of board games, they're also still a hobby market. Which means they always offer paints, miniatures, comic books, and other accessories.
"Family Time Games is here to put family night back on the schedule," Priddy said.
Board games can tend to run anywhere in the $50 range and higher. But Shane says the price per hour is well worth it.
"$50 is a lot. But if you think about it, if you go to the theater on a date and dinner, you're probably going to spend $50. $50 board games are probably going to give you six or seven evenings of entertainment," Shane explained.
The Priddy's are working to make sure families — people — are remembering to stay connected as much as they can.
"Finding that right fit for your family or your loved one or your group of friends, whether you're having an adult night or a family night ... you need to put the electronics down and have analog time with people."
They're making deliveries up to a 25 miles radius from their storefront.
"At the end of the day, we're about that human touch," Shane said. "The thing is, Amazon seems awfully easy, and yes, you may even save some money on Amazon, but ... you're not going to get 'oh, you guys like Ticket To Ride? Well this isn't like that, you want this.'"
And when their doors are opened to the public, under normal circumstances, you can find their gaming tables packed with friends and family coming together.
"Not just to sell games but to find the right games for each family, or each person, and so we put our heart and soul into it," Shane said.
Family Time Games
8796 Michigan Rd
317-429-9817
Everyday: 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
