Table Top Heroes

Story by Lizz Daniels Photos by Jarred Kindles

Tabletop games have united players to experience excitement around playmats, game boards, and dungeon maps since the first dice toppled out of a gambler’s palm. While most games today are designed for fun, not winning money, more people than ever find ways to play together.

In Seguin, tucked away on Heideke Street just off of Kingsbury, is Z’s Toys. The small blue shop doesn’t have any massive signs drawing attention to it –– you have to know it’s there. For regulars, it’s the best spot in town.

“There are a lot more people that are into this stuff than meets the eye,” Tiger Villareal said. “Whenever people come in and see we have a place like this, it’s crazy. Sometimes they just come in and buy stuff because not everyone is a sit here and play all day kind of gamer. The culture is great. We all know each other, we are all friends. It’s kind of like a bar vibe.”

Tiger and his friend, Marcus Stovall, both like to head over to Z’s Toys after a long day of work and kick back with a few games of Hero Clix, one of the shop’s most popular games. The game was initially released in 2002 by WizKids and is a collectible miniatures game.

“Hero Clix is based off of comic characters,” Marcus said. “My dad raised me through comic books. I hated to read, but if he showed me a comic, I had to know what was going on. I was always looking at toys, and came across a large statue that was actually a Hero Clix. I couldn’t find anybody that sold them, so when I met Z’s owner, Tom, he ordered some. We learned the game and just started playing.”

At the time, store owner Tom Villareal (Tiger’s uncle) said he had an average of only four customers coming into the store a month, but once Marcus introduced him to Hero Clix, things changed rapidly.

When Z’s first opened, Seguin didn’t have a local gaming and card shop. There was nowhere to go to play card games like Magic the Gathering, the shop’s first real staple, or other games like Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon. These are substantial cultural icons within the tabletop community, and Tom realized he needed to embrace it to get the right people in the door.

“When you own a store you’ve gotta change sometimes,” Tom said. “There wasn’t a place for this in Seguin that would stay open late.

Growing up I was always shy. I didn’t like to talk to anybody. Here, you get to meet people slowly, and be integrated at your own pace. If you’re socially awkward, it allows you to open up.

Hero Clix is the favorite of Z’s Toys regulars, Tiger Villareal and Marcus Stovall. During their free time, they head to the shop and take on owner Tom Villareal in the Marvel-themed collectible miniature game.

The people that play games usually work during the day, but want to play at night. We are open until at least midnight, usually. That way gamers can get a couple rounds in before heading home to sleep for a few hours before going back to work.”

This willingness to cater to the community has kept Z’s open and new players engaged even as Tom told distributors he was closing –– multiple times.

“I’ve tried to close four times,” he said. “I thought last time we were closed for good, but people keep coming in wanting to play together.”

The space itself is open with tables set in the middle covered in maps, dice, chips and of course, Hero Clix. The game figures vary in size from “tiny” to “colossal,” as the Hero Clix website describes them, and are as diverse as the characters they are modeled after, with impressive detail styled into each playable piece.

This quality of craftsmanship, the cleverness of Hero Clix gameplay, and the culture of Z’s Toys help come together to provide an environment where store patrons keep coming back for more. It’s welcoming, and in a new, socially-distanced world, it’s one of the few ways people can still go out in public to socialize safely.

“Growing up I was always shy,” Marcus said. “I didn’t like to talk to anybody. Here, you get to meet people slowly, and be integrated at your own pace. If you’re socially awkward, it allows you to open up.”

It is that opportunity to interact with others that continues to engage players who find themselves drawn to tabletop gaming. Whether playing a round of Settlers of Catan at family game night or competitively smashing friends at Hero Clix, Seguin’s tabletop community continues to go strong while playing from their favorite home base, Z’s Toys.

Z’s House Faves

A few favorite games that get the most play around Z’s Toys are “Fantastic Four, Comic Clash” and“Settlers of Catan.” Their number one shop favorite is “Mansions of Madness,” an app-assisted horro game. With the work of H.P. Lovecraft behind it, “Mansions of Madness” is perfect for a spooky October evening.