By Sean Ridgeley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Telegram
When Devon Mugford opened Game Cave in Bay Roberts back in September, it was fulfilling a dream he’d had since childhood.
The hobby shop offers trading cards and events, board games and video games. The 29-year-old had some initial concerns about whether it would be a success, but it didn’t take long for those to go away.
“It was quite slow at first, but then we got events running,” he said.
“We have Yu-Gi-Oh on Wednesdays, and then we do Magic: The Gathering on Friday and Saturday. And once we started running those, business has been going pretty fantastic. It’s definitely a lot busier than I thought it would be.
“Quite often people come in, they’ll pay for their entry, and that’s it until the game is over. And then they get to have a look around the store and usually it’s about $700 to $800 in sales, on a good night.”
As of Jan. 3, the store expanded its offerings to include used video games due to customer demand. For now, they’re taken directly from Mugford’s personal collection — which he’s been building since he was two years old — but he plans to begin accepting trade-ins in as early as a few days.
One game he won’t sell: Silent Hill 3 for PlayStation 2, complete with the revered soundtrack, which he’s had since he was a kid.
Game Cave owner Devon Mugford is selling used video games from his personal collection. Pictured here is approximately one-third of his total collection; he’ll sell off about half in total.
Down the line, he hopes to offer Dungeons and Dragons events, Warhammer 40,000 stock, and plush toys.
He plans to get his store sanctioned by Wizards of the Coast for Magic: The Gathering as well, which could mean special stock and events, as well as promotional cards, among other benefits.
Surprise hit with locals
Dungeons and Dragons (DND) adventures are one of the big sellers, but also something unexpected: a gumball machine that Mugford repurposed to spit out dice, typically used for DND sessions, though trading card game players make use of them as well.
For $1, patrons get one or two dice, though there’s always the chance that more will come out.
“The most we’ve had come out at once is seven,” he said. “People have gone crazy for it.”
Die collectors are a known quantity in the DND community — YouTubers like Ginny Di show off their extensive collections to hundreds of thousands of views, while users on the Dungeons and Dragons subreddit can receive a ton of attention and interest when posting pictures of theirs. One such collector is a regular at Game Cave.
“There’s a girl that comes in here, she’s a regular Magic: The Gathering player, and every time she comes in, she spends at least $10 on the machine,” said Mugford. “And she has, I want to say close on a thousand dice at least at this point. If she sees dice in any store, she buys them. She’s been the biggest buyer here for the dice machine.”
CBDC helped with finances
Although his experience working at the nearby Entertainment Centre, the only other hobby shop in the region, and other stores helped inform his business — he made sure to ask a lot of questions during his tenures — Mugford said the CBDC was there to step in and help with the financial side of things. The organization is set up to help small businesses and startups get on their feet; in November 2025, it received $3.7 million to assist rural NL businesses like Mugford’s. Soon, they’ll be meeting again to bring him fully up to speed so he can run it entirely himself.
From proposal to opening took only about six months, he says, adding that his research beforehand helped CBDC move swiftly. At least some businesses in the same mini-mall he operates out of didn’t have the same luck, however, taking as long as two years to be approved.
The Telegram has reached out to CBDC’s executive director for Bay Roberts for comment on its experience with Game Cave and other businesses in the area.
Game Cave only operates locally, but Mugford is open to moving online as well, if and when the time is right.
Discover more from The Pro News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
