If you find yourself in Phoenix Fire Games on a Wednesday or Friday night you will surely see Brad Brashier. Brad is one of the proprietors of the Valley’s premier game store and a long time veteran of games of all types. Wednesday evening finds Brad teaching a group of willing students to play as many as three different games over the course of the evening. On Friday he is always involved in the Magic tournaments in some way, either playing or officiating.
Brad got his start in gaming in 1993 when Magic first hit the store shelves. Despite Collectible Card Gaming being a little too random for his tastes, Magic really drew him in and he has been a fan and player since its inception. He does admit that the ability to modify your own deck to affect the randomness is one thing that made him a CCG fan.
More of a competitive player than a casual one, Brad still knows how to have a good time. Brad told me that “The fun for me is in trying out a strategy and seeing what works. If you’re just playing for fun there is no real challenge and no impetus for improvement or new strategies.”
I asked Brad what he thought about the gaming community in the Boise area. He was very pleased with the community and said that if he had known it was this good he would have pushed to open Phoenix Fire Games sooner.
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