There is a new gaming store in the neighborhood that some students may find useful to their non-academic activities. Black Sun Games, located at 5426 N. Kedzie Ave., celebrated their grand opening a few blocks from campus in August. The local game shop is jointly owned by Brandon Kutka and Tom Wright, both of whom are avid gamers themselves.
“We carry a wide variety of games, and un-painted and pre-painted miniatures,” Kutka said. “We have a game room, and will be eventually hosting tournaments and leagues.” Some of the lines they carry include Flames of War, Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), Warmachine, AT-43 and Euro-BoardGames. Kutka’s personal favorites include D&D, Warhammer 40K (Tyranids), Rifts, Hero, and Champions. Kutka said he enjoys the fact that he can share his hobby with so many people through his new venture and loves discussing all kinds of games with those that come by the store.
Although their passion for gaming is similar, Kutka and Wright come from varying and eclectic backgrounds. Kutka enlisted in the U.S. Army where he worked as a Signals Intelligence specialist. After living in Europe for three years, he attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and received his B.A. in Organizational Psychology. Later, Kutka worked in the Information Technology field and with a group that investigates the paranormal. “I did some work with a parapsychology group based out of Oak Lawn called the Ghost Research Society (GRS),” he said. GRS researches and investigates reports of ghosts and other paranormal activity. Kutka added, “I enjoy electronic music, like old industrial Wax Trax days…I even own some synthesizers and used to play in some Gothy and techno kinda bands in Germany and [in] Carbondale.”
Wright’s pre-store-owner experiences are more local but just as eclectic. “Right now I work at a high rise building in Lincoln Park as a doorman during the day and at the store at night. Before that I worked in a factory, and before that I worked at Dominick’s as a stocker. Owning a business of my own, or as a partner, was always something I wanted to do. It just happens I found a partner that wanted the same thing and since we are both gamers, it just made a weird sort of sense.”
Neither one of the owners comes from a gaming family. “I was the oldest of four,” Kutka said. “And while I was able to get my younger brothers to play sometimes, they never sustained much interest in it.” Kutka was part of a Strategic Gaming Club in college. “Still have the card,” he said.
Similarly, Wright said, “My siblings are all older than me so they did not game. I did introduce all of my nephews and nieces to gaming. Sadly only two nephews got hooked.” But he admitted that he was able to find other players to join him while in college.
The opening of Black Sun Games is overcast by the recent closing of the Gamers Paradise chain of game stores. But Kutka explains, “While many stores might be closing, if you have a passion or a dream, we decided we would rather risk starting a store than regret not [doing so].”
“I got a lot of books from Gamers Paradise when I was younger,” Wright added. He recounted, “staying up all night playing D&D with my friends, going to work in the morning and praying that the day would end so I could get back to the adventure.”
Kutka described his favorite gaming memory. “I used to go to a store called Scale Models in South Holland. They didn’t have a huge selection, and the owner was really mean actually. This was, of course, a time before the internet, and meeting up with other players was very difficult. I probably would have picked up other games but he just didn’t stock any.”
Now, both Kutka and Wright can easily find other gamers. “We just started planning and made our vision a reality,” Kutka said. And now they have their own place to play.
For more information about Black Sun Games call 773-588-1065 or visit them on the web at www.blacksungameschicago.com.