Rochester

Millennium Games: A go-to for gamers of all ages

3047 W. Henrietta Road | 585-427-2190
millenniumgames.com

Josh von Rathonyi sat next to his 6-year-old nephew Braxton, offering him encouragement and coaching, as the boy faced off against an opponent three times his age in an intense game of Pokemon cards.

“You just got Marnied,” von Rathonyi told the boy. “So, what should your next move be?”

As Braxton contemplated his move, his opponent, 20-year-old Dom Englebert, of Victor, sat across from him patiently, and offered this oblivious onlooker tips on using Flaaffy cards and “dynamic spark attacks” and “knockouts.”

“I come here every week, as much as I can,” Englebert said.

Here was the backroom of Millennium Games in Henrietta, where their match was one of dozens of card games playing out on a cold fall evening.

That gaming should be a fun and social affair is the philosophy of the shop, a cornerstone of hobby gaming in the region for 35 years. To that end, the store dedicates more than 2,000 square feet to play space and holds free tournaments almost nightly.

The evening was set aside for Pokemon, Digimon, and Magic: The Gathering contests, and drew players as young as Braxton to middle-aged men and women looking to test their gaming skills in a safe and clean environment.

“I came here when I was his age,” von Rathonyi, 33, who lives in Greece, said of his nephew. “He’s the only one here who’s under 10 and everyone is patient with him. People here understand that he is the younger generation of gaming.”

Millennium Games is not your…