Gaming Fun Without the Console at New Odenton Shop

We live in an age when thousands of people line up to buy the latest video game, but there's a new spot in Odenton where people can still go old school. 

The new Cardboard Gaming shop on Telegraph Road offers a place for fans of games involving boards, cards and dice—and a place to play face-to-face. 

The shop is owned by Travis Lerol, a 31-year-old Hanover resident and Air Force veteran. By day, he works as a software engineer for a government contractor. By night, he works to keep Cardboard Gaming in stock with the most popular games and host lively groups of game enthusiasts. 

Lerol said he opened the shop with the help of some friends, and hopes to capitalize on the vibrant gaming community among service members and the intelligence community at Fort Meade. (Smart people=big gamers, he said.)

"We realized that there wasn't really a place like this near the Fort," he said. "This little area didn't have anything."

The shop not only has games for sale, but offers tables for gaming enthusiasts to gather and play. There are copies of Settlers of Catan and its many expansions, a huge collection of Magic: The Gathering Cards and even Dungeons & Dragons-style role playing games. 

It's already served as host for a number of gaming groups, including the large "Pathfinder Society" of roleplaying enthusiasts.  

In September, the store held a special event upon the release of the latest Magic set, and is likely to have other special events as new games are introduced. 

Lerol said he has nothing against video games, but said board and card games offer a different level of social interaction and intellectual challenge. 

"A lot of it is just about getting together and chatting with folks," he said. 

Cardboard Games offers a free wi-fi connection for customers, plus candy bars and other snacks for sale while people play. It also sells a collection of unique bottled sodas. (Chocolate-covered maple smoked bacon soda? Yeah.)

Cardboard Games is located at 8274 Telegraph Road in Odenton. It's open on weekday evenings after 5 p.m., with daytime hours on weekends.