As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, the pair claim that if you’re a fan of card of board games, then you’ll likely find a great friend in both of them and in their latest venture. In this way, they say, they have fulfilled a long-standing desire to open a space where people can socialise, meet up and play their favourite games.
Devcic and Kosovec have been friends since back in 2018, when they met on the way to the Magic the Gathering tournament in neighbouring Italy. Three years later, they decided to leave their jobs in the very well known Croatian IT companies Infinum and Degordian and head out into the often challenging entrepreneurial waters together; first in the eCommerce world, then in a small physical store, and now they have opened the so-called “LGS” Local Game Store.
As they explain, LGS is a hobby store concept where all fans of board games and card games (so-called TCG-s, ie Trading Card Games) can buy their desired products, and in the store’s game room, they can meet like-minded people, try out some new games or participate in tournaments.
“My childhood dream was to own my very own Local Game Store. I started Trading Card Games at the beginning of the millennium and this hobby has since become a very important part of my life. I grew up with Pokemon and Magic the Gathering and now with Magic Omens I’m ready to welcome a new generation of players and build a healthy community of people who share a passion for this hobby,” said Ivan Kosovec.
In their game room, located on Savska cesta 144A, weekly events for all of people’s favourite games will be held, as well as events from the most popular TCGs such as Magic the Gathering cards, Flesh and Blood, Pokemon cards and many other similar games.
Even when there are no organised tournaments, all enthusiasts can come enjoy their favourite games throughout the week at the new Zagreb Magic Omens location.
Devcic and Kosovec claim that due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the demand for social and card games has increased, especially when it comes to the much loved Pokemon TCG. More than 30 billion Pokemon tickets have been sold worldwide so far, the game Magic the Gathering had a profit of 581.2 million US dollars last year, and all this has led to the organisation of tournaments that bring together enthusiasts from all over the world.
In these results, Devcic and Kosovec saw the need to create such a community right here at home in Croatia through a proper space intended just for games. They’ve invested, they say, their own personal savings and countless hours of work. They will expand the offer of games over time, and they say that they also do well in retail, given the large offer of games that they deliver throughout the European Union (EU).
These young enthusiasts say they first want to build a foundation in the City of Zagreb as the best choice for board and card games, become a regional leader and an example to others, have clear results and make sure the community is satisfied.
“Our goal is to increase the overall community of people who play board and card games, people who could play them, but have never decided on such a hobby. We want as many people as possible to experience this type of entertainment which, in addition to being challenging, enables people to spend more quality time with friends.
After the opening of the Zagreb Magic Omens location, we expect more customers/visitors/players to come because we’re in the centre, but also because we have tournaments and game rooms. People are already delighted and the attendance level is very high because people recommend each other. Word-of-mouth seems to do its thing. We have very strong community support in this initiative and we’ve heard a lot of praise from some longtime players.
We’re focused on customers and we listen to what they need and we want to make it all possible for them. The interest is just incredibly high and we’re sure it’s only going to grow because we really care about all the players. I believe that we can do wonderful things in Croatia,” concluded Denis Devcic.
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