The Owners of Opal Grove Games Didn't Feel Welcome in Many Spaces. So They Made Their Own.

Local LGBTQ+ gamers on why they frequent the cozy, welcoming store and gaming lounge

Published: May 16, 2024 | Last Updated: June 6, 2024

The feeling of acceptance is intentional when you step into Detroit’s Opal Grove Games, nostalgically nestled in the basement below 27th Letter Books. Walking down the stairs into the space, a Pride flag and a Black Lives Matter flag hang side by side, making it abundantly clear that all are welcome.

Opened by couple Ben Lippi and Aisha Blake, Opal Grove embodies a vision cultivated by the owners’ personal experiences in the gamer community. Lippi, who is nonbinary and queer, and Blake, a Black woman, are driven by a shared mission to create a haven for Black and LGBTQ+ gamers where everyone feels comfortable, included and uplifted.

“A big part of why we opened the store in the first place was that we didn't feel like there was a place where we could have a real gaming community that was welcoming of anyone,” Blake says. “In particular, I had plenty of experiences where I’d go to a hobby shop with Ben, and I’d get ignored or people would be rude. And I'm like, this isn't where I want to spend my money, let alone spend a large portion of my time. So, we really wanted to create that space for ourselves and our friends and hopefully be able to reach out to people who just might not have felt welcome in the hobby at all.”

She adds, "Speaking as a Black person who has lived in Detroit for a long time, there is, at least for me, a certain comfort in walking into a Black space, and I personally have never had a gaming community that was a Black space. The idea is to make a space where Black people can be happy and have fun. I think that everybody should have that, and if that means that we have to make it, then fine, great.”

Since its opening in October 2022, Opal Grove has attracted customers through word of mouth and pop-up events in the city. When customers come in, they can choose to access the shop’s extensive rental library for $3.50 an hour or purchase games to take home.

“I make it a point whenever I meet anyone who seems like they are interested in games, and especially if they are Black, queer, to say, ‘Hey, we have this, this is available,'” Blake says. “As people come and they feel safe, they start bringing their first dates to the store and they bring their friends and their family, and so it's grown in that way.”

At first, Opal Grove didn’t hold specified game nights as they thought, “We’re a game store, every day is game night.” But the owners quickly realized from conversations with customers that people needed something more intentional, so now there are community game nights every week.

Sizing up a custom miniature. Courtesy photo

Opal Grove has recently starting offering queer game nights. Through these events, people are able to get out of their comfort zone and make friends with other local gamers. The mission behind queer game night is to create “a space where there can be joy and companionship without necessarily pain as well.” So far, that vision has been beautifully realized.

“Our community members who have come from different fields and styles of gaming start meeting and start becoming friends,” Lippi says.

“Now they’re going out to dinner together before they come to the store,” Blake adds.

Rhys Agombar, who identifies as asexual and currently lives in Detroit, has attended both queer game nights and has been hanging out at Opal Grove for a couple of months.

“The community around the shop is phenomenal. After going there a couple of nights it felt like I just found a second family. I was welcomed into the game nights, and then when the queer games specifically came out, everyone was super welcoming, super supportive, but not prying at all,” Agombar says. “I've already made some really good friends there that I've been in contact with a lot, Nick and Dez, as well as just the owners, Ben and Aisha. Absolutely great people.”

Hallie Gaylord, another queer gamer who identifies as trans, is a lifelong resident of the Detroit area and attended Opal Grove’s inaugural queer game night. She says there are some game spaces she no longer frequents due to negative experiences, but that she feels consistently welcomed at Opal Grove.

“It's a place you can walk into and let your guard down,” Gaylord says. “I can just sit, be myself, and enjoy the experience.”

Lippi echoed a similar sentiment that some gaming spaces are not always the most welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community. “A lot of stores I've been in previously, I haven't always felt comfortable in or like I can be myself. Even though I read as pretty masc to a lot of folks, I still don't feel comfortable or like I always fit in,” Lippi says. “A lot of places, there's a blatant hostility towards people who are outside a certain assumed demographic. So, for myself, who most of the time visibly appears to fit those demographics, I understand that it's much more intense for people who don't. So, we want to try and build a place where people don't feel like that, where they instead can be themselves and can feel welcome.”

For many, gaming serves as an avenue for self-exploration, a sentiment oftentimes even more resonant within the LGBTQ+ community. Lippi says that they and many other gamers “absolutely” connect their queerness with their love for gaming.

A group plays Ticket to Ride in the Opal Grove Games gaming space. Courtesy photo

A recent study from GLAAD revealed that 17% of active gamers identify as LGBTQ+, a number expected to rise. The research stated that “particularly for LGBTQ gamers, gaming can not only be an escape and a way to cope, but also an important outlet for self-expression.”

Role-playing games, in particular, allow players to create characters based on different genders and sexual orientations, whether intentionally or not.

“You can put whatever qualities, personality qualities and other qualities on that character that you want,” Gaylord says. “I definitely was able to explore some of those things through those kinds of character-building experiences.”

Within these fantasy realms, individuals find a safe space to have complete control over navigating various aspects of their identities, fostering a sense of community and acceptance within the gaming world.

“I've met a ton of trans or gay or bi folks who have first discovered that about themselves after they built a character who was whatever queer identity relevant to them, and then after enough time playing as that character, they're like, ‘Ohhhh,'” Lippi says. “So, when I was questioning my own identity, I'm like, ‘I'm just gonna do it on purpose and I'm gonna see how it feels.’ That was a very effective way for me to just try out non-binary identity and pronouns and get some real quick answers that I was struggling with.”

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Furthermore, as another way to showcase inclusivity for all, Opal Grove is committed to teaching customers unfamiliar with certain games how to play, as learning and reading the rules can be overwhelming for some.

“A lot of people will feel intimidated and underestimate their own ability to play and enjoy games,” Lippi says. “Games have a language, and so the more you play them, the easier they are to pick up. When you start and you play more, it gets better and easier, so part of our job is to help folks who haven't had as much exposure or experience and we can help sort of translate for them… so that they can get going, get into it and have fun.”

The customers' feelings surrounding the space prove that the owners are successful in their goal of being welcoming while cultivating a space where all can find a home away from home.

“I think Ben and Aisha have done a really good job of creating just an overall general friendly space where everyone can be themselves and everyone is just here for the fun of it and is happy to be there with other people,” Agombar says. “You meet so many different people with so many different stories and so many different interesting things to talk about and everyone is all just united by this shared, welcoming, community space and also the love of the games that we're playing. That store and that community is really something special.”