OTT , from Page 1 came about after sitting at kitchen tables playing board games and wanted to extend their interest into a safe haven for those who want to play .
“ This just gives people , if they don ’ t have the friends and family locally to play board games , they can always come here and join up with other people and socialize and get to know people ,” Ben Ott
One Sindoni Lane , Suite C , Hammonton ( 609 ) 270-7886 • www . meadowsbridalshop . com
said .
In addition to renting out games and playing it , they are also looking to build a retail area . They are trying to get the community interested in gaming and get people used to the idea of it .
“ We can play games at night and then we want to have a retail space . We already sell magic cards , Pokemon cards and Dungeons and Dragons books ,”
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Laurie Ott said .
“ Eventually we ’ re going to have games for sale , play mats for sale , dice and installed accessories so it ’ s like a gift-giving opportunity as well as just a place to hang out ,” Laurie Ott said .
The idea for Cardboard Arena was brewing for a few years as they thought it was cool to partner with the idea of socializing with people and playing board games but that came with some minor obstacles .
“ Everytime , it ’ s like well , you have to find other people to play with , you have to decide whose house you ’ re going to , you have to clean because people are coming over and ordering food and all that stuff ,” Ben Ott said .
They both thought of adding elements of gaming but given the current state of electronics dominating society , they felt that there ’ s enough electronics in the world that it should be a place that “ don ’ t have screens .”
“ Just for one night or a couple hours , I don ’ t want TV ’ s up , I don ’ t want video games on the wall , I don ’ t even want to be watching a show or be on my phone ,” Ben Ott said .
That also meant no baseball , even including the playoffs . It would defeat the purpose as they wanted people to let go of the outside world for a few hours and
Wednesday , December 7 , 2022 • The Hammonton Gazette • Page 3
Cardboard Arena created for people who love board games
THG / Mohammed Fuad . To purchase photos in The Gazette , call ( 609 ) 704-1940 .
Laurie and Ben Ott are now operating Cardboard Arena for those who love board games .
detach themselves from what ’ s going on , sort of like an escape .
“ Somebody asked one day about putting the Phillies game on and we were like no , we ’ re not starting that precedent ,” Laurie Ott said .
They currently don ’ t have a set hours of operation as they are surveying the people that come in and play and see what is the best time for the community . As of now , they are rotating game night schedules on Thursday , Friday and Saturday nights and trying to figure out when they ’ re getting the best attendance and traction . Currently , their goal is to open a few nights a week but as of now , it ’ s once a week .
They are hosting an open play game night and a special event where they ’ re going to teach some of the games they have in the venue . For a fee , people are invited to learn how to play Pokemon and are given a deck of cards , board and a snack . They are trying to break the barrier for
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