Arnold couple opening The Feisty Goblin Gamehouse, a tabletop gaming store, in New Kensington

Jim and Christine Radeshak are hoping to roll a natural crit when they open their tabletop gaming store in downtown New Kensington.

The Arnold couple will take advantage of the crowds drawn to the city’s popular Fridays on Fifth to launch The Feisty Goblin Gamehouse. They are planning a soft opening April 28 for the first of this year’s monthly food truck events. They will be open just that day and the following Saturday before a grand opening in time for the second one on May 26, after which they’ll go into their regular hours.

Their storefront at 938 Fifth Ave. is hard to miss, with the facade painted black and the name in large red letters. The interior walls are their goblin mascot colors: purple and green.

For those who don’t know, a natural crit occurs when a player rolls a 20 on an icosahedron — a 20-sided die — in a game such as Dungeons & Dragons.

The Feisty Goblin will feature Dungeons & Dragons, other tabletop games and card games such as Pokemon and Magic the Gathering. They also will have accessories, books, miniatures and, of course, dice.

“There’s something for everyone here,” Christine said.

Married for almost seven years, gaming is something Jim, 46, and Christine, 41, have in common. They each mentioned it in their online dating profiles, and their fourth date was a couple’s game night with his friends.

Christine’s favorite games are “Ticket to Ride” and “Pan Am,” while Jim is into card games like Magic the Gathering.

“Gaming and socializing with friends over a board game is a lot of fun,” Christine said.

Besides being a retail store, The Feisty Goblin will be a place where people can sit and play. They can seat up to 28 at their tables on regular days and up to 40 for tournaments and events.

For a $5 seat charge, customers will get access to a library of games they can try in the store. They also can bring their own games to play.

They plan to offer annual memberships once they figure out pricing.

Jim works in medical billing while Christine is a private tutor.

They started The Feisty Goblin with homemade crafts in 2017, making coasters with comic book images and pixelated art that they sold along with comic books at conventions.

At their first convention, “We made $20 over the cost of being there,” Christine said. “People were nice about what we did.”

They added key chains to their merchandise and traveled to conventions within a five-hour drive of Pittsburgh. When the pandemic happened, Jim said they decided to turn what was a hobby into a business.

“We realized it was a lot bigger part of our income,” Christine said. “It was a lot more successful than we realized.”

While they were driving to December’s Steel City Con in Monroeville, Jim asked Christine if they should open a store in New Kensington, expecting her to say no. He says she said yes.

“I said ‘maybe’ at first,” Christine said. “Let’s look at the cost and how feasible it is and run the numbers.”

They also found interest for a gaming space in New Kensington among those at Steel City Con, especially in light of Mr. Nice Guy Games in Monroeville closing.

“There was a void at that point,” Jim said. “We decided to fill it.”

Wanting to be in the heart of New Kensington’s revitalization, the couple reached out to Olde Towne Overhaul, which showed them three locations. They settled on 938 Fifth Ave., most recently home to Pure Rose Beauty & Art Studio, because it was ready to go. They signed a three-year lease starting March 1.

“It was big enough to start, with an option to expand,” Jim said.

The Radeshaks think there will be an increase in interest in Dungeons & Dragons with the release of the new movie, “Honor Among Thieves,” starring Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Regé-Jean Page. Christine said they saw an uptick in sales of dice when the game was featured on the Netflix series “Stranger Things.”

While such games can be a bit daunting and overwhelming for newcomers, Jim said they hope to bring more casual players in, with Christine saying they will host sessions that will be supportive and friendly for beginners.

“We definitely want to encourage people to learn,” Christine said. “There’s a lot of skills that you learn from board games such as strategizing and long-range planning. It’s great skills for kids to develop and adults to keep active.”