Mother-and-son team Laura Bakin, right, and Rudy Bakin sit at the large table for role-playing games in their new business. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — At 400 South Princess Street, a new business is being brought to life by mother-and-son team Laura Bakin and Rudy Bakin.

The pair opened up their board game and card game-centered business, Game Knights, at the end of December, and held their soft opening at the beginning of January. Currently, the business is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 12-8 p.m.; on Fridays and Saturdays, from 12-9 p.m.; and on Sundays, from 12-6 p.m.

The inspiration behind the business’ name came from a family brainstorming session, according to Laura.

“I sat in a room with my mother and son and his fiance, and we threw out name ideas. Game Knights was the one that best captured the theme that we were going for here,” Laura said. “We kind of wanted to lean into the whole medieval knights theme.”

And that theme can be seen throughout the space, from the chess knight emblem on the sign hanging above the business’ front door to the woven tapestry of a unicorn on the game room’s back wall.

The Game Knights game room is intended to serve as a third place for those who love playing board and card games. Tabitha Johnston

“We’re trying to be our own thing and not necessarily milk off of places that are already around,” Laura said, noting that they are doing their best to keep their business focused on family-friendly games, to avoid stepping on the toes of other hobby stores in the area.

One hobby store, located in Martinsburg, is focused on war gaming. Another hobby store, located in Charles Town, is focused on models.

“There’s plenty of hobbies to go around!” Laura said. “I didn’t want to open something that was already available, but there seemed to be a bit of a void here for a space like this.”

Rudy, who is serving as Game Knight’s manager, said they are endeavoring to fill that untapped area.

“There used to be a huge centerpoint in the town, called Beyond Comics, where everybody could go in and play games and have a place to buy games. That vanished after about three years — they were open for no time at all!” Rudy said. “I’ve always wished they were still here and we’ve heard a lot of other people say the same thing.”

Game Knights is located at 400 South Princess Street in Shepherdstown. Tabitha Johnston

He described Game Knights’ purpose as being a third space for community members to enjoy playing games together.

“There’s no third place in Shepherdstown — you’ve got work, you’ve got home — there’s no real place to just hang out here, outside of a bar,” Rudy said.

His mother agreed and noted that she has heard many people speaking about this issue.

“I’ve heard this talked about by parents of teens a lot, as well as by teens and young adults. They’re often saying, ‘There’s nothing to do here!'” Laura said, noting the only place she was aware of in town that met that need was the Shepherd University Games Zone, which is not free. “I’ve heard that spoken about a lot, and that really resonated with me. We hope this will fill that need.”

For many years, Laura has been deeply connected with the local community, through her work running a nonprofit theater program in town. She closed that program in 2024 but, soon after, found herself missing one particular aspect of it.

“A couple of weeks after I retired, I realized how much I missed everyone!” Laura said.

And so, she decided she needed to get back involved with the community by opening a business, centered around her family’s love for games.

“It was kind of scary, for me, when we talked about opening one ourselves. The idea of opening a retail space really concerned, because everybody turns to Amazon for everything!” Laura said, mentioning that she believes the business is more likely to flourish in Shepherdstown than anywhere else in the area. “Shepherdstown’s very supportive of small businesses.”

She noted that playing in the game room is free, outside of the roleplaying game table. Community members can bring their own game, borrow a game from the game room shelves or buy a game from Game Knights’ store. Both the game room and the roleplaying game table can be reserved for use by private parties.

A number of events are going to be regularly held at Game Knights, which will be advertised on the business Facebook page. Once a month, a game night will be held, to teach a different game to attendees. Special events like murder mystery interactive games and escape rooms will be held in the game room a few times throughout the year. And, for those who want to get out-and-about the town but still have fun, Game Knights will have scavenger hunts available for them to play.

“We hope to be a place that people can come, if they just want something new to play or if they’re looking for an unusual gift for somebody,” Laura said. “I’d love to be that place, where people know they can come and finding something special!”