‘Freakopolis’ a ‘destination’ for geeks

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Freakopolis Geekery is gearing up for its fifth anniversary of being a part of the Whitehall community on Aug. 14. For people who may not know, TJ and Ian Rollins sit at the front of the store in their custom Freakopolis director chairs, waiting for not only their regulars, but also prospective customers.

“We opened after buying the building in and tons of renovations in 2016, I believe it was Aug. 12, and we’ve been here ever since,” TJ said.

The shop is comprised of table-top games as well as comic books galore. While there are two pinball machines, the Rollins brothers keep the shop focused on games and comics.

“No digital much of anything,” Ian said. “We love video games, but this was very much built around getting to the table with friends and family,” TJ added.

The shop may include comic books and table-top games, but the Rollins brothers are also advent Dungeons and Dragons, also known as D&D, players. Dungeons and Dragons is a table-top campaign-style create your own adventure roleplaying game. The game took off in the early 1980s and has become well-known among newer generations. The brothers turned to an online version of the game during COVID.

“We ran online games, digital table-top games, which involves all the aspects of maps and die rolling but you’re doing it through a digital medium which is not quite the same with miniatures in person and being able to express your character and act and stuff. But, crazily enough, we’ve had people from Scotland playing with us,” Ian said. “Yeah, for the past year there were a couple guys from Scotland and it’s the middle of the night for them,” TJ added.

Feakopolis Geekery’s large comic section

As for the oddity of a comic book shop in a small town, it had become aware to the brothers that the shop would need to become ‘a destination.”

“We knew we had to be a destination, and I think we have pretty solidly become that. A lot of people with camps in Lake George and Huletts (Bay) come here a couple times a month. We have people that are coming from Saratoga, Fort Henry, and Killington. You know, it’s like we have a solid 45-mile radius that draws regulars and people that come if not every week, every month,” TJ said. “But of course, the in-store gaming has been sorely missed during COVID. That was a big element in the business for the first few years and then to have that drop off was pretty painful, given that the community was so close,” Ian followed.

As for the brothers, their inspiration for the love of table-top games and comics stems from their family.

“Well, it’s thanks to our dad. He’s been reading comics since he was a child and playing D&D since it came out!” TJ laughed. “As soon as we could hold a die, I think it was engrained in us. I remember being five and playing in a group and then I’d be sent to bed and somebody else would play my character.”

“Some of my earliest memories are with TJ and my father,” Ian said.

The brothers have started to plan the month of July with different events once a week. Their Junior Dungeons and Dragons group will be starting back up along with a league for Pokémon.

“D&D, Pokémon, Magic the Gathering, other board games and other table-top stuff. We’ve just been continuing to draw other people from different regions to come and get their geeky fix,” TJ said.