Imp-ville

Since November, Kenneth Camel has been giving Reno nerds a land all their own. His “electronic hobby and retail establishment” Fledglin’ Imp is located at 1185 California Ave., Suite #1, and it offers gamers, i.e., Dungeons and Dragon-ers, a place to enjoy their activities with others who share the same interests. For more information, call 323-4499 or visit fledglinimp.com.

Why did you decide to open the Fledglin’ Imp?

We wanted to start a place where kids can come and have fun, and we wanted to start our own business, be our own bosses. We did research around the country, and we picked Reno. We did it for the demographics. We didn’t want a real large community. We wanted a medium-sized community, and we wanted one that would have the right demographics. We were looking for males 15-35, that was our primary target. Reno seemed to have a good mix of that.

So you think there are enough nerds in Reno to keep you in business?

Uh huh.

What’s the most popular event?

There are really three big events that we do. Halo is one, Dungeons and Dragons is the second, and the third is Magic. Halo is a first-person shooter for Xbox, and we run tournaments where they play against each other or in teams. We record the shots, and then we give points for deaths and kills and assists. The winner gets a prize. Dungeons and Dragons is a game where they role-play in different areas. We run a number of different regional games as well as local games during the week. And then Magic is a card game, and we run tournaments throughout the week.

What do you think is the appeal of these games?

The games are a competition as well as a thought perspective because they require strategy and tactics for the win. There’s a lot more thinking involved in it. From that perspective, I think they’re thinking games, but they’re also teaching games.

Why did you name your business the Fledglin’ Imp?

Well, it’s a long story. My daughter used to write stories on the Internet, and she always used the name fledgling imp as her tavern that she put in her stories. So we took that as our name.

What kind of prizes can be won?

Primarily we use gift certificates, so the winners can win the gift certificate and then they can take the gifts from our product line, which support all the hobbies, whether they be miniatures, or card games, or video games, or books, and table-top games.

I read you sell collectables such as Creepy Freaks. What are Creepy Freaks?

Creepy Freaks are miniatures very similar to a lot of other ones like HeroClix and MLB (Major League Baseball). It comes from WizKids, and they’re just collectables. The Creepy Freaks are more kind of … creepy I guess.