Toying around

Deepa Bharath

Quite a few Costa Mesa kids know Joanne Shields.

Or at least they recognize her store -- Village Toy Shop on

Newport Boulevard -- as the one-stop source for Yu-Gi-Oh cards, a

game based on a Japanese animation series.

“Pokemon is dead,” says Shields. “Yu-Gi-Oh is the new thing.”

The story has it that Yugi, and his best buds, Joey, Tristan and

Tea share a love for a game called Duel Monsters. It’s a card game in

which players pit different mystical creatures against one another in

wild duels using monsters and mighty spell cards. To put it simply,

it’s the latest craze.

And Shields knows it. She has owned the local toy store for a

little more than three years now and knows it’ll have to offer

something kids will not find in Toys R Us, KB Toys or any other chain

store. So she started hosting these Yu-Gi-Oh card games in her

750-square-foot store.

“It’s not cost-effective for me to compete with the big stores,”

Shields said. “So I try and sell what’s hot and what people are

looking for.”

So she sells Beanie Babies and conducts Yu-Gi-Oh and other similar

card tournaments several nights a week. And most of the sessions are

packed.

“Yu-Gi-Oh is the most popular game,” Shields says. “But we also

host other tournaments like Mech Warrior and Hero Clix.”

The prizes are $15, $10 and $5 store credits with which players

can buy more card packs. The cards cost between $3 and $4 a pack.

“Sometimes, I get action figures from the manufacturer that cannot

be bought from any store,” she said. “You can get them only by

playing and winning tournaments. Some of those go for $50 on eBay.”

Many times, her little shop floor gets overcrowded.

“Most days, kids are hanging out after school,” she says. “But on

a tournament night, I could have at least 45 kids here.”

It’s not just kids who are interested in tournaments. There are

several people in their 30s and even 50s who are attracted to the

pastime, Shields says.

“But kids really enjoy it,” she said. “There’s a lot of thinking

and strategy involved in these games. You need math skills, too.”

Shields says her business is mixed with a lot of pleasure.

“It’s not all that profitable,” she says. “But I enjoy meeting the

kids in this community. I’ve watched many of them grow. It’s been

interesting.”