Born from the simple desire to introduce games in the relaxed environment of a pub on Saint-Denis Street in Montreal, Randolph has become 10 years later the main ambassador of Quebec board games. The Press discussed the success of the pioneer of playful bistros in Quebec with its two co-founders, actor Normand D’Amour and his associate Joël Gagnon.
Posted at 5:00 p.m.
It was while playing Miller Zoo — a very recent title by Randolph inspired by the real challenges faced at the zoological park in Beauce — that we met the two men, on the occasion of the evening organized last week to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Randolph, at the Rosemont branch. Not only did the small company create one of the largest gaming ad chains in the world, but it also became the publisher of some of the most popular games in Quebec. And its aims do not stop there, because Randolph has been allied for a little over a year with the French publishing giant Hachette to break into the North American market.
“I think that one of my personal pride is to have contributed to the revival of board games in Quebec, says Joël Gagnon in all humility. Because when I was younger and I worked in a game store, people constantly doubted the advice they were given. But I knew the games had changed. So we thought about strategies that were more striking to convince the world. »
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
The catering offer arrived in the fun pubs somewhat by force of circumstance: “People came to play earlier and earlier, so they came for dinner,” explains co-owner Joël Gagnon. It’s been a bit crazy to organize the kitchens, but now we have a very, very honest catering menu. »
Joël Gagnon’s idea was therefore to offer an entertainment-advice service to customers, while offering them a complete bar offer – the catering service quickly followed. “The Randolph helped a lot in taking the board game and then making it cool,” says Christian Lemay, who founded Scorpion Masqué in 2006 — the publisher, now part of the Randolph group. , is notably behind the success of the game Zombie Kidz.
When it opened, I saw the decor, I said: “If that doesn’t work, nothing will ever work.”
Christian Lemay, editor
Today, Randolph has seven branches, not only in the greater Montreal area, but also in Quebec and Trois-Rivières. This growth was intended to respond to the incredible influx observed at the original Latin Quarter branch, but which was made possible thanks to the development of Randolph’s publishing department, which got off to a flying start with the creation of L’osti d’jeu , a Quebec adaptation of Cards Against Humanity. “That, here, is because of L’osti d’jeu,” Normand D’Amour tells us, showing the facilities of the vast Rosemont branch. We sold nearly 300,000 units of the game. It’s a phenomenal success, that’s for sure. »
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
The Randolph group now has seven branches as well as a shop where you can find a wide selection of board games of all kinds.
“Five years ago, L’osti d’jeu was much more popular than Randolph,” adds Joël Gagnon, laughing. But at the start, we didn’t have a plan, it’s just that we realized that we had to do it because our customers were crazy. We received the first boxes, it sold out in less than a month! It was therefore necessary to set up a distribution service. So we had to structure ourselves quickly, but when we did our second game, Jokes de papa, we were ready. »
Quebec specificity
Randolph’s wish now is to make Montreal a real center for board games. “It’s my desire to promote the uniqueness of Quebec,” insists the young entrepreneur. Quebecers are fundamentally a people of party, our tradition of playing during the holiday season, is not something universal. The vibes of party that we have here gives us an advantage to create more social games. You have to convey that in the atmosphere, so that the pleasure is there around the table. »
With its merger with Scorpion Masqué and its participation in Hachette Boardgames US, Randolph is giving itself the means to distribute its creations all over the world. Indeed, the company sees itself more and more as a distributor of creation. Joël Gagnon, who studied cinema, precisely draws a parallel with the seventh art: “When I started to take an interest in the creators of games, in their creative intentions, I realized that what I was experiencing around of the table was not a coincidence, it was planned by the author, he says with passion. It’s like in the cinema, where you script a film to bring emotions to the viewers. Well, the same thing happens in games! »