Situated along Shelby St. on Indy’s Old Southside is the city’s newest gaming and hobby shop, Elf ‘N Moon. The store is co-owned by John Rantanen, an Air Force veteran, and Scott Wooldridge, a Marine Corps veteran, and officially opened to the community in March 2024.
The shop’s offerings include a variety of games, including table top and role playing games. It also has a selection of drinks, snacks and beer and wine for purchase.
“We have everything from table top games to just regular board games,” says John Rantanen, co-owner of Elf ‘N Moon. “We have party games like Cards Against Humanity, UNO, Exploding Kittens, real simple party games like that. We have role playing games, which is our bread and butter. That would include things like Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder. There’s so many it would be hard to list most of them.”
The idea for Rantanen and Wooldridge to open their own gaming and hobby shop came about out of a desire to build more of a community around games and to provide a welcoming and fun environment for other hobbyists to hang out at. Rantanen describes “growing up as a young nerd” for all things Star Wars, Marvel, and Dungeons and Dragons.
Rantanen drew a lot of decor inspiration from his time working as a chef in various restaurants around Indianapolis, and “took a restaurant vibe mentality to the game store.”
“There’s Edison bulb lighting, there’s a certain ambiance to the place when you walk through the door,” he said. “It’s welcoming, there are plenty of places to sit. Everything has been hand–built in the store. The idea is to make it comfortable, inviting, warm and not the sterile game store that most people are used to.”
1354 Shelby St., Suite A, Indianapolis| elfnmoon.com
