Keeping the tradition of board games alive in Appleton

Rich Palzewic

Staff

December 15, 2025

APPLETON – Wanting to enrich the Appleton community one board game at a time, Mandy Sternhagen said she and her husband, Jeremy, purchased the former Boardlandia at 792 W. Northland Ave.

Now the home of Slick Mimic’s Board & Card Games Shoppe, Sternhagen said the store’s rebrand marks a “fresh start” and reflects the new chapter they hope to build together.

“I’m a former Boardlandia employee who decided to purchase and rebrand the business,” she said. “We purchased the brick-and-mortar space at the end of July and changed the name to ‘Slick Mimic’s’ at the end of August. Though we are in the former Boardlandia space, we are no longer affiliated with Boardlandia.”

Sternhagen said if the last few months are any indication, she’s excited for what’s to come.

“We’ve had a lot of great feedback – things are going great,” she said. “We’re growing into the space and enjoying our new name. We’re building it into something we’re all super proud of.”

Elizabeth Pralat, community outreach coordinator at Slick Mimic’s, said she’s also seen how well the space is being received.

“As I’m getting out into the community more and doing more events, we’re seeing that reflected back and people [are] coming in because we have a huge play space,” she said. “Once people know they can simply come in and get a game from the library and play without any charge, they feel good about being a part of a community – it’s a nice build that’s starting to take shape.”

Sternhagen said folks can also bring in their own games to Slick Mimic’s to play.

“You can also bring in your own snacks or a pizza if you want,” she laughed. “It’s really just an open community space.”

Though she hadn’t intended to go into business ownership, Sternhagen said she knew that the former Boardlandia space would be lost if someone didn’t step in to buy it.

“We bought it and have run with it,” she said.

For the most part, Sternhagen said they have kept things similar to Boardlandia, while also implementing their own vision for the store.

“The neatest thing about Boardlandia is that it attracted the best people,” she said. “The staff was incredible and are people you want to work with forever.”

Sternhagen said Boardlandia had a presence in the Appleton area going back about eight years.

“It moved around quite a bit over the years but [has been] in the Northland Avenue location since last year,” she said. “I think we’re known for our great customer service and knowledge of games.”

Pralat said since Sternhagen has taken over, she’s given the staff the liberty to find out how they can best serve the area.

“From the start, Mandy wanted to do more in the community and help the community out in various ways,” she said. “Now that she’s taken over, we’ve been allowed to do that.”

As society becomes increasingly reliant on technology, media and smartphones, Sternhagen said spaces like Slick Mimic’s are more important than ever.

“You might hate games or playing games with others, but if you walk into Slick Mimic’s, there is a game for you, and we can help you find it,” she said. “One of my favorite things to do is the family game nights at school or community game nights out. Families, especially those struggling with poverty, find it harder to find time together. To provide those opportunities where they can come together and find a moment of joy as a family is important.”

Sternhagen said the former Boardlandia space was “in pretty good shape,” but she and the staff have made some small improvements.

“We had to put up a new sign, which was a huge expense, but mostly it’s been little improvements,” she said. “The building did not require repair, so much as improvements that we’re slowly making as our budget allows.”

What’s offered?

In terms of selection, Sternhagen said Slick Mimic’s boasts one of the largest game libraries in Appleton.

“I think the neat thing about Slick Mimic’s is that customers can come in and try a game before they decide to buy it,” she said. “We’ve all been there – bought a game because it looked cool or fun and then it didn’t live up to expectations. Why invest money into a game you haven’t played before? This takes the risk out of buying before playing.”

From the classics to deep strategy, party favorites and “hidden gems,” Sternhagen said Slick Mimic’s selection of games is extensive.

“We also have accessories like card sleeves, dice, mats, organizers and more,” she said.

In total, Sternhagen said the space is 8,000 square feet and can easily seat 88 – “but we can expand that.”

“We have a puzzle section, cooperative games, role-playing games, etc.,” she said. “People can also sell used games on consignment. Most of that 8,000 square feet is retail space, but there is plenty of room for customers to try out games.”

Sternhagen said the shop also hosts events like Friday Night Magic, Pokémon, Star Wars Unlimited, Board Game League, Speed Puzzling and more.

“Some of those special events have a small fee, but that’s only to offset some of the costs of prizes,” she said. “For the most part, people just come in and play games for free.”

Community give-back

Both Pralat and Sternhagen said their favorite part of the job is working with the community and finding meaningful ways to give back.

“We are a business, so we do need to make money to pay our employees and keep the lights on, but in my opinion, the most important function – or at least my favorite part – of our business is our community involvement,” Sternhagen said. “It’s important we are there for the community.”

A recent example of community involvement, Pralat said, came in working with Edison Elementary School in Appleton.

“We did a fundraiser for Edison Elementary earlier in the year, and then recently, the school held its staff meeting here and had an evening of playing games,” she said. “I’ve been having game camps and [organized] a D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) club with one of the aftercare Boys and Girls Club programs as well.”

Pralat said the staff at Slick Mimic’s is also trained to recognize when community members may be experiencing a crisis.

“We have community resources for people who need a little extra support, because that’s very important to us,” she said. “The staff understands if someone comes in in crisis, who to direct them to or how best we can help them.”

In a recent social media post, Slick Mimic’s announced it sponsored two families from Badger Elementary School in Appleton for its first annual Giving Tree. 

Donors who contributed new items earned a 10% off voucher and a chance to win a $250 Slick Mimic’s gift card.

For store hours and more information on Slick Mimic’s, visit the aforementioned Facebook page or navigate to slickmimics.com.