Anna Schwulst/The Falcon A group of SPU students huddle around “Shadows Over Camelot,” a board game available to play and purchase at Blue Highway Games, located on Queen Anne Avenue North. Blue Highway specializes in sales of lesser-known board and card games.

Nestled in among a multitude of coffee and tea shops on Queen Anne Avenue North, Blue Highway Games is one of those places that doesn't grab your attention right away, but when it does, you're in for a delightful surprise.

Open since July 2007, Blue Highway is wholly devoted to non-electronic gaming and carries almost every board game and card game imaginable. With over 1,000 different games in the store, the options are endless.

It's a bright little shop with a colorful aura, funky lamps that create a light, fun atmosphere and a friendly staff. What gives Blue Highway a twist on your average game store however, is what is known as "the loft."

Laid out with a plush couch, a few select floor lamps and tables at the rear of the store with more table space in the upstairs area, Blue Highway gives people the opportunity to bond, strategize and laugh over a host of board and card games for free.

According to co-owner Scott Cooper, the basic idea is to provide a place for people to go and "choose from our library of games so you can try it out and see what you like."

Choose anything from undying classics, such as Monopoly, Scrabble and Clue, to new hits, such as Settlers of Catan, Barista, the Age of Empires board game (based on the popular PC game series) and any number of other games.

Seating about 40 people, the gaming loft is also accommodating.

If you're going with a large group of people, the card game Werewolves is just the ticket. With its foundation in the age-old game Mafia, Werewolves adds characters, new rules and new strategizing opportunities to the game and is fun for more people.

Blue Highway Games 2203 Queen Anne Ave. N. Monday through Thursday: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday: 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. http://bluehighwaygames.com

Owners Cooper and Brian Bennink are passionate about their games.

As former video game developers for Microsoft, both Cooper and Bennink have hands-on experience in developing and creating games. Bennink, in fact, was on the team that put together the original Age of Empires, and Cooper worked with Tetris-creator Alexey Pajitnov on the Microsoft puzzle game Pandora's Box.

Cooper attributes their knowledge of games to the electronic game industry. During their time as developers, they discovered a lot of "great games for kids and family that aren't getting exposure."

This is basically the aim of the store: "To help introduce games to everyday people," Cooper said.

He said that he and Bennink were aware that there are many game shops that cater to specific age groups, but that they were very interested in starting up a store that would accommodate anyone.

For this reason, Queen Anne was the place to be. Originally from Redmond, Wash., Bennink and Cooper "looked at a lot of different neighborhoods," Cooper said. Queen Anne, however, "had the best combination of...small independent industries" and it "is in walking range of a lot of people and has easy access."

Playing games at Blue Highway is also a way to get people to sit around a table and have a good time without spending hours in front of a computer screen.

"The interaction is real," freshman Zach McNay said after experiencing the game room for himself. "It's fun. You can play for free, take groups of people, and it encourages community."

On top of that, the free game area works as an advertising strategy.

Freshman Brent Miles, who has frequented Blue Highway in the last few weeks, said that hands-on experience with the products lets people get an idea for what they like and be more likely to buy them.

"As a business and a community-building operation, it works," Miles said.

Blue Highway also gets around the problem of student budgets.

"There are not many places you can go to for free entertainment anymore," Miles said.

Cooper said that, in order to "keep it as accessible as possible and for games to become a bigger part of our culture," there shouldn't be a cost involved.

Lately, more and more SPU students are taking notice.

"I definitely feel it provides the perfect atmosphere for a refreshing and enjoyable social outing," freshman Evan Dull said.

"I think it's getting popular...Fridays and Saturdays are pretty full and [there are] always a few SPU kids around," Miles said.

Tim Linnemann, an employee at Blue Highway, said that prime game nights happen "mostly on Friday and Saturday nights" and involve "mostly people from the neighborhood, though SPU kids are kind of a mainstay, too."

There are also "college nights" that happen every Friday until 11 p.m. (though, these are not confined to college students). On these nights, a 10 percent discount off any product is available to students with ID cards.

Saturday nights are more like learning nights, as more staff members are on hand to help teach players and recommend new games.

The staff is "personable, knowledgeable and hilarious," freshman Hannah McMillan said.

McNay added that they're great because "they let you be loud."

"Blue Highway is a really unique way to get off campus and spend quality times with friends," McMillan said. "Every time I go, I find something new and engaging."

Starting later this month, Cooper said, the store plans to have specialized evenings focusing on specific games such as cribbage, scrabble, chess and backgammon.