POULSBO — For three fantasy gamers in Poulsbo, life isn’t so much a box of chocolates.

It’s more like a box of Dungeons & Dragons game pieces.

“It’s hard to go home,” said Brandon Schultz, owner of the new Gryphon Gaming on Viking Way. “Our hours are 9 to 9 , but we’ve been staying here until midnight.”

Schultz, 26, opened Gryphon Gaming just two weeks ago, alongside the shop’s Lead Supervisor Jeremy Phillips and Tournament Coordinator Brandon Krouse.

(And store security pug Kaida, who’s black, round and roughly the size of a bread box.)

The business partners are now embattled, huddled around a blue-felted table, trying to escape an angry legion in the board game “Zombies!!!”

For the trio, fighting off the living dead is all in a day’s work.

“We’re just local guys who decided to start a gaming store,” Schultz said, foregoing a turn and another attempt at reaching the safety of a heliport.

The idea of starting a gaming business seeded in Schultz’s mind more than a year ago. Formerly a computer and printer technician, he first planned to run an online computer gaming store, but the idea evolved, eventually leaving PC playing behind for a mishmash of video, card, table and hobby games.

“It’s funny, computers were the first to get booted when we found out how much money we had. The original idea was the first to go,” he said.

After months of business model development, studying and trying to get their hands on a business loan, Schultz & Co. created a store they say is completely user-friendly — and they’d know. When asked if they consider themselves gamers, if the products they sell are the same products they use to play, a litany of gamespeak ensues.

“The NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) came out in ’86 and I was hooked from there,” Phillips said.

“We had Pong and everything from there,” Krouse chimed in, calling back to one of the first ever arcade games.

“We tried to create somewhere for people to come and hang out,” Schultz said. “It was hard to find work and we just thought, ‘let’s do something we like to do, and give other people something to do.’ They don’t necessarily have to spend a lot of money here.”

At Gryphon Gaming, customers can get their hands on new and used video games — which they can try out in the store before they — in one of the shop’s rentable gaming rooms, set up with screens and comfy seating for buyers in search of a new avatar and challenge. The shop offers a trade-in policy, along with a smattering of board games customers can play in-house. They can bring in a group of friends and game of their own and play on one of the playing tables for free.

They hosts gaming tournaments, and offer the gamut of what’s popular, from mythic fantasy Warhammer to ear bending Guitar Hero. They also sell fantasy art and collectibles, and will sport local student art on the shop’s walls.

Phillips, a former painter, Krouse, a former delivery driver, and Schultz pause from their game a moment on a Tuesday afternoon, pondering the new look their careers have taken. A half-eaten box of pizza sits on the counter and a few friends and family members have joined in on “Zombies!!!” Phillips provides color commentary on each of their moves, while Krouse sits more quietly, emanating strategy.

Schultz lets a chuckle escape.

“Usually on your day off is when you play games,” he said.

And playing is no substitution for the hard work they’ve clocked in — enough to give their store a lasting effect in a down economy, just like a shrimp boat surviving the stormy slams of a hurricane.

“We’ll be the one that stands,” said Phillips. “It’s the “Forrest Gump” treatment. This is our ‘Jenny.'”

For more information, check out www.gryphongaming.net.