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Three Brothers Games: Honoring the memory of his late brothers, Jeff Randall parlays fun into business


By Maridith Yahl
NKyTribune reporter

“Are you here to have fun?!” Jeff jovially asks everyone entering Three Brothers Games.

Jeff Randall with photo of his brothers.

“We just want to have fun together and enjoy each other’s company,” Jeff says with a smile on his face.

Always a smile on his face, Jeff Randall, owner of Three Brothers Games in Hebron, has just celebrated two years in business.

He named Three Brothers Games to honor the memory of his two passed brothers, Mark and Mike, Jeff has fond memories of the three of them playing games together as children. “I called it Three Brothers so I could bring them along with me,” Jeff warmly shares. He said the name revelation hit him like a lightning bolt. “I miss them so much, but I can bring them along.”

He knows they would be enjoying the store, so it was the perfect way to keep his brothers with him.

At a time when “I was in between jobs, my wife tells me to clean out underneath the stairs while I’m home. I start looking through all my gaming stuff from my teenage years,” and that began the spark for the idea for this store which seems more than just a business.

Many times Jeff refers to Three Brothers as family or home. 

Three Brothers Games gives people of all ages and walks of life a place to get together, socialize, and leave worries behind to enjoy the company and games.

“Maybe the hobby store is the only place now you can go and speak your mind and/or just enjoy each other’s company and not worry about anything else,” Jeff thinks out loud.

Being in the gaming world he has noticed that age, financial situation, social status, and political affiliations just don’t matter. People put those differences aside to play. “They’re enjoying each other’s company and that’s a wonderful thing,” he notices.

“Diversity is wonderful and it just doesn’t matter because you’re just playing games together. I think that actually shows creativity. Everyone who gets into these games learns more about themselves and about others and how everything works. It just explodes their creativity in their minds. When you’re that interested in expanding yourself, you’re not narrow-minded,” Jeff intelligently determines. 

“There’s no one thing that defines anyone,” Jeff says. “I think we still like sitting face-to-face, we still like eating food together. It doesn’t matter if we know each other, but we have a common thing, we’re playing this game.”

He is happy that not only his but all hobby stores have helped foster socialization in a time when we seem to need it and crave it.
The very spacious yet cozy store has a wide range of games from board (Catan; Zombicide), card (Red Dragon Inn), role-playing (Dungeons & Dragons), to tabletop (Gaslands; Warhammer 40K; War Machine). 

“I wanted my store to not be just one game,” Jeff shares, which is why he integrated so many game styles into the store. 

The different game types also each have a wide range of themes, for which his excitement is evident, as the games can reach a wide audience. At the tip of the iceberg are futuristic (Star Wars Legion), medieval and fantasy (War Machines Hoards crosses both realms), and steampunk (Wild West Exodus). Games are based on building resources (7 Wonders) or deception (Ultimate Werewolf where some are not who they seem to be). Finding spies, monsters, wizards, robots, and aliens in a game is no problem. 

Firefly and Doctor Who are examples of TV-show-based games. The movie The Godfather and Ken Follett’s book The Pillars of the Earth illustrate other media types turned game. Games from the past, like Clue and Mysterium, have been modified to have multiple games possible. It is amazing the endless possibilities available to peak your interests.

These are not our childhood games. Using skills including math, analytical, strategizing, and if-then scenarios are common. Painting figures and sets, along with role-playing, bring about creativity and imagination. Crossing the right brain and left brain is an every game occurrence. 

Besides the games themselves, Three Brothers has the needed accessories of cards, dice, figures, sets, and/or paint for sale. Jeff even offers 80 ‘Demo Games’ to check out and play in-store or at home for trial. How exciting it is to be able to explore games at no risk to find the right fit. 

What is also really nice about Three Brothers, are the many tables available to enjoy playing games on, whether it be a game you just purchased or one you brought in. Players game with friends, both old and new. 

There are always events going on at the store, from weekly gaming groups to monthly tournaments.  There are planned game times or show up for a pickup game. Find Three Brothers Games on Facebook or on discord to learn more. 

A lot of passion has been put into making game playing turn into joyous memories at Three Brothers Games. It is truly more than a business; Jeff wants people to have a good time. Once you start talking to him, you will feel like you’ve known him forever and he will become a lifelong friend. 

“I can’t imagine it being any better. I get to hear people laugh all day long,” Jeff says contently.


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