Robert Welch looks so happy. Everyone in his store looks like they’re having fun. Tonight, like most nights, there are close to 25 people sitting around his store playing games.

“It’s like running an aquarium,” Welch says. “People come up to the glass and peer in to see what we’re doing.”

Something unexpected is happening. Board games — from the traditional Monopoly to complex role-playing and fantasy games — are making a resurgence, and gamers are becoming social again.

“Some believe gamers are moving away from computer games, but I don’t believe the two are mutually exclusive,” Welch says. “But I think people are realizing that if you do nothing but sit at the computer all day, there’s something missing.”

Welch’s store, Armchair Adventurer, is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day at Dole Cannery in the building across from the movie theaters. He sells games, models, miniatures and accessories.

“Honestly, there’s nothing in here you can’t get on the Internet,” Welch says. “But what you cannot get online is a community of people to play with.”

Welch, 53, started playing “Dungeons and Dragons” when he was in junior high. “We lived in the San Fernando Valley. I would ride my skateboard to my friend’s house, and we would play all weekend. My parents despaired of my ever doing anything else. I was so captivated by it.”

Welch, a well-spoken, affable man, became a teacher. His longtime love of games brought him to Armchair Adventurer when it was on Kalani Street in Kalihi. When he heard the owner wanted to sell the store, he told his wife, who asked, “You didn’t offer to buy it?”

That was all it took. He bought the store two years ago and moved it to Dole Cannery last year.

The shop is very much a reflection of Welch’s style. It’s clean and bright, open and friendly. “I’m a pretty casual person, so I try to keep it casual.” Welch has a “No Jerk Rule.” So far, though the games can get heated, there has never been a jerk eviction.

His customers are diverse — cops, bankers, actors, pizza delivery guys, high school students. Some come in to decompress after work. Some have jobs in town but live on the west side, so they’ll play games and wait out the Ewa traffic. There are groups of friends who have regular nights where they all get together in the store. There are frequent demos for beginners and tournaments for veterans.

Welch says his business manages to stay in the black, though most of the people sitting in his shop won’t make a purchase that night. “But maybe they’ll buy something another night. Or maybe they’ll tell their friends about it,” he says. He doesn’t charge for table space and doesn’t charge admission for players. There are people who have been coming to his shop for a year who haven’t bought anything. “I just gotta believe that when you create a community, it will come back in a positive way.”

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.