WATERLOO -- Marc Quaglia is the man with the board game plan who has been helping customers find the perfect game based on their specific interests.

The former rocket scientist took his passion past go and made it a career in 2017 at J&J Cards and Collectibles Ltd. In Waterloo.

“When I realized rocket science just wasn’t the most exciting thing on Earth, I was looking for new opportunities,” said Quaglia. “I had been coming to this store for years, the owners Jason and Jim posted a job, and I just jumped all over that. I managed to impress them and the rest is kind of history.”

Quaglia helps customers siphon through thousands of options based off of just a few interests or if they’re looking for a suggestion.

“Marc definitely has the depth of almost everything we carry and everybody loves him,” said co-owner Justin Schill. “Customers love talking to him, they have a great time, and he really knows his stuff.”

Quaglia credits his knowledge of board games to exposure and says he has played about 70 per cent of the store’s collection.

“We all have hobbies, mine happens to be to play a lot of board games,” he said. “There’s no such thing as a perfect game and there’s no such thing as a game everybody will love, but there are a lot of games that are good kind of touchstones, things that make it really easy to get into the hobby or are really engaging.”

Games at J&J Cards and Collectibles tend to range from 15 minutes to complete to a few hours.

“I feel like whenever I walk in here, I don’t actually shop I just find Marc and say ‘hey here’s what I’m looking for, whatever you think is awesome I will love,” said board game enthusiast Melanie Kloet.

Another board game enthusiast Andre Reynolds adds that it’s nice having someone that can reflect the same emotions and excitement he has.

“Just knowing that I can talk to him, it’s just that feedback and that bounce back and forth,” he said. “It’s amazing to have somebody else that you know loves it as much as you do.”