Poulsbo business owner Claire Hardison is known as a “tinkerer” when it comes to video games—whether it’s a console from the 1990s that needs a complete overhaul or a quick fix to a new game.

“I do a lot of maintenance and repairs on older games and machines to get them working again, or to upgrade them in some way, like putting a backlit screen in a GameBoy Color or replacing capacitors on a GameCube’s laser to get it to read disks again,” said Hardison, owner and sole employee of DreamQuest Games.

Recently, she repaired an “absolutely disgusting Sega Genesis and brought it back to working order for someone to enjoy. I’ve learned a lot about these things and how they work over the years, so I can help people troubleshoot their issues.”

The storefront opened last July. Hardison co-owned a similar business in Silverdale before that.

“It’s a passion of mine to spread the joy of classic games and making sure they’re enjoyable for years to come,” she said. “Personally, I’m just an enthusiast and a little bit of a collector. Games are my life and always have been.”

The business offers a variety of video games from the 1970s through today. Hardison buys games for cash, and customers can trade in old games for store credit to buy something else. Every game and console is cleaned, cartridge save batteries are replaced, and disks have scratches removed before they make it to the shelf for sale.

Also offered are services for people who want to enjoy their older games again, and there are video solutions available to help their older machines look better on modern TVs, per Hardison. “I’ve got a wide variety of dedicated HDMI cords for older machines and lots of controller options to modernize or replace the originals, such as wireless controllers for the original Nintendo.

Gamers also can have fun there. “There’s also a couple of arcade machines and demo stations for people to play,” she said.

Most games and consoles at the store are used but Hardison said new accessories such as games for Switch, PlayStation and Xbox, wireless controllers, HDMI cables and cleaning supplies are also offered.

She said Nintendo 64 and GameCube games are “always in high demand,” as well as some of the older Pokemon titles. “The nature of being reliant on trade-ins for things like that means that I rarely have them in stock, and when I do, they’re gone in a flash,” she said.

Hardison said most customers range in age from late 20s to late 40s, adding teenagers come in once in a while for Nintendo Switch games, a newer handheld game console.

“Kids today are growing up in a mostly digital world and less and less of them seem to have any attachment to owning the real games, but there’s some who have an affinity for the older stuff,” she said.

Business has been “alright” since opening, Hardison said, adding it hasn’t been enough to justify hiring additional employees. She said a remodel to the store is being worked on to add trading card games.

“I’m going to have tables so people will have a place to play,” she said. I’m also hoping to get more arcade games in the future.”

A Sega Genesis console with a controller and game.

A Nintendo DS with a variety of games.