All The Problems In This World
We head to Germany to check in with Jan Utecht, owner of Berlin game/art/dungeon synth emporium All The Problems In This World
Roleplaying Games
Opened in 2021, Berlin’s All The Problems In This World quickly established itself as our go-to shop in the EU for everything from indie RPGs and comics to esoteric art and dungeon synth tapes. Intrigued as to who was posting the parcels that keep turning up at our office we caught up with the store’s owner, Jan Utecht, to find out more...
Hi Jan, All The Problems In This World has a pretty eclectic inventory, how would you describe the shop?
Since I opened the store I’ve been asking myself how to wrap that into one sentence. So behold, maybe the most unpoetic line in the history of Wyrd Science: All The Problems In This World is an owner-managed small business, brick and mortar retail store in Berlin and online (shipping world-wide), importing a selected range of English language indie and small press fantasy role-playing games, comics & graphic novels, art books and dungeon synth.
Because since forever most people equate comics, and maybe even roleplaying games, with kids I feel it’s also important to point out that ATPITW sells titles for players/readers with a certain life experience only.
Why was it important to open a physical shop?
I believe in culture and I believe that retail done well equals culture. Owner managed stores, small businesses, shops with a face. Just by looking at 90% of the shop fronts these days I could start to cry. They all look the same, uninspired, generic and just in very bad taste, if any taste at all. And today's game shops are among the worst! At the same time the indie and self-publishing scene is stronger and more inspiring then ever. This is where I saw my chance.
On top of that Berlin is a city that attracts people from all over the world, and it is a city with a certain atmosphere and history that I think needed a store like All The Problems In This World. I honestly wanted to give this city something back, it’s given me so much in the 20 years I’ve lived here, and that something is one of those very special little stores that every big city used to have, but which are rarer and rarer today.
Is there much of a community around the store yet?
Unfortunately I have to say no, not yet. I didn’t know any gamers in Berlin until I started the store, and my group resides in the countryside where we grew up. Another reason is that I have two kids, and as much as I love my work, I love my kids too. So there is never much time to organize or just do something outside daily business. Which is a shame, because after two years it becomes frustrating, but I believe in another two or three years I will be able to focus a lot more on community building.
Another important point is, of course, the shop only sells English games, and most Germans play German games or editions. The English scene in Berlin is pretty small and loose, and the only reason I can run a store for such niche products is that the store attracts mostly people who visit the city. It was always my goal to make it a destination point for everyone who can not afford to order from the UK, US, South America or Asia. Unfortunately I’ve only stocked one book from Africa so far.
But Berlin could become a great city for gamers! All it needs is one or two dedicated people with the right mindset. There are bars that would be happy to host monthly gaming events. Customers keep asking me if I do workshops, or where they can find other players, learn how to play etc. So there is a lot of potential, and more and more interest.
Had you any previous experience working in the industry?
No. Not at all. I’ve been playing the same RPG (The Dark Eye/Das Schwarze Auge) since I was a teenager with the same close group of friends. We very much stayed inside our bubble and never crawled out. Never drove to conventions or even visited any game stores on a regular basis. Until I had the idea for ATPITW I hadn’t even thought of working in the industry. I just jumped into the cold water because I was convinced I had to do this!
What’s been the highlight of running the shop so far?
Highlight is definitely the excited customers that come into the store. I get so much positive feedback for what I’ve built and everybody is just very nice! Which I anticipated a little bit, because one of the most important things for me to decide whether I wanted to run a brick & mortar store or not was to ask myself if I wanted to deal day to day with the kind of customers the store would attract? And I figured that I will attract all kinds of people, and I liked that a lot.
And the hardest thing you’ve had to deal with?
Hmm… Dealing with UPS or DHL can be hard, they are so big that they just don’t care. It’s exhausting and time consuming and involved a lot of trial and error in the beginning. The toughest thing to deal with though is myself. I have certain qualities that are very good for this job, but others that are not, ahahah.
What have been the biggest sellers since you opened?
That must be Mörk Borg. Thousand Year Old Vampire and Vaults Of Vaarn sell well too but everything Mörk Borg is very popular. In general a lot of people ask for rules-lite systems. Not necessarily OSR, but because them or their friends are impatient and lazy, haha. Troika! also sells pretty well.
What you have to understand about ATPITW is that I don’t sell any D&D, nor any other of the games you find in the popular game stores. When I started I thought I needed to have at least a few classics and important publications available, but since the beginning people only ask/buy indie/small press. Which is great!
Another thing is that a small store like me, when I order a popular title from a distro I can only afford to order small numbers. So if something becomes popular, and I could only afford to order 4 copies, chances are that I will never get it again because the chains already took all of the remaining copies. Which is what I believe happened with that D&D Stranger Things box. But it doesn’t matter, I stick to the publications under their radar. The good stuff.
What plans do you have for the future?
Many! It’s just that I have so little time. Ever since I started thinking about ATPITW the community factor was super important for me, and still is. Fantasy RPGs have so much potential, on an educational, psychological and social level. With the right GM you can adapt most games to any situation and throw people into a challenge that will be an exciting and surprising experience!
I like the idea of inviting people with no experience to play, but just as much bringing people together who are searching for a new group or looking to play a certain game, or those who are simply curious. I would love to create a forum for that but on the scale that I have in mind that is another full time job.
Of course I also want to start publishing one day. I see so much exciting new stuff all the time and sometimes I think, this I could do better or that I would do different. I certainly need an outlet for that energy. And I want to start showing original art, because there is so much talent and hard working people out there and there must be a way to show their output and help them sell it.
ALL THE PROBLEMS IN THIS WORLD
Blücherstr. 14, 10961 Berlin, Germany
https://alltheproblemsinthisworld.com/contact
This feature originally appeared in Wyrd Science Vol.1, Issue 5 (Dec '23)
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