Editor’s note: This story talks about mental health challenges. If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available by calling or texting the national suicide and crisis lifeline at 988.
On a weeknight inside a card shop in Wenatchee, tables are set up not for poker or board games, but for a fantasy card game called Magic: The Gathering. Veterans shuffle decks, trade jokes and ease into the kind of relaxed conversation that can take months to build.
For U.S. Army veteran Kevin Coleman, who usually avoids crowds, the weekly gathering has become one of the few places where he can breathe.
“It’s like a big brotherhood. We crack jokes on each other and make each other feel better. And if any of us are down, we got any one of them to talk with,” Coleman said.
The nonprofit Combat Veterans International is turning to the fantasy card game as a way to support veterans. The group, called “Veterans: The Gathering,” is designed to reduce isolation and create a supportive social space for veterans. The program began in Wenatchee with a $500 donation from Combat Veterans International’s local chapter.
Paul Stayback, Coleman's therapist and a CVI chapter president, organized the weekly gathering in Wenatchee. He’s an Army veteran and licensed therapist. Stayback’s goal is to get veterans out in the community and interact with each other.
He previously provided clinical services in Wenatchee through Central Washington Veterans Counseling. But uncertainty with federal and state funding led to Stayback’s contract being terminated.
In July, Central Washington Veterans Counseling lost a contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Their long-term contract expired at the end of 2024, but it was given a pair of three-month extensions. The contract afforded counseling to about 100 veterans.
“ Veterans Day was my last day providing mental health services in Wenatchee. I knew that was going away. I was trying to find another outlet for them,” he said.
Coleman says it’s challenging to find help, and he says he’s lost several of his friends to suicide.
“What makes it important is so we could keep the heroes, my brothers and sisters, alive,” said Coleman.
Stayback says there have been high-profile incidents involving veterans, including a shooting at the VA clinic and the Travis Decker case. Decker was wanted in connection with the killing of his three daughters this summer. He was later found dead. Decker was a veteran, and that particular detail saw a lot of press coverage.
“ When we have things that happened with Decker at Leavenworth, that stokes fear into people. 'Cause Hollywood highlights violent behavior, they highlight maladaptive behaviors, and it does create fear and uncertainty,” he said.
Stayback said negative stereotypes about veterans are challenging. “ When there's already an absolute bias in society about veterans, especially with PTSD, with the potential for being violent, and then you throw in this horrifically violent tragedy that just by mentioning what groups they belong to, associates others with it, that's challenging. My clients really struggled,” said Stayback.
Veterans: The Gathering offers its weekly meetups at no cost. Veterans start with simple 40-card decks, and as they continue participating, they receive more items — like decks and booster packs — for free.
Through the game, Stayback said veterans have formed friendships, supported one another through personal challenges and continued to meet outside game sessions.
“They might not recognize it or be able to articulate it,” Stayback said. “But as I sit back and watch what’s going on, I just smile. It’s doing everything I hoped it would do.”
The value of veteran spaces
For Coleman, the Magic group came at a time when he was trying to stabilize his own mental health. Coleman deployed to Iraq in 2009 as a tank gunner. He said transitioning back to civilian life and trying to navigate treatment hasn’t been simple.
“Washington does suck when it comes to taking care of their veterans,” Coleman said. “Some places have waiting lists. Some tell you, ‘We’ll get to you in a couple days.’”
Coleman lives with post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury that affects his reading and processing speed. In civilian spaces, he said he often feels judged or misunderstood. But the game nights feel different.
“I don’t have to explain my stutter or my TBI (traumatic brain injury). They already get it,” Coleman said.
Experts say the appeal of Veterans: The Gathering makes sense.
Kati McNamara is an assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ School of Social Work. She previously served as an officer in the U.S Air Force, and said the shift from military life to civilian life can be destabilizing. She described the military as a “total institution.”
“You’re never actually off duty,” McNamara said. “From how you act to where you go, it takes over every domain of your life.”
McNamara said that structure ends abruptly when veterans return home. Freedom they once craved can become overwhelming, especially for veterans coping with PTSD, depression or “moral injury,” when a service member is ordered to do something that contradicts their values.
“Nobody really tells you how to deal with that,” McNamara said. “That’s what therapy is for.”
McNamara said Veterans said while card games are not clinical therapy, they strengthen the social domain, something many veterans might lack.
She said the simple act of sitting at a table, joking and focusing on a low-stakes game helps calm the nervous system. ”People are in their prefrontal cortex, not their fight or flight, and they are. Calmly interacting with fictional characters they're able to just relax into safety,” McNamara said.
A community space
Josh Madland co-owns Core Cards & Collectibles in downtown Wenatchee, where the veterans play each week. He said the store has become an unlikely gathering place for veterans. The shop doesn’t charge for table space, and Madland says that’s intentional. “It’s a community store,” Madland said. “All you’ve got to worry about is sitting in your chair and playing with your friends.”
About a dozen veterans regularly cycle through for the weekly game.
The concept is spreading. Other card shops in Washington have started their own versions.
According to Madland, many of the people from the group come to the store outside of Tuesdays and play with other people who are not veterans.
"Sometimes they show up on a random Thursday afternoon, without any coordination from us," Madland said. "We wanted this to be a community store from the beginning and now we have those guys who feel like this place is their home."
Reneé Diaz may be contacted at [email protected]. Collaborative reporting by The Wenatchee World, NWPB and Murrow College of Communication Newsroom Fellowship.
