Sometimes good things happen with just a roll of the dice.

Ingrid Estrella, owner of Game Seeker in Santa Barbara, did just that — and won big.

Five months ago, Estrella lost her lease at 537 State St., ending a 20-year run for the popular store. She thought it was game over. The sand ran out of the hourglass. She was checkmated.

However, there is more to this game theory.

The City of Santa Barbara was looking for a new tenant for 920 State St., near the Santa Barbara Film Center, a state-of-the-art renovation masterminded by Roger Durling and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

On Tuesday, the Santa Barbara City Council approved a lease agreement between Estrella and her husband Steven’s company, Estrella Emporium LLC, for a five-year agreement to reopen Game Seeker.

“It was the stars aligning,” Estrella told Noozhawk. “It was serendipitous.”

The base rent will be $3,000 a month for the 1,200-square-foot building, with the city gaining 10% of the tenant’s gross receipts that exceed $50,000.

Estrella said she plans to open in the next month or so, but it won’t be the same old game.

The new space will allow her to sell her board games, puzzles, cards and other items, but also will include game tables for people to play. The new spot will be interactive.

“The idea is to still have retail, but focus on the experience,” Estrella said.

She also plans targeted game days and events for families, Spanish-speakers, girls nights, murder mysteries and others.

Estrella said some people will prefer to buy their games online, but Game Seeker offers an experience, where people can get away from the phones and interact with one another.

“We are not just selling this game or this box,” Estrella said. “We’re selling this experience of human connection.”

She said she wants to be place where people come for fun, whether they are 2 or 102 years old. She will continue to curate games for the serious game player, where a game can last 10 hours, and the person who just loves to be social and laugh together.

“Games are for everybody,” Estrella said.

Santa Barbara City Councilwoman Meagan Harmon said Game Seeker is iconic in Santa Barbara and that she’s thrilled that it will reopen downtown.

“The State Street location is important not only because it will contribute to the revitalization of our business core in a literal way, but also because it will serve as a sort of anchor for our collective memory during this period of downtown evolution,” Harmon said. “I’m grateful that we’ll have the kind of reference point that Game Seeker provides as we move forward to define our State Street vision and the future of downtown.”

Harmon said she is personally looking forward to the store returning.

“As a mom to three young kids, I’m looking forward to more weekend walks downtown to pick out a new puzzle or check out the newest games,” Harmon said. “There’s nothing better.”

The place was previously leased to 805 University.

“We are really hoping that Santa Barbara and our community supports us,” Estrella said. “That really goes for every local business in Santa Barbara. I know it’s so easy to click and have it sent to your house, but we need to have this radical responsibility for our own city and wanting it to thrive.

“I believe in supporting our local businesses. They are our neighbors, our families. We are a small community, and we need to support our local retail businesses.”