Ever since the Blockbuster in Bend became the last Blockbuster on earth, tourists from all over the world, oftentimes 50 people a day, have come to town to experience the store’s nostalgic appeal, take photos, browse the racks of movies for rent and buy store-branded merchandise.

Now, visitors can enter photos in a contest that promotes a new board game that features Bend’s Blockbuster, further solidifying its status as a town gem. Sandi Harding, the store’s manager, said she and her staff are more than happy to help capture the perfect shot.

The new board game, from Big Potato Games, is called Zillionaires: Road Trip USA. The point of the game is to bid, bluff and buy up 49 legendary American roadside attractions, the Bend Blockbuster included.

To celebrate the game’s launch, Big Potato will award one of the games and $5,000 toward a road trip to the person with the best photo taken in front of a favorite landmark, like the Blockbuster at 211 NE Revere Ave. To enter, upload your photo to Big Potato Games’ website by July 31.

“I would love it if a local would win the contest. That would make it even better,” said Harding, who plans to sell the game at some point. “I would love for them to come down and take pictures and let us know, and we’ll do whatever we can to help. We’ve had people come down and take pictures with their pets and do all kinds of fun stuff.”

Harding said the Blockbuster, the last one in the world since 2019, has had visitors from as far away as Cape Town, South Africa, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. But since the pandemic, most of the store’s daily visitors are mainly from the United States and Canada.

While international visitors are not as common as before the pandemic, Blockbuster still attracts people who revel in the memory of the brand’s heyday.

Ever since “The Last Blockbuster” documentary aired on Netflix in 2020, Harding said she gets recognized around town, and even almost got hit by a star-struck fan’s vehicle in the Fred Meyer Parking.

“When I get recognized by someone local and they tell me I’m doing a good job, that means a ton to me,” Harding said, laughing. “It’s extra special when it’s someone from Bend telling me I’m doing a good job for our store and our community. That makes me feel really good.”

One bit of advice to locals, Harding said, is to rent movies during the week as to avoid the throngs of tourists who flock to the store over the weekends to take selfies and buy sweatshirts and other merchandise.

The daily rush, especially over the weekend, has made it difficult for the Blockbuster to keep its store stocked with the locally sourced merchandise the store orders from small businesses in Bend.

“It’s kind of a fun problem to have,” Harding said. “But we are happy to be able to help other small business here in town.”