Retailers We Love

[Darren Watts]

Since a lot of talk has been thrown around in the last few days about retailers and their role in promoting and supporting (or not) Hero products and fans, I thought it was only appropriate to make a point of singling out retailers who do go the extra mile to satisfy Hero fans and continue to deserve every bit of support you can give them. Please feel free to plug your own favorite Hero-friendly retailer in this space.

My first mention goes to Game Kastle / FRP Games, located at 19 Washington St. in Santa Clara, CA. Yes, it's the same guys who also maintain an online store that many of you patronize, at www.frpgames.com. They carry the full Hero line as well as a zillion other swell products, and they make a point of getting their orders in to us early so they're always at the top of our shipping list. And they're swell guys besides. Please keep them in mind- even if you've decided to spend your Hero money with us, they're an excellent source for any other gaming product or accessory you might need. dw

[incrdbil]

. Please feel free to plug your own favorite Hero-friendly retailer in this space.

Tabletop Games in Overland Park, KS. This place is a gaming mecha--I've made the 2 hour drive there for their miniature events, but their RPG selection is commendable--and with all of the inventroy they have, Hero Games is well stocked too. I'm not sure what their Hero Sales are, but I was impressed with what they carry. The first time I stepped in there, I left with Hero products when I hadn't planned on buying anythign that day--it was there, in stock, and the money in my pocket suddenly caught on fire and had to be spent.

[Vanguard00]

I'll give FRPGames props, as well. They're just about the only ones I've purchased games from besides here and my now-former FLGS. To be fair, though, they were pretty cool about keeping me stocked with gaming material. A-1 Comics on Madison Ave in Sacramento, CA, if anyone's in the area.

[Blue]

Brookhurst Hobbies in Garden Grove.

It's more fun to go in and dig through the old game bins than to try to order something off their site though (The site aint pretty). But they've certainly got the best collection of miniatures I've ever seen in a store. They're slow on getting the hero stuff (by about a week), but they do get it. And they're New Items page will usually be updated within a day of when they actually get it. Usually.

[sinanju]

Bridgetown Hobbies in Portland, OR, has been supplying virtually all of my gaming needs since I moved here in 1991. The first two things I looked for in the phone book when I arrived in Portland were a) Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits, and b) gaming stores. I've been steady customers in both ever since.

[gamerz123]

I've had a great experience with Endgame in Oakland, CA.

They have the best gaming space I've ever seen upstairs which is where I held the first half-dozen sessions of my current game. The staff is excellent and I know that they would usually tell customers interested in HERO about my game. In return, our combined purchases are somewhere between a half-dozen and a dozen books including more than one 5ER.

[teh bunneh]

I'm going to give props to my FLGS -- Marshak's (http://www.marshaks.com/). Family-friendly, a great collection of RPGs and comics, and anything he doesn't have in stock he'll gladly order for you. I've been going there for years; if you're in the neighborhood, I highly recommend it!

Bill.

[devlin1]

Tabletop Games in Overland Park, KS. This place is a gaming mecha--

Heh. I keep picturing a walking, mechanical game store with a young Japanese boy inside. Or maybe five smaller stores which come together to form... I dunno... Rolltron.

Anyway, enough of that. When I lived in San Diego, I patronized Game Town, in Old Town. Small store, but well-stocked with HERO stuff and always ready to order whatever they don't have. In fact, when Dark Champions came in, even though I hadn't special ordered it, John saved me a copy and called me at home to let me know it was there. I thought this was very cool of him until I started to think about how he got my home number.

There's also Game Empire, which I don't like so much solely because of some bad experiences with the sales staff, but unfortunately, they have everything, including a couple big shelves of out of print items.

[Sketchpad]

I'll give props to Fantastic Planet ... that's where I picked up FRED and a few other books ... they flux a lot in their stock, but they're great people to deal with If you're ever in upstate NY, give these guys a shout

[incrdbil]

Heh. I keep picturing a walking, mechanical game store with a young Japanese boy inside. Or maybe five smaller stores which come together to form... I dunno... Rolltron.

wow--that went right my me. Since I go there mainly for large Battletech games, with mecha, hence mecca to mecha. What would you call that, a subliminal typo?

[Polaris]

**Note: All of these are in Oregon**

The FLGS for me is Bridgetown Hobbies in Portland. The store carries a very commendable RPG selection, including the Hero line. In addition to their product inventory, the people that work there are very friendly and go the extra mile to be informed about what is going on.

I have moved down to Salem (about an hour away from Portland), and found another good game store in this city called Borderlands. Borderlands has a good selection of games, and tables and playing rooms for gaming groups (the public area tables are free to use, the private game rooms are a reasonable 10 dollars for about 5-6 hours). Despite their advertisements that all their employees know the games they carry, when I have been in there I have cringed at some of the answers that I would hear employees tell customers ("I don't think it is possible to paint miniatures from Reaper," comes to mind). Overall tho, they are very friendly and carry a good selection.

I love Bridgetown enough to make the trip to Portland on occasion to go there, but it is nice that I found a very good store here in Salem when I have to get a game but don't want to make the trip.

Finally, worthy of honorable mention: HobbyTown USA in the Clackamas Promenade (across from Clackamas Town Center) in the Portland area (between Portland and Milwaukie). They have only been carrying RPGs in earnest for a year or two, but they don't skimp on Hero products, and their prices on miniatures are very competitive. Again, they are not in the same class as Bridgetown, but worthy of an honorable mention.

Polaris

[mudpyr8]

Underworld now The Fantasy Shop in Ann Arbor, MI. Well stocked, great atmosphere, and excellent location: in an arcade with Starbucks and Pinball Pete's (video games and more), walking distance to UM campus.

[JmOz]

The Force of Habit in Minot ND might not have the greatest selection, espesialy in the realm of Hero, BUT the owner will bend over backwards to help you, really makes the place feel like a home for all the people who come in there, real strong feel of community.

So ask for Mark, he is a great guy (and a good computer tech also...)

[ProfessorM@ss]

Gemini Jetpack in Waterloo, Ontario, has braved their distributor to get me more Hero stuff, are quite happy to carry Hero product on their shelves (where it's largely gathering dust, I'm sorry to say) and push it to anyone who asks about good RPGs.

Plus, the staff are exceedingly friendly, funny, and disturbingly knowledgable about anime.

--->M@ss

[Thag13]

The Barony in Oak Ridge TN is a great shop and carries Hero games.

John and Chris go out of thier to get games and can get special orders in a day or two. ( it helps that Gameboard Distribiting is only a 1/2 hour dirve)

Good place lots of gaming room and solid Hero Games supporters.