Rough year for gaming

[bigdamnhero]

Of course, I don't know that the hobby stores can survive just by charging 'rent' to people who want to play, but may have more luck by charging admission fees for competitions.

Speaking strictly as a customer, I always figured gaming space was critical to a successful game store: games on the shelves don't look nearly as much fun as games in action. All but one or two of Denver's stores have significant gaming space. I don't know how they manage it, rent-wise, but it does seem to guarantee a steady supply of folks hanging around. Plus they make a few bucks on the side selling cokes and so forth. The only problem we have is that the store owners don't always want to stay open as late as we want to play.

Our FLGS (putting the effing back in the F! - j/k, I like mine, but that's the exception, not the rule)

:shrug: I guess I've been lucky; wherever I've lived I've had far more good FLGS experiences than bad ones. Sure the comments about not all FLGS owners being the best businessmen are valid. But they've usually been friendly and helpful and I've never had trouble placing special orders (distributor angst notwithstanding). Now comic shops...there I've got a few horror stories.


bigdamnhero
"Life is like a sewer: what you get out of it depends on what you put into it."

[Supreme Serpent]

Now comic shops...there I've got a few horror stories.

Now, I am fortunate to have a pretty-dang good comic shop close by, that seems to always have enough traffic/business to be doing well.

[teh bunneh]

I'm very lucky in that I have a combo gaming/comics store that is very good -- the epitome of FriendlyLGS. I knew the owner for years and was very unhappy when he decided to retire. But then a young couple bought the place and I'm very pleased.

My little town supports one comic book store, one RPG/Warhammer/RC cars, boats, planes/model railroads/pool table store, and one RPG/comics store. I'm rather amazed that this town of barely 100,000 can support that much geekery. But I'm pleased with it.

[Blue]

FLGS #1 is pretty darn big, but 2/3 of the store is devoted to models (as in plastic, die cast, resin, etc. Airplanes, Ships, Cars...). But I appreciate that; Because I suspect that's how they've stayed in business for over 20 years. Great miniatures selection, and lots of backstock of older books.
FLGS #2 is much smaller, but sells nothing at cover price (Even new stuff has a slight discount), and they have a friendly play environment, though mostly that's to encourage CCGs. Smaller backstock of older books, but their miniatures are catching up.
In a pinch there's a third FLGS I can get to with a bit of a drive, but they don't offer anything that the two others don't already have and do better.

But that's the thing about Orange County; It's such a big (and realtively wealthy) area that it should be able to support far more than 2 shops. (The third is technically in another county).

And I gotta say; Comic stores blow here. Got one mediocore and one that's the pits.

[ghost-angel]

I'm very lucky in that I have a combo gaming/comics store that is very good -- the epitome of FriendlyLGS. I knew the owner for years and was very unhappy when he decided to retire. But then a young couple bought the place and I'm very pleased.

My little town supports one comic book store, one RPG/Warhammer/RC cars, boats, planes/model railroads/pool table store, and one RPG/comics store. I'm rather amazed that this town of barely 100,000 can support that much geekery. But I'm pleased with it.

Marshak sold his store? No love loss to see him gone (actually I was cheering with joy when I heard he was retiring), but I'm glad the store stuck around.

And you're in a college town, of course geekery will survive.

[teh bunneh]

Marshak sold his store? No love loss to see him gone (actually I was cheering with joy when I heard he was retiring), but I'm glad the store stuck around.

Yup, a young couple named Sherman and Liana bought the place, lock stock and barrel. They renamed it Gryphon Games & Comics, but it's mostly the same.

Not a fan of Marshak, huh?

[ghost-angel]

Yup, a young couple named Sherman and Liana bought the place, lock stock and barrel. They renamed it Gryphon Games & Comics, but it's mostly the same.

Not a fan of Marshak, huh?

I don't have words for the pure hatred I feel for marshak, I wish nothing but ill will on him and his house.


....I'm glad the store is still around however and hope it does well. Knowing the area, it should.

[Tom McCarthy]

I've got a good FLGS near me (well, downtown and I'm in the suburbs) with great selection and decent staff. The owners and staff are gamers.

But even so, they've let me down on occasion through no falut of their own. You see, there's so much product out there that even their distributors won't carry everything. And there's so much product, they can't manage to keep track of when their distributors cease carrying things.

So, for example, they failed to carry a 4 month stretch of Conan RPG releases, and still can't find a distributor to bring in Mongoose's Babylon 5 spaceship miniatures. Their list of Mutants & Masterminds shows several gaps.

I know I used to bemoan the near-monopoly Games Workshop had on miniatures, but at least the market could bear the load then. Today, even with minimal miniatures purchases, I can bearly keep up with the RPG products put out by the likes of Hero, WOTC, Malhavoc and Mongoose. I'm certainly foregoing products that I'd otherwise love to investigate, like Blackmoor, and I'm on the fence over quality products like Algernon Files 2.

[SuperKlaus]

Could it be there are less RPers than there used to be? Have the proto-RPers (the being we all were before we discovered what was most likely Dungeons & Dragons) been shunted into console and computer games instead? I know a rather large contingent of MUDders and Online RPGers and even console RPGers that consider themselves RPGers that none of us would consider anything but hack-and-slash Doom freaks.

Here, here! I for one look down on MMOs for taking away perfectly good geeks who could be playing tabletop games with me. Having tried a couple (Star Wars and Warcraft), I just can't understand what attraction those things hold compared to being in the physical presence of others. You all seen that brilliant D&D ad from a few months back? Bored guy sitting in front of a screen and it says:

"If you're going to sit in your basement pretending to be an elf, at least have some friends over to help."

Amen!

And hey, Blue, you're in Orange County and know of quality game stores?? Where? I used to be in Irvine and didn't find zip 'cept one pitiful little excuse for a comic store. I don't think I'll be back soon but I'm still kinda curious what I might have missed. I have friends I could pass info to.

[bigdamnhero]

You all seen that brilliant D&D ad from a few months back? Bored guy sitting in front of a screen and it says:

"If you're going to sit in your basement pretending to be an elf, at least have some friends over to help."

Amen!

I haven't seen that one. Who knew WotC had a sense of humor?!


bigdamnhero
“You can get more with a kind word and a two-by-four than you can with just a kind word.”

[Springald Jack]

I haven't seen that one. Who knew WotC had a sense of humor?!

...and how ironic that they're making an MMORPG now.