Are game stores going away?

[Ragnorakk]

(OGRE/GEV is great - still have been able to talk friends into games of it. MELEE & WIZARD were great little games too.)

WotC has a game store finder up re: AD&D reprint locations, and I used that the other day. Lexington has 5 - I was aware of 1! (still infrequently pillaging the used section there).

[PapersAndPaychecks]

I believe that I can count the number of times I've been into a brick and mortar game shop on my fingers. In the UK "game shop" mostly means "Games Workshop place where creepy fat blokes with breath that smells like it comes straight from Satan's arsehole try to sell you an individual lead miniature for somewhere upwards of six quid." I choose not to go in, and I believe I've only ever seen one woman in a game shop. (I'm married to her. She popped in to buy dice once.)

My son has been brought up to understand that gaming materials come in the post. We don't go to shops to buy them.

[AxeMental]

I believe that I can count the number of times I've been into a brick and mortar game shop on my fingers. In the UK "game shop" mostly means "Games Workshop place where creepy fat blokes with breath that smells like it comes straight from Satan's arsehole try to sell you an individual lead miniature for somewhere upwards of six quid." I choose not to go in, and I believe I've only ever seen one woman in a game shop. (I'm married to her. She popped in to buy dice once.)

My son has been brought up to understand that gaming materials come in the post. We don't go to shops to buy them.

Hey thats part of the atmosphere. In the US I suppose its not like that exactly, at least the ones I've been to have been mostly normal geeks and the occasional cool person. I suppose its because many sell models, remote control race cars and boats etc. so get a wider audience.

[francisca]

I believe that I can count the number of times I've been into a brick and mortar game shop on my fingers. In the UK "game shop" mostly means "Games Workshop place where creepy fat blokes with breath that smells like it comes straight from Satan's arsehole try to sell you an individual lead miniature for somewhere upwards of six quid." I choose not to go in, and I believe I've only ever seen one woman in a game shop. (I'm married to her. She popped in to buy dice once.)

My son has been brought up to understand that gaming materials come in the post. We don't go to shops to buy them.

There used to be GW shops in the US (I thought they all closed....could be wrong.).

Here, they were inhabited by the fat blokes, and the rail thin turbo nerds.

[Random]

Don't worry P&P, Games Workshop owns the world over here as well.
I'm more excited about ancients, but the only people who seeem to game are invested entirely into Warhammer 40K.

(Not that GW owns the stores or anything, but they dominate the shelves and promotions.)

@Axe: I see separate RC hobby shops rather than that being combined with games and comics.

[Flight Commander Solitude]

Intruder ... I haz it! Not certain I've actually played it; if I have it was +2 decades ago. All those microgames are great though. I've got my Ogre/Gev, Car Wars/Truck Stop, and Melee/Wizard/Death Test - wonderful stuff!

[Clangador]

OGRE, now that brings back memories. And articles about the howitzer defense.

[Jeffery St. Clair]

Anyway, it seems to me that for a game store to be successful, today, it has to go beyond just being a place to buy product. I can do that online, and it's cheaper and more convenient for me, and I have a better (nearly infinite) selection. They need to offer other services and benefits you can't get online.

Precisely why the FLGS in Lake Geneva is successful - the owner's philosophy has always focused on "come on in and play games," and then people will buy things. It's a community for gamers as well as a store. Sure, M:tG keeps the lights on and the doors open, but that's the only place I know where you can walk in, get a few folks together, and play all sorts of board and card games, from San Juan to Eclipse to Kittens in a Blender. He had Labyrinth Lord in stock (and it moved) and he's getting the AD&D reprints in. It's where I run AD&D once a week for 10 players on average, and if I feel like playing a board game, I call and see who's there. We've run past the official closing time numerous times, ordering pizza or Chinese or making a McDonalds (ugh) run.

I've seen too many of those stores with used AD&D books and minis, and not much else. They never lasted long.

[Clangador]

Sorry, didn't mean to go off on a rant like that.

You know, I never really thought about it too much ... I always had you figured as a dude. No, wait ... before you take the nuclear option! A lot of guys here (and elsewhere) use female usericons and I never looked at your profile (and still haven't).

This could get messy.

[Piper]

Sorry, didn't mean to go off on a rant like that.

This could get messy.

I meant no offense. That being said ... bring on the hate. I don't give a shit.

The last thing I've learned to expect from this crowd is a reasonable response.

Apologies everyone ... rough morning. I'm sorry I lashed out here, among friends, especially for something that was nobody's fault.

[T. Foster]

I meant no offense. That being said ... bring on the hate. I don't give a shit.

The last thing I've learned to expect from this crowd is a reasonable response.

If you're that unhappy with the forum nobody's forcing you to read or post here...

[Piper]

I'm not unhappy, I am merely being realistic.

[Piper]

Let me try re-explaining my post, perhaps that will help with the hurt feelings.

A lot of posters here use female icons and their user names are non-specific. My own included. It wasn't intentional, for many years before the internet went mainstream (thanks to AOhelL) my online handle was Piper.

I had no reason to believe Silk Spectre was female (or male, for that matter). I'm certain she has made posts that might have made reference to her sex but, since I assume online forums make for poor dating services, I've never filed that tidbit away if I was made aware of it.

I should think this would be a good thing, since she was remarking how she had been hit on by undesirables at a game store. I would guess, if I took a poll of the few female gamers I know, I would get similar stories. In the old Usenet newsgroups, I used to get hit on by dudes thinking I was female (there was a Star Trek TOS era paperback heroine who went by the single name of Piper). So I know there is some substance to what she says.

So, I'm sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings by making that observation. I'm certain SS is a lovely woman and I can only hope she is understanding enough to overlook my clumsy and misguided attempt to reassure her this is a "safe place" to talk about games.

[thedungeondelver]

I know many game stores in my area Seattle-Tacoma have gone out of business in the past five years. I don't buy much gaming stuff. I know Clangador has said he can go months between visits to our local game store. I seriously wonder how long the hobby can support real stores with all the online stores that are often cheaper than the physical store is.

There is a game store local to me whose internet sales are their store sales. Most (like, 95%) of their store space is allocated to game tables. They have a small room of board-games, near the front door they have a magazine rack with 4e and pathfinder books and a few all-in-one-core-book style RPGs, plus some dice and card supplies under the glass counter.

On top of the counter there's banks of computers with locked down XP installs, running a browser pointed at the store's website. You "shop online", then once you check out it sends an order number over to the cashier who goes into the warehouse and pulls your order.

There is zero external shrink in the store, because there's no m'dise on the shelves.

Here's the awesome thing: their prices are like 25% off retail. Across the board. Other than a little gas for the trip of a few miles, beats miniature giant coming and going. $2.99 for metal minis instead of $5.49? YESPLEASE.

This mini, this one right here? http://www.miniature-giant.com/colin-co ... 12794.html

cost me $2.99 the other night. Check the miniature-giant price. 5 bucks!

That sounds like a match made in heaven to me. I don't have to futz around - I can even place my order from home and pick it up. How's that for a deal.

[AxeMental]

DD what store is that, not SciFi?