Tell me about your favorite game store

[Farganger]

I echo what everyone has said about Games Plus! Locally here in Boston, my favorite store is Pandemonium Books & Games in Davis Square, Cambridge MA. Great owner, 10% off buyer reward program ($25 off after $250 bought), they do special orders, usually well-stocked game shelves and plenty of space to play.

Agreed.

I used to prefer Harrison's in Salem, back when Pandemonium was at that cramped location in "the Garage", but since it's been out at Central Square, Pandemonium is facile princeps.

Great shop -- part of my occasional "Stations of the Cross" pilgrimage out to Cambridge.

 

[Herschel]

I'm originally from Onalaska. Was "The Next Generation" the LGS on 4th Street? I used to go there all the time in middle and high school. The only LGS in La Crosse (that I'm aware of at least) is a comic store on Cass Street. Just not the same.

Yep, that was it. I loved DT La Crosse, too bad most things were moving towards the highway on the North side. The Next Generation, Leithold's Music and the Import music store were favorite hangouts (when not imbibing in college, though I was generally DT for that too).

 

[JohnnyQuest]

I'm a big fan of The Game Preserve in Bloomington, Indiana. The store is clean and professional. The staff are hired with an eye toward assembling expert knowledge on a wide variety of games. There is a family-friendly atmosphere that is welcoming to players of all ages. The product selection is wide and varied -- board games, family games, puzzles, and hobby games. The playing space is ample, clean, and located close to good food and clean restroom facilities. Wendi, the manager, and all of the employees, are very supportive of the players.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I must give props to the Hobby Kingdom in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Bar none, the best gaming store EVAR!!!

Why, you ask?

Let's see...

- Big screen LCD/Plasma screen by the lounge where you can see the results scroll by of the latest tournament? Check

- Free soda pop/water from the vending machine? (well, now it's 25 cents because it drew kids from the surrounding area like flies on stink) Check

- Free use of 4 gaming rooms that are spacious with comfy business class chairs? Check

- Wired for sound to provide atmospheric RPG music? Check

- Free use of pre-made terrain for RPG play? Check

- What seems like weekly tournaments, game days, sales, etc? Check

- Ability to custom order almost anything you can't find in the store? Check

- Friendly and courteous staff? Check

- An expansive website with views of almost everything for sale in the store? Check

- It's own message board where you can ask questions, give feedback, discuss RPGs, etc.? Check

- A points reward system every time you make a purchase? Check

In all my 15-20 years of gaming, I have NEVER come across a store like Hobby Kingdom. I think it's the case of someone who is independently wealthy deciding to open up an RPG shop with the aim of breaking even vs. making money (I dunno, maybe they do but they sure pull out all the stops). When I first visited the store I was blown away. Nothing compares.

Hobby Kingdom

 

[Pbartender]

Yay! I get to be the first to put forth Games Plus, in Mt. Prospect, IL. Clean store with a deep and wide stock of games of every persuasion; plenty of gaming space; knowledgable staff who participate in the community, both in person and online.

No other store I've been in is in its league. I've lived in the NYC area, Buffalo, Chicagoland, central Illinois, and the SF Bay Area and have shopped in some nice stores (and some not-so-nice ones), and they are the best.

Consider this another vote for Games Plus.

 

[Guilderslist]

Dragon's Lair

Imagine walking into a store and being greeted by an 8 foot tall statue a Conan in full battle attire, with his sword slung over his shoulder. The cash register is wrapped in an island in the middle of the store and you can always expect to be acknowledged and showered in smiles upon entering the store. This is how it has always been at Dragon's Lair of Austin, TX.

If being hailed into the store by a barbarian and treated more like a friend than a customer wasn't enough already to store has everything a gamer could hope for. The cash register island is filled with all manner of knick knacks. It sports an impressive selection of dice from chessex preset dice boxes to bins of dice where you can mix and match to your hearts content. There is also a section of the island devoted to collectible card games such as Magic the Gathering, Pokemon and Yu-gi-oh, among others.

One side of the store, on the wall, is entirely devoted to comics. They go from the floor all the way up to the ceiling. I've personally never been into the comic scene, but their selection impresses even the most devout comic book nerd friends. There is also a robust selection of graphic novels, Manga and Anime DVD's to choose from. One of the really neat things is you can rent an Anime from the store and return it in a week if you do not want to purchase it. I've yet to see any store that wasn't a movie store to begin with do that!

The other side of the store is mainly devoted to tabletop RPGA games. They have many old and new systems to choose from book wise. There are also plenty of battlemats, terrain tiles, magnetic initiative trackers and other great tools to improve your gaming experience. There is a portion of the wall devoted to Warhammer Fantasy and 40k, complete with every type of paint and primer needed to make your minis shine. There is also a display case where they have locally painted figures on display. A great place to get inspiration for mini painting. To top it all off there are plenty of board and card games to choose from. The employees are more than happy to help you pick out something suited to your playing style as they have intimate knowledge of all their board games. There is always at lest one one, if not two, of the these board or card games on display around the store so you can test it out.

In the back of the store is a game room. There are plenty of tables and chairs huddle together were gaming groups gather. They have plenty of terrain available for use with these tables, just in case your in need of a forest or urban environment for your games. Many people make terrain for the store and donate it to help out the community. There is also an even calender for various games on certain days. On these days you can be sure that there are plenty of groups slaying dragons, demolishing robotic mech-warriors or pounding super heroes and villains to the ground. Complete with snack and drink dispensers!

There is of course a huge selection of reaper and D&D minis to choose from as well as action figures. This combined with a group of friendly and knowledgeable staff makes for the best shopping experience.

 

[thalmin]

Joe, thanks for starting this thread! And thanks for the nice things many of you are saying about Games Plus. But I really want to thank everyone for taking the time to post about their favorite stores, no matter which one it is. It is great to read about so many fine stores, and it's nice to know that so many of you care about your FLGS.

 

[Thondor]

I meant to comment on this whole thread a while ago, particularly as a Canadian (in Ontario). So forgive me as I 'catch up'.

While the snail in Toronto is 500% better (maybe even 520% better) than the one in Ottawa, I was always disappointed in it when it came to buying RPGs. But that's probably because I'm one of those guys who loves a lot of different games and the Snail really didn't seem to stock much outside of the top selling lines.

But yes, I'll vouch for friendly, clean and nerdy.

The Silver Snail, both the Ottawa and Toronto branches aren't much of a games store. They do always carry a good selection of the latest White Wolf and D&D (WotC) stuff. Which if its all you want is fine. I did actually pick a old Dragon magazine (130's) there once for cheap at the Toronto branch, but that was about 7 years ago and I havn't seen anything else like that since. Good comic shop though.
I've been to both the Toronto and Ottawa branch a number of times over the years and their farely similar. The Toronto branch is larger, it is the head office after all.

In Toronto there doesn't seem to be much actually. If your downtown though you should check out 401 Games (at 401 Younge street). Its quite a small store, but it seems they do have regular events (RPG and others). They have a good selection of RPGs and board games. Mind you, I've only been there once quite recently and didn't have much time. The staff seemed pretty helpful and its a genuine Gaming Store.

Close to 401 Games is the most disorganized store I've ever been in, Grey Region Comics. But it may well be worth a visit. They have a backroom with a large amount of old RPGs. It your into old school you should take a look, though is kinda a black hole/can be very hard to find anything. Still they have stuff like the 1e MM2, Unearthed arcana, heck I think I saw one of the little red booklets for basic D&D, I noticed they had a bunch of old Marvel Superheroes stuff to. They got a pile of discount comics, and have computers that you can use for gaming etc internet cafe style. One of the nice things about the store is that if your thinking about getting rid of some of your old RPGs the owner may very well buy them from you.

The best store I've been to in the Toronto area has to be Comic Warehouse in Brampton. Its got a great selection of RPGs, a huge number of board games, decent amount of miniatures, and of course a plethora of comics. They have a dedicated gaming area, thats right next to a in house burger/hot dog/snack bar. The only con is that it feels a little crowded, but hey that means more awesome stuff.
When I visited on Free RPG day, (yes they participated!), there where a pile of people playing magic in the gaming area. I'm actually hoping to run something there soon. The staff seems pretty awesome, I've only been there once and it was a rather busy day, still I certainly felt welcomed. They had great discounts on 3e materials, I need to go back!

 

[Thondor]

Fandom II – my FLGS in Ottawa « A character for every game

As a long-time resident of Ottawa, I would be remiss to not brag about our excellent Friendly Local Gaming Store (FLGS). I’ve shopped at a dozen stores in the city over the years, and even had my loyalties lie elsewhere for some time – shopping at Master Yang’s, or the Silver Snail, or even the Comic Book Shoppe in Nepean. But time and again I find myself back at Fandom. Fandom has it all. They’ve been gaming at Fandom since forever, and then some. Of the original three guys who ran the place back when I started going there in 1980 when it was in front of Ottawa U, good old Randy is still behind the counter when you walk it today – somewhat grumpy, somewhat jovial, and always a source of interesting minutia about gaming, games and the industry. The selection is incredible, the grognarderie impressive, and there’s even a dungeon-like gaming ghetto in the basement with a few tables for the resident gamers to gather.

I’ve bought an uncountable number of games at Fandom – from my D&D Expert set, through to Cyborg Commando and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and on to CyberPunk, Shadowrun, the fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons and Feng Shui.

After shopping across Canada for games, I can say that Fandom is only equalled by the Valet de Coeurs in Montreal and surpassed by the Sentry Box in Calgary. All are incredible shops well worth visiting, especially in my quest to support the FLGS.

I sorry I just had to quote this whole thing. This is my favorite store, it was also my first real experience with a FLGS. Heck I say it is THE FLGS of Ottawa. OK I may be doing the Comic Book Shoppe a bit of an injustice here, but Fandom II is just fantastic. My only regret, I've never gamed there.

I came across Fandom II by accident, happened to park right in front of it when we were going to main downtown public library. Seeing the window display, I had to go back an go inside. I think my grade nine self almost died.
Huge amount of military history books, board games, miniatures, vast selection of RPGs, and some fantasy novels. I honestly don't thing that I've ever look for something there that they didn't have (if it was in print). Nowhere feels more like home.
I've always had any of my questions answered with detailed, accurate and eloquent responses. Moreover they typically have great prices on their RPGs. For a long while they were offering the US prices. Trust me if there is a price sticker on a book there its a least a few dollars cheaper, and most of them do.
Ah, one of the many reasons I wish I was living in Ottawa right now.

I've never found a website before when I was looking for them, (maybe I just forgot) but there is this. Certainly not much, maybe they thought they had a webmaster and lost him/her.

 

[Thondor]

I must give props to the Hobby Kingdom in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Bar none, the best gaming store EVAR!!!

Why, you ask?
Let's see...
- Big screen LCD/Plasma screen by the lounge where you can see the results scroll by of the latest tournament? Check
- Free soda pop/water from the vending machine? (well, now it's 25 cents because it drew kids from the surrounding area like flies on stink) Check
- Free use of 4 gaming rooms that are spacious with comfy business class chairs? Check
- Wired for sound to provide atmospheric RPG music? Check
- Free use of pre-made terrain for RPG play? Check
- What seems like weekly tournaments, game days, sales, etc? Check
- Ability to custom order almost anything you can't find in the store? Check
- Friendly and courteous staff? Check
- An expansive website with views of almost everything for sale in the store? Check
- It's own message board where you can ask questions, give feedback, discuss RPGs, etc.? Check
- A points reward system every time you make a purchase? Check

In all my 15-20 years of gaming, I have NEVER come across a store like Hobby Kingdom. I think it's the case of someone who is independently wealthy deciding to open up an RPG shop with the aim of breaking even vs. making money (I dunno, maybe they do but they sure pull out all the stops). When I first visited the store I was blown away. Nothing compares.

Hobby Kingdom

Wow, this I gotta see. If only I had a car I'd be tempted to jump in it and go right now. One of these days . . .
Thanks a lot for the heads up on this one.