Maerdwyn said:
Sounds like a good idea to me 
Well, okay then. This will be a long one. First off...Boston area, my hometown and current residence:
Your Move Games is the best store in town, see my full description earlier in this thread.
Pandemonium is next, again see my first description. A few other things to note as well. They have a 10% discount if you join their club/mailing list. It costs $5 or $10 a year but quickly pays off if you buy a lot of stuff, but unfortunately there's no discount on the used stuff. On the other hand, the used stuff is very reasonably priced to begin with. Also, the location in Harvard Square is very convenient, on the T (subway) and several bus lines. Plus Newbury Comics is right across the hall so you can pcik up your new music and new games at one stop. No gaming space here, though.
The Compleat Strategist on Mass Ave. by the Christian Science Center is good too, but their hours are extremely inconvenient, especially if you work a full time job. They close at 6:00 most weeknights and Saturdays, 7:00 on Wednesdays. Sometimes they're open on Sundays and sometimes not, it seems to change every six months or so. The selection of RPGs and minis are good. They also carry board games, wargames, and those Men-at-Arms books of historical soldiers and weaponry. The mangement has changed recently so I'm not sure about the staff currently but in the past they've often had employees who fit the Simpsons comic store guy stereotype to a 'T'.
The Game Keeper in the Chestnut Hill mall in Newton is like most other Game Keeper/WOTC stores - decent selection of their stuff, D20, some minis, and lots of boardgames.
Local mall bookstores (Waldenbooks and B. Dalton's) generally carry a small selection of WOTC and Sword & Sorcery products but not much else D20.
I've heard that there's good game shops in Waltham and Malden (or maybe Medford) too but haven't found 'em yet. If anyone know more, feel free to jump in.
Now for other cities that I've frequented:
San Francisco - as I mentioned earlier I like Gamescapes on Divisadeo and think that Games of Berkeley used to be better than it is.
Vancouver - I've never been to Imperial Hobbies in Richmond but agree that the Comic Shop on 4th is great. They have a decent selection of used stuff, last year I picked up a couple of the Bloodstone modules, the original World of Greyhawk folio and one or two D&D Basic adventures. Golden Age Games downtown on Granville is mostly comics, but has a small selection of games including lots of Rifts books.
Seattle - I lived here for two years 98-2000. WOTC has stores all over the place and pretty much dominates the scene. Selection is basically as I described for the Game Keeper above, but with slightly more of a focus on RPGs relative to board games. Surprisingly, even though it's only a few short miles to WOTC HQ in Renton, their retail stores get their products from a distributor in CA and generally don't get their own game products in until after all the local shops already have them.
Game & Gizmos on Broadway in Capitol Hill is the best place in town. Street level is all boardgames and toys but downstairs is RPG land with a great selection of games, minis and landscapes, and several playing tables. The staff is great and willing to special order.
The Game Wizard on 65th in Ballard is pretty cool too. The selection of new RPGs is so-so but it's a good place to find anything from most of the 2e era. They also have an extensive selection of minis & landscapes.
Bits & Bytes down in Tacoma was a great store. Good selection of RPGs, minis, and some computer games, as well as in-store playing. Last time that I was there they were about to close down because of lease issues, I think. They were hoping to reopen in a few months but I haven't been in Tacoma since so I'm not sure if it ever happened. If anyone knows, please let me know.
Long Island - I spent a year here in 93-94 (attended Hofstra freshman year). I can't remember the names of the stores but there was one place on the Hempstead turnpike in Levitown that had a good selection of RPDs as well as in-store gaming. The staff at the time were great. One guy even photocopied his poster map from OA1 Swords of the Daimyo for me for free because I had lost mine (but still had the rest of the module). There was also a cool store up in or near Old Westbury but unfortunately I don't have many details to share.
Western Mass - spent the rest of the college years here at UMass. The local comic store had a few things, as did the Media Play in the mall, but overall the situation was pretty grim. I just found out last week on these boards that there's a game store called the Space-Crime Continuum in Northampton run by fellow board member Chris Aylott, but unfortunately I haven't been back there to check it out yet. Chris could probably tell you more if he wants and here's his website as well:
http://www.spacecrime.com/
Finally, in Florence, Italy, there's a place on the Via dei Servi about a block or two up from the Duomo that I've noticed the past two times that I've been there because I had to pass it every time I came to or from my hotel. Unfortunately, despite passing it several times a day, I never found it open once. It's always break time in Italy
. It's too bad because I was hoping to pick up an Italian language version of one or more of the core rulebooks just for the hell of it, but to no avail.
