Finding friendly neighborhood gaming stores...?

[Philodendron]

The general question:
Is there a list of gaming stores that cater (at least in part) to DnD out there on the 'net anywhere?

The specific question:
I'm trying to help my sister-in-law in the Boston area (NW of city) get a large battlemat for her son, preferrably via purchase from ye olde friendly neighborhood gaming store in the area. Any recommendations?

The forum question:
Is this the right forum for this kind of question?


Thanks in advance for sharing your collective wisdom.

 

[Funes the Memorious]

The general question:
Is there a list of gaming stores that cater (at least in part) to DnD out there on the 'net anywhere?

You can always try Find a Store for stores that sell WoTC stuff. Decent place to start.

 

[Dragon Snack]

Good lists of game stores are very hard to find.

Manufacturer's site's exclude lots of stores, since most don't automatically update them. A quick check shows that the WotC one linked above has been updated for my area pretty well. It's still missing a couple of stores in the D&D list, so they have gotten better (at one point it was missing at least 5 local stores). Even though WotC doesn't sell battlemats, most stores that carry D&D should have other stuff - but I would still have her call first (I know a couple of local stores only carry the D&D books).

GAMA's (which is an association of game stores and manufacturers) is pretty much useless. It had stores that were out of business the last time I checked it (and wasn't 'user friendly' anyway).

People have tried to compile them on various message boards, but they are hard to keep updated (since the person that starts it has to keep motivated and also has to be updated for stores not in their area). There was also one that, IIRC, was sent a cease and desist letter, because they were somehow "interfering with free trade"...

 

[Eridanis]

For your current need: contact Compleat Strategist, which is on Massachusetts Ave in Boston IIRC. There's another game store in the Boston area that's highly recommended, too, but I don't remember the name...

 

[Philodendron]

Thanks for the input!