gaming/book stores in the Herndon, VA/Washington DC area?

[diaglo]

... in Silver Spring, is in Glen Burnie.

used to be that College Park had some. heck Laurel did too.

diaglo "lived outside of Glen Burnie in Severn" Ooi

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

As of my last visit, the Compleat Strategist was dusty, dirty, and crowded with sagging bookshelves filled with unorganized (and usually damaged) products. There were miniatures blisters wedged between haphazards stacks of hard cover books, random piles of merchandise sitting on top of shelves, the floor, and a broken round plastic picnic table (with an umbrella).

Behind the counter, among the piles of half-empty pizza boxes and mcdonalds bags, sat an enormous man wearing ill-fitting sweatpants and a dirty grey t-shirt. He appeared to have some sort of skin condition, and picked at the resulting scabs on his arms and neck for most of the time we were in the store.

The smell was that peculiar mix of sweat, dirt, and old food that most people will never have to experience, but that gaming con attendees have dubbed "the gamer funk." This, however, was not coming from a single individual. Oh no. The entire store reeked of it. It had been infected. Ick.

That's the perfect opening for an Infocom-style adventure game!

>Inventory

You have a:

half-eaten sandwich
1 gold piece
a spray can of deodorant

>Spray gamer with deodorant.

 

[The_Universe]

But do they have a nice selection of OOP product?

They may have at the time (2+ years ago), but it would have been nearly impossible to locate it, beneath the trash, dust, etc. In case it was not clear in my description, it was not a well-organized store. I know they had some metal star wars minis, circa 1996, when I was there. It's really the externalities that have stuck in my mind, not the stock. Sorry!

used to be that College Park had some. heck Laurel did too.

diaglo "lived outside of Glen Burnie in Severn" Ooi

If there are any game stores in Laurel still on operation, I'd love to know about them. I'm willing to give anything a shot, once. As for College Park, I know there's a comic shop on US1 that sells a VERY SMALL selection of gaming stuff - mostly D&D minis. It's also not the cleanest store in the history of the universe, but it's got a good selection of comics, and it doesn't stink.

 

[grodog]

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get out of DC or Herndon to check out any of your suggestions Hopefully next time!

 

[TheYeti1775]

I have to ask, just how bad is that store?

Bad enough when my wife actually lets herself be dragged to a game store she will let me drive out to Chantilly before going in that one. And its about a 30 minute difference in one way travel.

Generally I only go there, when I have something specific in mind and I call ahead of time to see if they have it.

Yeti

 

[Allandaros]

If there are any game stores in Laurel still on operation, I'd love to know about them. I'm willing to give anything a shot, once. As for College Park, I know there's a comic shop on US1 that sells a VERY SMALL selection of gaming stuff - mostly D&D minis. It's also not the cleanest store in the history of the universe, but it's got a good selection of comics, and it doesn't stink.

Hey, thank'ee for the College Park tip; I didn't realize the comics store had gaming stuff also.

I will provide one note about The Compleat Strategist - when I went there, four years ago, they *did* have a nice selection of OOP stuff (as well as I can recall); I snagged the Tome of Magic for AD&D2e there.

...on the other hand, I don't remember any gamer funk in the store, so maybe go with the more recent memory...

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

...on the other hand, I don't remember any gamer funk in the store, so maybe go with the more recent memory...

*Supposedly* they've changed for the better; per some friends' last visit, they noticed a distinct lack of funk and surlitude.

I haven't been recently, so I can't corroborate that testimony.

Brad

 

[Endur]

Complete Strategist is one of the oldest gaming stores in the DC area.

But I agree pretty much with all the comments above.

My recommendation is to go to Game Parlor.

Although, if you are looking for old out of print stuff, you might actually have a better chance with Complete Strategist.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

It's a bit south, but "One Eyed Jacques" in Richmond, VA has some decent stuff. It's on Cary Street.

I'm about to move to Reno. Anyone know of any decent places out there?

 

[grahamdrew]

If there are any game stores in Laurel still on operation, I'd love to know about them. I'm willing to give anything a shot, once. As for College Park, I know there's a comic shop on US1 that sells a VERY SMALL selection of gaming stuff - mostly D&D minis. It's also not the cleanest store in the history of the universe, but it's got a good selection of comics, and it doesn't stink.

I think you're refering to Liberty Comics (formerly Closet of Comics), directly accross the street from Noodles and Chipotle. I really wouldn't consider them as a source for gaming stuff beyond D&D Minis and an emergency source for dice; your average Waldenbooks had about 4x the selection.

There used to be a small place in on Rhode Island Ave. in College Park called Realms of Fantasy. They closed down a few years ago, though. They did have a half-decent selection of OOP, however.

Andrew Beard