My anti-D&D LGS

[frankthedm]

Shot them an email...

Sent: Fri 10/24/08 2:28 PM
To: contact@bluehighwaygames.com
Games played in your store‏
Your store was mentioned in an Enworld.org forum topic in regards to "pick-up gaming sessions" and that an employee indicated to a customer playing D&D {Dice, Pencil and paper role playing] was not permitted in store. Much conjecture and discussion was generated by this, including comments by Scott Rouse, SR. Brand Manager for Dungeons & Dragons, Wizards of the Coast. I'd like to invite a store representative to take part in the discussion on the matter of whether this is a misunderstanding or store policy. if this is not possible, i would appreciate an email reply i could share with this discussion board.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...al-rpg-discussion/243710-my-anti-d-d-lgs.html

 

[Treebore]

Not really -- I'm a fairly well-dressed software development professional, which is how I was presenting at the time. Also I'm female, which you would think gives me points.

Admittedly I do have a streak of red in my hair, but.



You'd think so, but there's a very very small D&D shelf in there, so I was operating under the assumption that they would support the idea of someone playing a game that they're actively selling. Also Seattle is a fairly liberal city, considering.

Well, at this point I would have to ask him to explain why. Who knows? He may have an answer acceptable enough to you and things may work out to where you can use his store as an LGS.

 

[FATDRAGONGAMES]

We had a LGS in these parts that was like that a few years ago called Geeksworld. They initially refused to carry D&D or Magic because of negative religious views of one of the partners. The store lasted for about 18 months and went under, but not before deciding to stock D&D in the last few months to try and salvage things.

 

[jdrakeh]

At the risk of sounding like an ad copy generator. . .

We have a hobby store here that carries a similar array of products (and, really, their RPG selection is probably the smallest product group in the store), yet they allow people to run all manner of RPGs in the store — they also host their own seasonal in-store mini-cons (Get Your Game On-A-Thons), used game auctions, and After Hours events for games with mature themes (usually Indie RPGs).

Really, the store that I allude to is a marketing marvel. I've lived in a lot of big cities and never really seen anything like it. In fact, here's the schedule for this week's mini con.

I can't help but wonder why a store that sells entertainment would turn away a guaranteed customer draw like a D&D game. I mean, at the very least, the play group will likely become paying customers and, even if they don't, nothing says "This game is fun!" like a group of people actually playing and enjoying it in the store. If I were managing the store that you allude to, I'd be all about encouraging people to come in and play games.

 

[Timeboxer]

Well, at this point I would have to ask him to explain why. Who knows? He may have an answer acceptable enough to you and things may work out to where you can use his store as an LGS.

Fair enough -- I don't have any hostility or anything, and I'm surprised frankthedm stepped up the discussion. I just thought it was notable to actually be told "no" in this case, since it just seems so natural for a gaming store to have D&D games played there. But it may very well be that people who play D&D aren't the kind of business that the store owner wants.

 

[DaveMage]

It could also be the time it takes to play D&D. He might not want a group in there for 4-6 hours at a time...

 

[Nikosandros]

Think about it. What could possibly be more fun than sitting at a table and having your parents creating this fantastic world of adventure for you?

What could be more fun? Sitting at that table with my friends.

When I started gaming, I was 12 and I had zero interest in playing with my parents.

 

[justanobody]

It could also be the time it takes to play D&D. He might not want a group in there for 4-6 hours at a time...

Maybe the store owner doesn't like 4th edition also? You sell what you can sell, but game store owners may be gamers, and might be one of those people that didn't like 4th edition, so want to avoid it since being so close to Renton there are other places in Washington state to game D&D, and probably hundreds of them.

Maybe it is a grudge against WotC for not being asked to be a playtester....

I can come up with hundreds of possible silly reasons for this, but agree the space and time to play could be very BIG factors in game room space.

 

[Tewligan]

But it may very well be that people who play D&D aren't the kind of business that the store owner wants.

It could also be the time it takes to play D&D. He might not want a group in there for 4-6 hours at a time...

These are both pretty likely, in my opinion. I've seen multiple gaming groups squatting at game stores for hours and hours, and they aren't always really big on appropriate noise level, language, and...well, hygiene. If the store is more geared towards a certain clientele, it's reasonable that they don't want to mix that up - especially if the owners have seen the same kind of game groups I mentioned at other game stores.

 

[Timeboxer]

If the store is more geared towards a certain clientele, it's reasonable that they don't want to mix that up - especially if the owners have seen the same kind of game groups I mentioned at other game stores.

On the other hand, if that's true, then clearly the marketing team has a very long way to go to bridge the gap.