RPG Hot (and Cold) Spots - What are good (and not-so-good) gaming towns?

[HandofMystra]

I know there are quite a few around. Have you ever been to the ENW DC Gameday that we have twice a year? Its a good place to meet area roleplayers.

Oh, and don't forget synDcon is coming up in our area too. Check out the thread!

I liked the gameday. I came down from Philly for the last one. When is the next?

 

[Asmor]

I currently live in southern New Hampshire which seems to be a cold spot. The closest game store is about 20 minutes away but it is pretty poor; there are a couple about 45 minutes away which are decent, but you really have to go to Boston (Cambridge, actually) to get a good game store (Pandemonium), which is almost an hour and a half away.

You, sir, are incorrect.

Myriad Games, in Salem, NH, is way, way, way, better stocked than Pandemonium. It's better than any of the game stores I'm aware of in the Boston / North Shore area.

Should be pretty close to you in southern MA, too. It's right over the border.

 

[pogre]

Champaign, Illinois - Warm - lots of gamers, but somewhat insular groups.

St. Louis, MO - Hot - lots of good stores, lots of groups, very easy to find games.

Chicago, IL - Moderate - One great store and a few lesser stores. Game days are a must to find games up there in my experience.

Ohio does seem hot to me as well, but I have not there for long periods of time.

 

[Mallus]

I've met some great people gaming in Philadelphia. I'd say it's a hot town, from a gaming-nerd perspective.

 

[MortonStromgal]

Obviously Seattle is a major gamer hot spot at least partially due to Wizards of the Coast being there,

Along with Microsoft, Valve, Nintendo, etc etc which all have employees interested in RPGs.

 

[ExploderWizard]

I liked the gameday. I came down from Philly for the last one. When is the next?

The next one is scheduled for May 14th unless it has recently changed-same location.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

Colorado Springs, CO is, in my experience, warm. There's a fair amount of gamers, though its sometimes difficult to get a new group going (everyone is in a group already).

Edit: There are three good game stores in the Springs: Compleat Games & Hobbies, Gamer's Haven, and Heroes & Dragons (though they focus more on comics and such).

Special category - The military. I was in the Air Force and the Navy and never had trouble finding gamers, regardless of where I was stationed. Easily set up groups within a couple of weeks of going to a new base.

 

[Mercurius]

You, sir, are incorrect.

Myriad Games, in Salem, NH, is way, way, way, better stocked than Pandemonium. It's better than any of the game stores I'm aware of in the Boston / North Shore area.

Should be pretty close to you in southern MA, too. It's right over the border.

Good to know, thanks! I'm about an hour away from Myriad and have never been there, but you've convinced me to check it out. Do they sell used games?

The closest game stores to me are Relentless Dragon in Amherst/Nashua, about 25 minutes away (which is poor from an RPG perspective), a decent store that's name I forget in Manchester, about 40 minutes away, Game Castle in Londonderry (mediocre), about 45 minutes away, and Toy City in Keene (fair), about 45 minutes away. Three Trolls is also decent, but it is about an hour away in MA. Myriad is on my list to check out, as is a game store in Fitchburg. I've also heard good things about Battleground Games, but that's about two hours away.

 

[ProtoClone]

Kalamazoo, Michigan - Warm
Battle Creek, Michigan - Warm

We have WMU, Kalamazoo College and KVCC all within 5miles of each other. So the ability to play is almost always there.
Not to forget we also have/had "Marmalade Dog" hosted at WMU every year. A decently sized event with all sorts of gaming.

For stores we have Fanfare. They deal mostly in sports cards but going in you would not realize it. They have regular gaming events there and a very good selection of new and used material. Half the store is gaming, from board to PnP to CCG.

There is also Titan games. The location in Kalamazoo is owned separately, I believe, from the location in Battle Creek (20minutes East from Kalamazoo). I know the Battle Creek location is an awesome spot for new and used games. The Kalamazoo location was owned by the same guy as the Battle Creek location, Marcus. When it was owned by Marcus they had almost everything the Battle Creek store had. I have not been in there since the switch, lack of personal funds being the reason.

 

[Steel_Wind]

Chicago, IL - Moderate - One great store and a few lesser stores. Game days are a must to find games up there in my experience.

I don't get this. At Gencon, frikkin EVERY GAMER IN THE ROOM seems to be from Chicago. Seriously. That's not an overstatement. Even when there are 50 people in the room, too.

How can this be "moderate?" What am I missing?