definiteFreakyFishGuy
Explorer
A few days ago, I visited my local game store. The last time I walked into the store, I believe was near the end of 2024—I think I was buying Hanukkah presents or something. The store's RPG section, which was all the way in the back, had been growing, dominated by Warhammer and DND, with some smattering of other games. Back then, the RPG section took up about 2 back-to-back shelves, with one sparsely populated shelf dedicated to small zine-like rules lite games.
Fast forward to a few days ago. I walked into the store, and the first thing that caught me was Roots RPG box set (maybe it was the deluxe edition?), prominently displayed by the entrance. There was also a one of the tall rotating shelf filled with 5e compatible adventures and some other books. The main RPG section was still near the back, but the size had nearly doubled. Warhammer had its own wall shelf now. I found multiple Vaesen books, Daggerheart, Cosmere RPG, and Tales of the Valiant (I was surprised to find TotV, honestly). Five Hundred Year Old Vampire was there (though I didn't see Thousand Year Old Vampire). There were 4 physical copies of Wanderhome (2 hard cover, 2 softcover)—which was what I was at the store for. Fatal Girl had its own half-shelf. There were some games I had never heard of before, like Jiangshi RPG. I was really tempted to grab Jianshi, Heroes of Border Lands—holy crap that starter set is HEAVY—, and many solo journaling RPGs. There were many other cool things, but I resisted the temptation and only walked out with over a hundred dollars worth of merch.
I was also a bit surprised to not find some titles. I feel like people talk about Shadowdark & Draw Steel at a lot, but I didn't see either of them there. Even though there were a decent number of solo RPGs, the Ironsworn games were missing.
All in all, I was happy to see that RPGs are becoming more popular.
What does the RPG section in your local game store look like? Is it also growing? Anything surprising about the collection they have? And what's up with Fatal Girl—I feel like I see it in every game store—has anyone tried it?
Fast forward to a few days ago. I walked into the store, and the first thing that caught me was Roots RPG box set (maybe it was the deluxe edition?), prominently displayed by the entrance. There was also a one of the tall rotating shelf filled with 5e compatible adventures and some other books. The main RPG section was still near the back, but the size had nearly doubled. Warhammer had its own wall shelf now. I found multiple Vaesen books, Daggerheart, Cosmere RPG, and Tales of the Valiant (I was surprised to find TotV, honestly). Five Hundred Year Old Vampire was there (though I didn't see Thousand Year Old Vampire). There were 4 physical copies of Wanderhome (2 hard cover, 2 softcover)—which was what I was at the store for. Fatal Girl had its own half-shelf. There were some games I had never heard of before, like Jiangshi RPG. I was really tempted to grab Jianshi, Heroes of Border Lands—holy crap that starter set is HEAVY—, and many solo journaling RPGs. There were many other cool things, but I resisted the temptation and only walked out with over a hundred dollars worth of merch.
I was also a bit surprised to not find some titles. I feel like people talk about Shadowdark & Draw Steel at a lot, but I didn't see either of them there. Even though there were a decent number of solo RPGs, the Ironsworn games were missing.
All in all, I was happy to see that RPGs are becoming more popular.
What does the RPG section in your local game store look like? Is it also growing? Anything surprising about the collection they have? And what's up with Fatal Girl—I feel like I see it in every game store—has anyone tried it?
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