the FLGS list

[Kalendraf]

In Minnesota, it all comes down to The Source Comics and Games in Falcon Heights (*cough* Saint Paul *cough*)

Let me 2nd the vote for The Source. I live in Rochester, but I make an effort to go there everytime I'm in the Twin Cities area. As you said, the place is huge and offers a fantastic range of products ranging all the way from OOP RPG to current releases. The miniature selection is amazing.

Though they offer no discount (which is a shame, I'd buy more there if they did) they don't mark-up, and they don't shrink-wrap.

Unless they've changed their policy, they sell customer discount cards (10% off all purchases) for $10 which last for 1 year. It doesn't take much to break even and start coming out ahead on that. In a typical year, I probably make at least a half-dozen trips there and usually spend more than $20 a trip.

 

[Kalendraf]

Got so caught up in my last post about The Source, I forgot to mention the FLGS in my town. Oops. In Rochester, MN, our main gaming store is Jimmy Jam's Comics located at 1609 N Broadway.

The store is small, but about 1/3 of it is dedicated to its gaming area. They carry WotC D&D books, a wide selection of other d20 pubs as well as some other RPGs. As their name would imply, they also carry a wide selection of comics. They also carry MtG cards, D&D plastic miniatures, dice and a few other gaming items. They having gaming nights multiple nights of the week.

 

[Foundry of Decay]

Well, I'll chime in for my little corner of Canukada.

Mission Fun & Games by far is the best we have locally. I used to (have) to go to Warp 1, which has since turned to utter mud. Mission is the best thing to hit the general Edmonton area since Adventurer supply.

 

[dpmcalister]

I try to offer a listing of UK stores over at UK Roleplayers. Of course, it requires input from my members so if any of you here are in the UK and know of an FLGS, please post it there as well (you don't have to register for an account, though that would be nice )

For myself, my closest is in Worcester (a 30-40 minute drive from my house) and is called Format. It's not a massive shop, but it does stock most popular games.

 

[Salad Shooter]

In Williamsport, PA:
The White Knight's Game Room, 1101 East Third Street

In West Windsor, NJ
The Gamer's Realm, 2025 Old Trenton Road, in the Princeton Arms Center

Maybe the first post in this thread should be a list of all the stores? It'd be cool to be able to just look down the list if I'm heading somewhere.

 

[The Madhatter]

In Minnesota, it all comes down to The Source Comics and Games in Falcon Heights (*cough* Saint Paul *cough*)

Huge selection of stuff both RPG and board game related. Tons of anime (not my thing, but it's there) tons of miniatures, and comic books. They have a huge section reserved as just gaming space with nice big tables. The Source is one of the biggest gaming stores I've ever seen (for those of you familiar with Games Plus in Illinois, it's significantly bigger than that). Though they offer no discount (which is a shame, I'd buy more there if they did) they don't mark-up, and they don't shrink-wrap.

They also have quite a few customer appreciation events, and the employees are knowledgable.

1601 W. Larpenteur Avenue
Falcon Heights, MN 55113

Amen. This is the FLGS I never had as a kid. Though they do offer a discount card you can purchase, unless they ceased that program. I am a card-carrying member of the Source Adventure Club!

-Thirig Stonesunder of the All-Powerful Demigawds, Xcrawl Champions

 

[Castellan]

The FLGSs of note in Greenville, South Carolina are as follows:

Boardwalk & Park Place: Located in the Haywood Mall, it's a Harry Potter-esque store, packed wall-to-wall with all conceivable games. If you wend your way through the close-packed stacks of Go games and expansion sets for "Apples to Apples" (an excellent party-oriented card game, by the way) you come to the Back Wall, where there exist a plethora of RPG books. About 60% is dedicated to d20 material (from WotC Core Rulebooks to the Book of Erotic Fantasy), and the rest is other games (Call of Cthulhu, Battletech, Vampire, etc). This store has a variety of products from WotC, AEG, FFG, Green Ronin, etc.

Borderlands: Located on Laurens Road not too far from my favorite tobacconist and around the corner from a great Indian restaurant. This is your typical FLGS, with wargame tables in back and a large collection of miniatures, paints, and terrains. Lots of good D&D stuff here, though not much non-d20 stuff. Also a good collection of comic books, too. Importantly, the owner is an amazing guy who will go out of his way to order something for you. My wife is a gaming-dice-freak, and she'll ask this guy to order something that's been out of circulation for awhile, and he'll still locate one for her! Awesome!

Haven Games: A hole-in-the-wall shop on Woodruff Road, not too far from where I live. Their selection is tiny, and all WotC-only. If I can't find a Forgotten Realms book anywhere else, I can be reasonably sure it's here. The place is tiny. There are a couple gaming tables in the back of the store, but they really don't fit. Did I mention the place is tiny? Employees seem to have limited knowledge of -- well, the world around them.

All-in-all, Borderlands is my favorite, though the owner of Boardwalk & Park Place is a nice guy who's always opening a new game to get customers to try. If he's working, I make sure to stop in and see what new game he's playing with on that particular day.

 

[Qlippoth]

More votes still for a couple of places:
Pandemonium Books & Games in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA (lots of new & old releases, fiction & non-fiction books, & a very knowledgeable staff);
Your Move Games, in Davis Square, Somerville, MA (more minis & MtG-focused than Pandemonium, but a great spot for no-BS talk of releases new & old);
& Danger Planet, in Waltham, MA (friendliest FLGS I've ever encountered, catering to gamers new & old).

 

[Patman21967]

In Newark Delaware, you will find the Days of Knights ( www.daysofknights.com ) where the staff ( owner John Corradin ) and employees Steve and Elyssia are both knowledgeable and friendly. They have an amazing amount of gaming stuff, plus there is a club in the back. They sponsor strat-o-matic baseball leagues, pokemon tournaments ( and all those other dumb ccg's ) and a host of other events. John is a co-founder of Wilmark Dynasty, a group that published their own RPG ( Melanda, land of mystery ) in the 80's, and host a LARP every year, which is widely attended by several giants in the industry...A truly awesome and friendly place

I have been a friend and patron since 1981....they are wonderful friends and people.

 

[Acid_crash]

That's funny Castellan because there is a Borderlands game store in Salem, Oregon also. It has a decent selection of Warhammer (a large selection of WH), d20 and non-d20, some board games and other types of games as well, like Poker, Mahjang (however it's spelled), and even has LAN gaming. Decent space in the back. Customer service has improved in the last six months so it's getting better.

It's also the ONLY game store in salem worth really going to.