Top 10 reasons every gamer should live in England

[wedgeski]

Lack of gaming shops is indeed a problem in the UK. I live 200 miles from Leisure Games and yet they're still my primary supplier of gaming material! The one decent FLGS we've ever had up here in Worcester was a reasonably well-run outlet but it just couldn't survive beyond a couple of years.

Nice articles Charles.

 

[PaulofCthulhu]

Its just I found a distinct lack of gaming shops.

Three basic reasons:

1) In the 70s & 80s Games Workshop got in early and expanded across the country, then decided to go with their own Warhammer IP and took a lot of RPG materials off the UK high street.

2) Commercial rents are comparatively high in the UK. Space is at a premium and returns for games-related materials are not as high as other merchandise can be.

3) The Internet makes new bricks & mortar games shops very difficult.

 

[Balesir]

As a Scot I'm meant to bear an ancient grudge against all things English.

Well, as an Englishman I'm supposed to have some unquenchable desire to oppress you, or something, but I, likewise, find holidaying in the far northwest or the outer isles much more agreeable! For those who have not seen a broch, you are missing out on pure FRP inspiration

And then the countryside, the food in the highlands, the...

I've heard that English cheese is disappointingly mild*

*My motto is "If it's not sharp, it's not worth eating."

Hmmm, Igor - bring in the Stinking Bishop! Don't touch it, you fool!

(True fact: What we call Cheddar is actually a different cheese, called Red Leicester. A fine cheese in its own right, but not the same thing Cheddar (or even particularly close). Actual Cheddar is what we call "white Cheddar." It's firmer, sharper, lighter in color, and a bit more likely to crumble.)

But I digress. . . .

Actually, I find much of the Red Leicester you get falls into the "genuine imitation cheese-flavoured food substitute" category, sadly. If you can fine some of the real deal, though, it can be very good. But that is a digression...

Lack of game shops is a bugbear, certainly. There is a fairly good convention scene, though, and plenty of clubs. Phil Masters keeps a site of upcoming UK conventions going here, so if you're visiting you can check out what's on.

 

[Morrus]

Its just I found a distinct lack of gaming shops. I did find one in Kings Cross which was nice (Orcs nest?).. not far from Trafalgar Square but the opening hours were... odd and it did seem quite small. Its probably a very 80's way of looking at gaming, but to me the gaming store is a great way to talk to other gamers but also see what gaming groups are out there.

I agree that game stores are comparatively rare here in the UK; however I might be unusual in that I don't put the value on them that many others seem to. If I want to buy stuff, I do so online; and I don't really feel the need to hang out in a shop as a social activity. I've always been an in-and-out shopper (for any goods, not just games).

 

[PaulofCthulhu]

Besides browsing it can also be about a place to meet and chat in person that isn't as dedicated as a convention and also having a visible presence on the high street, letting people know the games exist ("mind share"). The internet is good but search engines provide answers to topics that are already in your head, not serendipity.

Not having magazines on newsracks can be seen as another example. You could look at it as "lack of exposure".

 

[Bluenose]

Lack of gaming shops is indeed a problem in the UK. I live 200 miles from Leisure Games and yet they're still my primary supplier of gaming material! The one decent FLGS we've ever had up here in Worcester was a reasonably well-run outlet but it just couldn't survive beyond a couple of years.

Nice articles Charles.

I think Waylands Forge in Birmingham is now the closest FLGS. They run games, too, though mostly miniatures. We do of course still have a Games Workshop in Worcester. Actually, there's more stores sellings RPG material around than I think people realise. Some of them aren't exactly good at making themselves known.

British cheese is good. Avoid cheap supermarket %*£@ and you'll find some lovely varieties.

 

[CharlesRyan]

Having recently , May -June 2010 visited England (but to a larger extent London), I can say as a Gamer Its not all its cracked up to be. [. . .] Its just I found a distinct lack of gaming shops.

This isn't really a England problem, per se. London is one of the most expensive cities in the world. In that regard it's a lot like Manhattan: Good game shops exist, but they're quite few and far between. It's ironic that such a high concentration of gamers supports so few shops, but that's really true in large, expensive cities around the world.

As for the rest of the country, I'm not going to agree with those disparaging the UK retail scene (even the Brits). There are about 50 or so game shops in the UK, and about a quarter of those are pretty darn good ones. The UK is, geographically, about the size of an average US state, and those shop numbers compare favorably.

So in this regard, as in other ways, I'd advise the gamer to spend your few days in London, then get out and spend some real time in the rest of the country! Too many visitors to the UK spend the bulk of their time in London, when there's so much more out there.

(By the way, second half of the post on pubs is up now! The Fascinating World of Charles Ryan)

 

[Morrus]

As for the rest of the country, I'm not going to agree with those disparaging the UK retail scene (even the Brits). There are about 50 or so game shops in the UK, and about a quarter of those are pretty darn good ones. The UK is, geographically, about the size of an average US state, and those shop numbers compare favorably.

I'd have to disagree with you there, Charles! You're thinking about it in terms of geographical area, but you could think about it in terms of population. That's 50 game shops between 60,000,000 people - or under one game shop per 1,000,000 people. For example, there isn't one at all in my city, Southampton (unless you count the Games Workshop store).

The same ratio applied to the US would result in just 350 game shops. Spread over 50 states, you'd be looking at 7 game stores per state, not the equivalent 50 per state-sized-area you're postulating in your geographical comparison.

I think that the UK is pretty badly served by game stores (for a variety of reasons, of course). But they're pretty rare.

 

[CharlesRyan]

But why is the population relevant? If it resulted in the shops being too crowded, that might be a valid point. The time or distance to the nearest shop is more relevant, I think. You're less than an hour from The Games Shop in Aldershot and Eclectic in Reading--two top-notch shops. Most Americans don't live within an hour of one shop of that caliber.

Frankly, we'd all like to see more and better shops on both sides of the pond (and everywhere else). Maybe the US has a better game retail scene--but I'm not sure it's by a huge margin. I've lived in well-populated suburban US areas for decades, and I don't recall ever living in better proximity to decent game shops than when I was in the UK.

 

[Morrus]

But why is the population relevant? If it resulted in the shops being too crowded, that might be a valid point. The time or distance to the nearest shop is more relevant, I think. You're less than an hour from The Games Shop in Aldershot and Eclectic in Reading--two top-notch shopsr.

Well, for me personally - and I realise I may be unusual in this - I don't see the value in driving an hour to a game shop. I'm afraid I just don't "get" the attraction. I'd walk in, grab the book I want, pay for it and leave. And I can do that easily enough online.

I realise that for many people there's a social element there. I just don't share it. Gaming is social for me in that it's an activity I enjoy with my friends, but I don't feel the need to meet new gamers or the like (although new friends are always cool - but pubs are a far more efficient and local way of doing that!)

That said, it often takes me an hour just to get out of Southampton, so it's more than an hour really. It's a frustrating couple of hours of swearing at dense traffic just to do what I could have done in 30-seconds online.