Top 10 reasons every gamer should live in England

[CharlesRyan]

Yeah, that's all fair enough. I've always like the experience of browsing, especially at a well-stocked game shop (or the exhibit hall at a big con).

 

[CharlesRyan]

(Hey, look at that! Today I posted my 1,000th post on EN World!)

 

[Tyranthraxus]

I must admit in my later gaming years I have bought more gaming product online. I know its not the same as browsing but I can filter my search criteria via most online game stores to see what is out there.

In Perth where I live I can count on one finger the number of gaming stores I can find . One. Thats a shop called Tactics that is moderately sized, tucked away in one of those arcades that is very touristy and aimed at 'The people who think British culture still has a large impact on Australian culture'. It looks very antiquated.

While there are gaming tables there, I believe they are mostly used by Magic Players. Once upon a time I used to pop in a least once a month for a browse. I havnt actually been in now since October 2010. Australia does seem to favor the British school of gaming stores.. there are few for the population that exists. Or it could be that Perth simply is the Gaming desert of Australia

 

[Balesir]

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).

While I can recognise this view (I buy a good bit online, too), there are two things I have always found B&M game stores to be much better for:

1) Seeing new games, chatting to knowledgeable staff about them and taking a peek. Not so good for my wallet, maybe, but good for my experience of and exposure to new games

2) For products I've heard of but am unsure of, taking a look at tables of contents etc., before I buy.

Thinking about these, though, the 'net is getting better at covering both, so maybe the old game store is sliding toward obsolescence...

 

[nedjer]

I've heard that English cheese is disappointingly mild*, but...

13. England births the best fantasy authors.

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

Let this Blacksticks Blue rot for a week and you'll have all the flavor you could ask for

 

[nedjer]

Well, as an Englishman I'm supposed to have some unquenchable desire to oppress you, or something

It's all down to one guy on one day 700 years ago at Berwick. No matter how many battles and conflicts take place a single atrocity can cast a shadow for centuries.

Talk of reviving the England v's Scotland annual football thugathon seems unlikely to help, but an annual cross border cheese swap might be just the thing

 

[Janx]

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!)

In the vein of CR's article about pubs, how much of this is cultural/the nature of living in England?

I don't smoke. I don't drink. Bars have both, so as such, I avoid them. When I do end up in one, I only talk to the people I came with, not people who happen to be there.

Most of my friends, I met through work or other common activity (band practice, game store, school).

Since England's game stores are tiny and mostly just hold product, and pubs tend to be filled with local regulars, I guess thats where folks go and socialize. How does the topic of gaming and "would you like to play a game" come up?

 

[Morrus]

In the vein of CR's article about pubs, how much of this is cultural/the nature of living in England?

All of it? None of it? I don't know. I have no frame of reference.

How does the topic of gaming and "would you like to play a game" come up?

The same way any other topic comes up through conversation. One meets people, one gets to know them, one becomes friends with those with shared interests or worldviews. I don't need a special dedicated structure and location for every potential conversational subject of shared interest!

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

I have a feeling our American friends might be accustomed to meeting potential gamers in game-stores.

 

[nerfherder]

However my favorite place happened to be a gaming store in Newcastle which I happened on. I didnt know it existed .. and I kept getting it confused with Forbidden Planet (and probably have here). The staff were very friendly, actually were interested in communicating and despite a impasse at first (Australian talking to a Geordie!) it was all good.

Glad you enjoyed yourself up here in the more civilised part of England. I presume you're referring to Travelling Man - just down the street from Forbidden Planet. I'm fortunate to work in the centre of Newcastle, so I might just pop over there to visit them both this lunchtime...