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Message: <blockquote data-quote="innerdude" data-source="post: 5094143" data-attributes="member: 85870">I'm curious to hear from the community what everyone's typical experience is with the FLGS in their neighborhoods / towns. I got my first D&D Basic Module for Christmas at age 10, played BECMI throughout the '80s and early '90s, semi-played 2e on very rare occasions in the late '90s, and then moved full throttle into 3.x around 2003. However, even at the height of my OD&D heyday in the late 1980s, I never really "got into" the whole FLGS thing. I loved the product, enjoyed seeing that other people "liked" the same hobby I did, but I never really "attached" myself to a game store like I saw other people do. In my current location, there's one very small FLGS with a limited RPG selection (D&D 4e, SWSE and Warhammer, and that's pretty much it), but every time I go in there, and I see the crowds there, I'm still......well, to be honest, kind of put off by the whole atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, I love gaming, love D&D, have a shelf full of game books, and a whole host of others I've either lost during moves or sold, but I just don't particularly enjoy the "FLGS experience," for all the usual reasons. One problem is that my local store primarily caters to the wargamers/Heroclix crowd, but I've had the same experience elsewhere, even in one store in my previous location that was an incredibly nice store in a very nice location, with a huge game selection. My question is, am I unique? Are there others out there that have had different experiences? Should I be more open to meeting people and getting to know the local gaming crowd? Am I missing out on something important by not associating with my FLGS? I do have some interest in playing a "living" campaign setting, especially Pathfinder Society, but I'm unsure what to expect from doing so. One of the reasons I ask is I recall an interview with the head of Goodman Games 6 or 8 months back where he claimed that the FLGS is still the "heart and soul" of PnP RPGs, and that brick-and-mortar game shops are still one of the primary engines that drives distribution. It surprised me greatly, because I would have thought that based on my experience, word-of-mouth and the Internet would have a far greater impact on the RPG industry today than the FLGSes. So I humbly ask you all, can you give a fellow gamer some insight?</blockquote>

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