Use code EXTRACREDITS50 to get 50% off your first Factor box at bit.ly/3kHfe03 and get fresh food delivered directly to your door! The Extra Credits Crew's Favorite FLGS: Imperial Outpost - Glendale, AZ Silver Key Lounge - Mesa, AZ Game Empire - San Diego, CA Other Realms - Honolulu, HI The Brooklyn Strategist - Brooklyn, NY AA Comics and Cards - Lebanon, PA Mox Boarding House - Seattle, WA
Do you not recognize your hypocrisy in sending people to an online vendor for food instead of their friendly, local grocery store? Or will we get a follow up video about how the internet killed the grocery store?
@@VaultBoy13 We talk about games not groceries. Also I feel like Factor's meal delivery service is smaller and not exactly like a Frys/Kroger shopping store?
One of the biggest things I've seen are Game Stores/Cafes turning into Tabletop Libraries when for a daily fee or a membership fee, you gain access to the store's own catalog of games. There are two stores in my area that have this system and it's insanely popular.
And since it's a monthly thing, I barely notice the fact I've spent hundreds on the membership (been going for 4 years). It's also open 24/7 with security so if I need a late night game of Catan me and my friends just head over there.@@extracredits
In Los Angeles there is a place called geeky teas that’s a game store, tea shop, and cat adoption place. They also charge $5 to hang out and play any of their demo games, they have a good sized collection. And they also have snacks and stuff. Also in LA there WAS a board game cafe called game Haus which was insane, like 1500 games or something massive, they closed during the pandemic though. Now i am in Portland and i noticed a lot of game stores doing well always busy.
All through middle and half of high school there was a local game shop I went at least once a week to. It's the only reason why I even got into TRPGs and board games. I passed it with my grandma once, and I asked if we could look around, and the rest is history. It broke my heart that COVID-19 led to it's downfall, and was closed in 2021. To this day, some of my best memories as a teen come from there, and I still might try and open my own game shop later in life
I play Yugioh at a game shop in a mall, the mall kicked them out of their spot and moved them to the LAST venue in the deadest section of the entire mall. Fortunately their customers followed them.
@@JeremyStroudWhat makes places like Olympia so bad? Does it that tend to play favorites when it comes to certain businesses or do those said businesses have some form of have a economic stranglehold on that area that anything that is local or even remotely independent is immediately curve stomped because see them as threat?
We're not in the biggest city out here (SW US) but we've had a few new FLGS pop up and some close down - and those new ones have been absolutely thriving. The main way that these stores stay steady is through cultivating community. The ones that we've had close out here tended to stick players in the back rooms, looking just as a store first and foremost. While that worked for them for a while they didn't take that time to evolve and they're the ones that internet sales cut down. COVID hit those ones the hardest too since why risk it when you can just have your stuff delivered direct? Community is the one thing that internet sales can't replace and the same goes for big box stores since they're, well, stores. After the longest time we had a Warhammer store finally open up here but they only have, what, two tables? It's practically impossible to fit more than a dozen people in because that's not what its focus is. Barnes and Noble has been pulling timed Battletech exclusives (a personal annoyance of mine) but people don't go to B&N to play.
And most of them are gone because that second one has consumed peoples lives and a mix of car dependency , the internet, and smaller factors like major cities having so much crime stores have to shut down due to theft (At least in the U.S.A) In New York they literally had to have the NATIONAL GARD in the subway crime was so bad Not the best combo for a local game store that needs foot traffic
Weirdly this hasn't happened in Ireland, we still have to go to the FLGS to get most games, certain games like Catan can be found elsewhere but the local shops still flourish
I think Kickstarter also hurt them, now instead of browsing your local game store, people browse kick starter and buy it straight from the creator (which probably helps the creator a lot more). I know I have some friends who buy way too many board games, with several they never have had a chance to play due to requiring 6+ people, but they always have 3-4 new games heading their way thanks to a kickstarter addiction. I dont think they theyve gone to a gamestore in a long time because they find what they want on kickstarter. They are also the type of people who coordinate regular game nights at their place.
On the flip side of this, my FLGS has someone dedicated to browsing and backing kickstarters, which the store sells. You'll notice a number of board game kickstarters now have a retailer level because of this. I've found quite a few fun games that I just wouldn't be looking for had I been browsing Kickstart by myself.
While it's not only a game store (they also sell comics) I would like to mention a local shop Rookies, in Lowell MI. They have recently joined with one of the churches near to where they are, to host a local community game night where anyone is welcome to come. Rookies brings the games, and the church supplies the building and anyone who comes has a great time. I just love that this was started great way to bring people together.
Madness Games and Comics in Plano, Texas. They offer tons of space to play games, including 2 wargaming tables that are free to use (so long as they aren't reserved for events). Awsome guys.
Last week to a local gaming cafe for the first time to join a Magic the Gathering: Draft game. Although it was enjoyable and the community was fun to hang out with, the price of playing the game (which was draft, so we all had to get at least 3 booster packs) was just enough to make the experience a little bittersweet. Thankfully there are other games to play for the price of a drink.
This was a weird video title to see in my subs considering the board game and miniature game stores have actually been flourishing like never before here for the past few years. But maybe that's because we didn't use to really have a big market for games in prior decades.
Our local game shop is Third Eye! They actually *just* expanded into a music and record store, as well as games and comics! I'm super excited to go on Friday and get the next issue of my comic and browse the records. ❤
My FLGS is actually a major distributor of my state. They act as a sort of middle man for a lot of stores, which helped them a lot to stay afloat. Despite this, they still retain a local feel as they host many tournaments, offer a TON of places to sit and play a game, are full of friendly staff members, and is just overall great. They do lack a little in terms of variety for games, but they let us being just about any game. A game store I will call out by name as my best experience is The Emerald Tavern in Austin, TX. They used to be my favorite hangout spot before moving out of state. They both were a very great place to eat while also being a great Game Store. A lot of our current favorites were actually bought from the Emerald Tavern that we still play today. Even when the pandemic hit and had to close the Cafe part of the store, they still had awesome selections of games that couldn't compete. I miss it, but if y'all are in Austin and needing a place to chill, play, and easy, this is a great shop.
Many FLGS did not carry the products I was looking for in the 2005-2015 time frame. Not only were the items I was looking for cheaper online, but they were also actually available. I did my best to request orders to the stores, paying extra, but I kept having to do this; they never organically had what I was looking for in-stock. It is not nearly as bad now, but I also have less time for games too.
Here in Poland where I live, board game bars are quite popular. There are some with fantasy tavern themes, some with game consoles as well as board games, game themed snacks and drinks. It's quite wonderful.
Three cheers for Gamescape (San Francisco), my favorite FLGS. I get the feeling they are not just surviving, but maybe even thriving in this new landscape. In person events have restarted (though I don't tend to go... with little kids at home, it's not easy to get time to slip away!), and one thing I've noticed as Covid gripped the country - they really upped the "customer service" element. As a rule, the staff all say hi and ask if they can help me with anything. Some even remember my name, and know what genres of nerd-dom I typically gravitate towards! They've been around for ages (since 1985, I believe) and I hope will be around for many more years to come. Honorable mention to Versus games (also in San Francisco), they're also very nice and helpful, but have a greater focus on Magic and card games. Fun, but not necessarily my thing.
For those in Adelaide, Australia, Good Games Adelaide is right next to the main shopping district and on the Main Street. They run different TCG tournaments everyday, have rentable spaces for tabletop in their basement, and are just some of the nicest people ever. Also, pay in silver coins if possible as they always seem to run out.
The big win for our local store is that it was first and foremost, a sports cards store. No matter how MtG blunders its LGS relations, our local store will survive and prosper off Ken Griffey Jr., Babe Ruth, and Albert Pujols.
Alpha Comics And Games (conveniently located in Willow Lawn in Richmond, Va) is my personal favorite FLGS. Every third thruday of the month, they put on a DMs round table covering a variety of topics to hero you through your campaign and world building woes.
Love visiting my local store the Hobby Bunker in Wakefield Massachusetts! A great community of players, and a knowledgeable and friendly staff keeps me coming around for more!
Shoutout to Side Scrollers, my local game store… that sadly closed down last year. It’s where I met my current DnD group, and where I’ve played Magic for the last three years. You will be missed.
We have a game store and cafe in the center of town and conviniently it is located directly on my path of comuting to uni, so therefore I visit that place often. It is really nice and I am gratefull that it has survived and seems to be thriving.
I watch this and I think about my own experience... I'd say game stores were on their way out before this. My experience is in California where I knew the owner of a store really well, was there multiple times per week school/college from 2005 and beyond, and finally was privy to their business woes. However, a perfect storm sort of hit during 2008: 1.) Yes yes, Amazon and online retailers were undercutting Game Stores on price; much a grumbling was had about players walking in with new sets that they didn't buy at the game store. 2.) The 2008 recession happened, which cut spending by large amounts. Further, landlords were not friendly on leases, not giving any breaks. Being game stores are already on thin margins, and being they were on likely a 5 year lease, if they had a substantial amount of lease left by the time 2008 hit they were basically dead in the water. 3.) Finally...many large publishers didn't care about game stores at this time. Particularly Games Workshop. Typically large publishers like GW (or at least their distributors) would have their monthly or bi-monthly releases. Did you want first access to this new, fancy product? You had to order a minimum amount of merchandise that month to receive stock; otherwise you'll get it next month. This might also apply to certain special events for other publishers. This was OKAY (but insufferable) when business was fine, but... With the recession hitting hard, with pending lease payments, sharp competition from amazon... a lot of game stores weren't able to meet their purchase quotas, because sales had tanked and they were barely covering lease/rent. This meant they didn't get the latest products for popular, which further drove people to get these products online, thus reducing their business even further. This was the death spiral. I think it was after all this happened in the 2008 recession, after many of the game shops had closed their doors, that publishers started laying on more programs and exclusives for local game stores to give them a lifeline since they didn't realize until it was too late that without support... local game stores, where players played their games, were dying. I think this is part of the reason why tabletop gaming was better in the years following recession since large publishers were a bit more mindful of their local tabletop game store relationships, and ran a lot more events to try to drive players to said stores. I will say this though: Games Workshop didn't give a helping hand to local stores during the 2008 recession, and I'll always remember that. Just one more reason it's a terrible company.
2 big problems that caused a lot of LGSs to struggle, first a lot of LGSs were owned or staffed by assholes, when that was your only option they could get away with it but as people got more options they no longer had to put up with assholes. The second issue is politics, if an LGS supports the party of bigotry a lot of people start deciding they don't want to support that LGS. Every game story in my area that failed either was run by massive assholes or by people that, even if they were friendly towards everyone and insisted they opposed hate, made it clear to everyone that they supported the party of bigotry.
My local comic shop, Comic Force, typically have Magic nights and such, but have also expanded to selling classic video games and occasionally having tournament nights for things like Smash Bros Melee, Mario Kart Double Dash, etc.
I agree with most of what you're saying about the struggle to deal with the bloat that KS has created and issues with mega retailers, but the health of a city's gaming scene seems to really depend on where you live. I just recently moved back to the Kansas City area, and there might be more stores here than at any time in the past (10+ at least). A few of them have adjacent cafe spaces, but many of them are dedicated game stores.
I was surprised by this video. My local FLGS was so busy and crowded I only go on select nights. The community is not something you can get online and its one of the main reason I like board games over video games.
PANR has tuned in. I used to work at a game store. My whole job was to teach people to play magic and be available to play magic against anyone who wanted to play. I miss that shop...
The problem is relying on comercial spaces as the place to socialize. I'd recomend trying to organize some kind of Table top games club on a public space like a library.
Library’s have had similar issues for different reasons, everything from terrible public transport to online retailers And don’t forget government incompetence and neglect
In Washington DC there are a plethora of FLGSs, but I’m partial to Labyrinth in Eastern Market and Victory Comics in Falls Church, VA. Hasbro in general has also undercut FLGSs by overprinting sets and then dumping product on Amazon for well below wholesale prices. They stopped doing that, but many FLGSs got hosed and lost thousands on sets languishing on shelves or needed to take a loss to just move it to free up capital. This has been a big point of contention in the mtg community since 2020.
I'm fortunate to live in the Bay area where we have an embarrassment of game stores. Some card game focused, others wargame focused. I started in 2015 playing board and card games during college, and after finishing college and moving away from my FLGS, I missed it. Thankfully, as of three weeks ago, I found a new store alongside a new hobby of wargaming and I feel like I'm home again. Thank you Game Kastle Of Fremont!
I’ve helped do a paint-along at one of the stores, I’ve made sure to warn folks away from the unFLGS that’s rather gatekeepy. There’s one that offers boxed game nights, you choose 3 games, and they throw in a selection of snacks (cheese and bread/crackers, or local salsa (it is however Seattle salsa…), and has done a larger similar event as a fundraiser for the PTA (heard about that option from someone who used that as her reception, her and the groom just mixed between tables, seating was picked based on your board game style preference.
Gilded Raven Games here in Somerset New Jersey is literally the best. They are a home away from home and can really hit all notes from Warhammer to Magic the Gathering. Amazing community of people!
Recognizing that I don’t have knowledge of their finances; I guess I should count myself as lucky that I have multiple game stores in my town not only surviving, but at least from my perspective are thriving.
I lost a really great game store in my hometown in Switzerland to Covid :( Many years of memories playing Yu-gi-oh and DnD lost to this final pandemic crush. I do try and folks over to my place to play, but its not the same when strangers come and join :( so many new connections lost!
As a game shop manager thank yall for all of this. We've been getting hit harder and harder as time goes by because of folks purchasing online and playing online and for the way companies are turning off fans that once supported them. We've been having on thanks to our regulars but the fear is always there
@@extracredits I will say I'm not the store owner (that's a struggle I doubt I could handle) but me and my coworkers all manage our own areas. It's been hard but we keep on trucking. 40k and the comics have been keeping us going but it's been very hard getting mtg, pokemon and other events back up and running. I was doing the ttrpg a bit after covid but we're ending it today due to not enough folks coming in :(
Little Shop of Magic in Las Vegas, NV! It's on the 215, so a quick drive from the strip, if anyone wants to spend their winnings helping a local game store.
The FLG store I go to all the time (in London, England) is Dark Sphere, near Shepherd's Bush. It's got all kinds of card games and tournaments, from Lorcana to Yu-Gi-Oh, to Magic, Pokemon and One Piece, just to name a few. I go there to play Digimon every Monday and Saturday, the community is so welcoming and inclusive, I'd struggle to play anywhere else. In addition, they sell minis and even have a Gunpla build day on Sundays. If you're around London, definitely check the store out if you can!
I've recently been able to make it to my local game shop for late night Magic on the weekends, and it's been so great being able to make friends for the first time in a long time.
I live in greater London, you'd think there'd be tons of game stores/cafes but there's only like 4. It's so gawddamn cut throat. Also, Kickstarter bloat was ridiculous, I used to collect Zombicide... NOT ANY MORE!
Here's to Play the Game Read the Story over here in Syracuse. They stock comic trade paperbacks as well as games and paraphernalia, and their dedicated brick-and-mortar stores can occasionally host game nights.
The city I live has managed to support quite a few FLGS's but there has been many casualties of due to the various issues mentioned in the vid, the MOST successful one (as far as i know) is called 401 Games and its two-fold 1) they embraced the board game cafe thing, their a hobby store first but they have a large supply of board games to rent and an ok assortment of snacks and 2) they somehow sell board games cheaper than Amazon.
Shoutouts for my Local Game Stores, Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy in Austin and Alpha Strike Games in San Marcos. Dragon's Lair has be going for a *long* time, and was my parents' LGS back in the day. They have big open spaces for hosting wargames, RPGs, and TCGs, have hosted many a local mini-convention for organized RPG play, and have a long tradition of adorable store cats. Alpha Strike is a younger store that, I'm told, started off as the owner just wanting a space to play Magic with his friends and try to sell some cards in person. It has since moved to two progressively larger locations, hosting weekly Magic events, board game nights, and it's where I met most of my current D&D group!
Serenity Hobbies has been serving Oneonta well for almost ten years. That place was a safe alternative to parties and dumb shenanigans for me and my friends, and we've seen them move from a basement venue to right on Main Street, with glass display windows and all
Oddest thing is prior to 2020 the area I am in (large US city) had two stores and now we have 6. They all changed to being a place for people to go and play games while also selling if you wanted to buy something rather than the "buy something and get out" which they used to be. Really changed the feel and got people spending more.
some companies (like WotC) are hurting the LGS with online clients, online sales, big box store access to their products, etc. but it is worth nothing that other companies like Legend Story Studio are trying to help LGS everywhere with promo cards you can only get for playing at your LGS on official events of every level, including weekly events (and if you can't, don't worry, while the promo might be exclusive to those events, it is only because it is a Foil, the normal version of the card is available in the latest packs), they even send (always free of charge for the LGS) playmats to give to players, banners and posters (every month), They also started a casual play kit for events that aren't competitive (think Commander VS Modern or Standard) with different promos and mats for those players.
My favorite LGS has been around since the early 90's and is right next to a Pizza Hut. Having lots of playing tables inside and a placing a couple outside around dinner time keeps curious new players coming!
I have a couple locations I always love to support to the point where me and my friends are starting Warhammer start ups with KillTeam and Age of Sigmar matches at certain times. I will always love the board game community and they helped out a lot when I lost someone really close to me. I hope they continue to flourish with more ttrpg and card games.
I've been going to my local store for 16 years and the owner is a friend to everybody. Helped me out by giving me a temp job when i was in a rough spot. Their an awesome bunch and will always support them over big box
I have a story of my local game store. It used to just be a small back alley basement store, mostly just miniatures and magic, under a PC cafe. Later moved to a corner location at the end of our local shopping struck, branched out a bit more. Then it had some trouble and the owner had to run it out of his home. Though he did run a LARP game for the younger. But now they have had a comeback, gotten facilities in the railway station a large location front and center and even gotten more stores in larger cities. Shout out to Bunkeren (The Bunker) Now they have LARP equipment and Warhammer terrain workshop, plenty table games, nerd collectibles and game nights of all kind.
The fun thing my local one does is they have a board game cafe connected to a shop. That way if you find a game you like you can buy it and take it home.
Top Deck Games in Marlton NJ. Just moved locations last year into a renovated BOWLING ALLEY! So it has a HUGE room for players. So big they can run a DND night for like 5 campaigns and do a Magic the Gathering Draft at the same time! Also there’s a Dollar Tree two doors down, so a place to stock up on snacks for those long gaming sessions!
I'll be real, I'm not sure what they were doing, but the two game stores that have been around here both survived the pandemic and are doing just fine nowadays. hell, I would say that they're thriving. I definitely buy my Warhammer miniatures off the internet to save money, but I still buy paints at the local stores where I can see them with my own eyes.
For all my Albertans: Sentry Box in Calgary is literally the LARGEST flgs I have ever laid eyes on in my life and it's amazing, they carry tons of niche products. Also in Calgary Games People Play has a great selection and an awesome sales rack (I got seafall there once at almost 50% off). For Edmontonians, the Warp 1-3 comics and games stores are all great, and I've also enjoyed Hexagon and Tabletop cafe which I know are board game cafes but I've heard really great things about their community events so I fogured they were also worth a drop.
The Warps are FANTASTIC, highly recommend them! If you ever go down toward the Camrose area they also have a cozy place called Fox and Fable that's also got great food
There's a cute little board game cafe called "Badger Badger" in Deptford, UK, that has a really nice and big selection of games to play for a nice price (£7 per 3 hours)! Definitely recommend going if you're in the area.
Is it just me, or is the premise of big retail chains pushing out local stores by delivering content direct to doorsteps undermined a bit by Factor being a sponsor, since they're a big retail chain which delivers food to your door? I mean, restaurants aren't in as dire straights as game stores but it feels a bit like the cyberpunk dystopia tentacles are starting to creep in...
I'm glad the town I moved to has a thriving game store. it's been great to have a space to meet game nerds. T.J.'s cafe and games is a store in Milford, MA that runs tons of magic events, D&D campaigns for all levels of experience, has a Warhammer room, and boasts "the largest play space in new England." First Saturday of the month is board game day, and second Sunday of every month is the miniature painting workshop
All C's in Aurora Colorado. Aside from being just, super queer friendly when I was dealing with an awkward transition phase, they're also the closest YCS store to where I live. And while yes, I prefer Yu-Gi-Oh to MTG, that's one of the reasons I love the store, as MTG elietism has soured me on a game I once loved. While this store not only houses tournaments and events for the big three card games of Magic, YGO, and Pokemon, but also newer and smaller CCGs. While less board game focused than the other game shop I like near me, that's exactly what I love about it. Getting together and playing all sorts of CCGs, and having a great time doing it. Small aside at the end, I wonder if YGO never got hit the same way that MTG did with their online apps, because Masterduel and Duel Links are both very different experiences then the TCG.
In ABQ RIP Active Imagination (the loss of the legacy you inherited from Star base 10 and in tern it inherited from War Games West is tragic) that said please show Ettin Games some love if you are local to Albuquerque
If anybody watching this video lives in Salem, Oregon like I do, you need to visit my favorite gaming store, Wild Things games. It’s downtown on Commercial, a block away from the Clackamas center mall. The staff are super friendly and helpful, they have a huge variety of games and figures, and there are two floors for play.
Current Coffee and Collectables in my hometown, which isn't the biggest and is near Huntsville and Athens. But it's nice to have a place nearby. They are a small store that caters to board games, MTG, Pokémon, and Warhammer 40k. They serve vegetarian and vegan options, with their impossible burgers and vegan pepperoni pizzas being especially delicious. The downside is that they are a small store, sandwiched between a bank and liquor store that use to be a pay day lender. I want to see them become more successful so that they can find a bigger place.
I am incredibly proud to support three gaming places in Indiana with relitive regularity. A classic game store called Saltire, a Cafe called Hitherto (which I live very close to) and an actual guild in greenwood called Ye Gamers Guild. All very different but very worthwhile places to play games and spend my dollar
Gamers XP in Shreveport LA is one of the most incredible places for gaming I’ve seen! Staff and patrons are very friendly and welcoming, and there are frequent events for tcgs
There's a small store called Over the Brick in my neighborhood in Kenmore that I didn't know existed until a few months ago. They do boardgame nights and paint nights and all that
There is one game store near me, but they don't carry Cyberpunk or Battletech. I say there is only one, because the other one routinely price gouges (prices almost 2x MSRP on some games).
If you're in greater London: *Rule Zero* down Stratford, *Badmoon* by London Bridge station, *Darksphere* at Shepherds Bush, they're all great places to play and hangout.
If you're in the area, you absolutely need to check out The Castle in Beverly, MA! I absolutely love that place and it's my go-to for board game and D&D nights!
I’m looking forward to the evolution of game stores. I stopped going in my teens because the community wasn’t cultivated enough, but there is a renewed focus on the value community brings to these places. Thank goodness cause god knows they aren’t competing for price.
So weird to hear about other experiences. I've been going to FLGS since the early ninties. I live in a pretty dense suburban area, and I've seen a couple come and go. I didnt pay enough attention to remember how much of it lines up with the boom starting in 2012. At the turn of the millennium, i worked at a WotC retail store in the mall. I've always seen FLGS as incredibly fragile places. I always try to purchase stuff from these first. I also only been in (and even became aware of) boardgame cafes last summer when I went to Chicago. Closest thing to that I knew of were bars that had a collection of boardgames to borrow.
Before Covid, my partner and I would host LGBTIQ+ boardgame nights at our local game store, Good Games in Sydney CBD, Aus. The team were always welcoming to us when we were there, and made everyone feel safe and welcome. They were always keen to help new players learn the new games and were always able to give advice on any of the games. When we passed the reigns over to other people to run after we left the area, the place still made everyone in the group feel welcome and safe, so truly a wonderful team there who would go the extra mile for the players and customers stopping in there to play or browse!
I just got my buddy into 40k with a Leagues of Votann boxset that I ordered through my FLGS and emphasized to him that even if he could get his hobby stuff cheaper from Amazon or something to go to his local store to help keep them a float. The stores I go to also started carrying sodas & snack items so that can keep folks in the seats and generate some revenue from the munchies. Shout out to Collectermania in Parker, CO and Colpar's Hobbytown in Aurora, CO!
This video touched me a lot. I am planning to create a cafeteria for board games in Spain and this really hit me. Thank you for the video! I will try to help more in my local store because that's a place I love to go! Hope we can stay far from the biggest monsters (Amazon cof cof) and support the local commerce.
My friendly local game store is Alpha Comics and Games in Richmond, conveniently located in Willow Lawn. They are loverly there and have games to buy as well as a cart of games to try out at one of the tables. A great place to conspire with friends. :)
I can recommend two great ones in Bucks County, PA! Gamer's Heaven is an incredible social space with regular game nights, open tables, screens and computers to rent time at, libraries of manga and board games, foreign snacks for sale, and a kitchen! Games Keep is great by being, just, packed to the effing brim with board games and RPG books.
Oddly game stores seem to be doing ... OK ... in Ottawa (Canada). A friend owns a long running game store. Nothing huge, but still chugging along. And there are a few competitors.
My fav store: Freak in Dizengoff Center, Tel Aviv. It's the sort of place you can sit down and get a rando to play magic with you, while other randos watch, and then you all exchange numbers afterwards. Play anything in their decent collection, you just gotta buy some chips or a fanta. I found for sale there all these weird self-published israeli D&D supplements. The staff are super enthusiastic and personally got me into one piece tcg lmao. Amazon hasn't really hit Israel yet hard, though, so maybe its cheating how great a place Freak is. Come on down!!!
Davis Cards and Games in Davis, California is the best LGS I've ever been to and I've been going to them for years! They have a large play space, board game check-out, Sunday miniature paint nights, and Friday FNM as well as lots of TTRPG offerings. If you're in the Sacramento or Yolo County areas, they're worth visiting!
I can't speak to other metro areas, but while a few places shutdown due to the Pandemic, a vast majority of the FLGS are still around. That said, they also run things in a way where you either end up with a FLGS that doubles as a place you can play/try board games or a Board Game Cafe that doubles as an FLGS.
Hobby Vault in Maple Shade, NJ has had some nice growth lately. Minis and Magic are well supported and the board gaming side is just itching for more players!
Darkhound Games in Arlington, TX, has great staff, regular game nights, and supported the first board game my new company made by letting us playtest and sharing our Kickstarter!
Over here, cafes and FLGS are both thriving. My gaming store still has several events every single day. It's nice :) Sad to see it's not like this everyhere, these really help smaller BG communities. A cafe does too, but not quite the same way, I feel - very different (but also good) atmosphere. Cafes I find often are more for established groups to play new stuff there, rather than accept new players.
I don’t live in Rochester, NY (or even NY state) but I was blown away by Millenium Games. They apparently recently moved to a new, larger space and had a play space larger than the entirety of other places I’ve ever seen. The store itself felt like a ttRPG mall, with racks for every genre and even a section for manga and comic books. You bet your ass I spent so much money there I had trouble fitting all of it in my suitcase. I even bought their T-shirt 😂Please check them out if you ever have to drive near the area and show them some love ❤
Shoutout to Pair a Dice games in Northern San Diego County. We used to have a beer tasting room + board game store in San Diego proper that ended up fizzling. It's tough out there even when you do differentiate yourself from the online places.
I don't know if this is just me, but this video feels... really wrong? Like, I understand in broad strokes why the topics that are being discussed here feel like they should be the reason that FLGS are failing, but that's not consistent with the reality that FLGS owners are talking about. My partner and I have been to a number of FLGS workshops and seminars at conventions like Gencon both before and after the advent of Covid, and the issues that they were concerned about had very little to do with competing with Amazon or B&N, or whether or not to transition to a cafe model. Or even the state of board game bloat or board games at all. Consistently the message we heard from the majority of FLGS owners was that standalone board games do not make up a huge part of their business model, with a small number of exceptions. The things that they talked about were more along the lines of how to deal with the ever increasing flood of MTG products that they were contractually obligated to purchase if they wanted to continue participating in the Wizards Play Network, and the erosion of the singles market to online marketplaces like Card Kingdom or TCGPlayer. Over the last two years, there has been a consistent narrative of Hasbro pushing out more and more product with less time between major launches, and FLGS are the ones left holding the bag as the consumers increasingly buy less product relative to what the stores are buying. To be clear, these products are money in the bank for Hasbro, and liabilities for FLGS owners. Which is why WotC is reporting that MTG is in great shape, even as some stores groan under the weight of seven major product releases and a half dozen supplemental products in 2023 alone. I also think it's a mistake to conflate the rise of Arena with problems felt by the FLGS model. While there was a significant uptick in Arena players during the worst months of the initial Covid lockdown, the major problem was not the popularity of Arena, but the reality of the lockdown. It's worth noting that during that same time period, some of the most overpowered and ultimately expensive cards of the last five years were released, driving a surge in profitability for cardboard magic, most of which was seen by secondary market websites, rather than FLGS. Obviously these trends aren't universal. One of the more successful FLGS in my region doesn't have any kind of play space, and largely isn't affected by WPN requirements or the predatory distribution that goes along with it, but these kinds of stores are the exception, not the general trend. And it's also worth noting that, while the subjects brought up in the video are not the major concerns of FLGS owners that we've heard from, they are potential problems with the business model. Depending on how individual stores are monetized, they could be more or less of a deciding factor in a store's health. But over and over, the narrative I've heard from FLGS owners isn't a problem of competing with big box stores or online retail, but rather the danger of being buried by a relentless deluge of product from corporations like Hasbro.
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The Extra Credits Crew's Favorite FLGS: Imperial Outpost - Glendale, AZ Silver Key Lounge - Mesa, AZ Game Empire - San Diego, CA Other Realms - Honolulu, HI The Brooklyn Strategist - Brooklyn, NY AA Comics and Cards - Lebanon, PA Mox Boarding House - Seattle, WA
You guys are the Best! Always look forward to your videos 😊😊😊❤❤❤❤
But you can't tap an instant
Do you not recognize your hypocrisy in sending people to an online vendor for food instead of their friendly, local grocery store? Or will we get a follow up video about how the internet killed the grocery store?
@@VaultBoy13 We talk about games not groceries. Also I feel like Factor's meal delivery service is smaller and not exactly like a Frys/Kroger shopping store?
One of the biggest things I've seen are Game Stores/Cafes turning into Tabletop Libraries when for a daily fee or a membership fee, you gain access to the store's own catalog of games. There are two stores in my area that have this system and it's insanely popular.
They are MimicsJC in Jefferson City, MO and Hexagon Alley in Columbia, MO
Makes total sense to me. Siting at a table and barely buying anything in the store, doesn’t pay the bills.
What a great idea! Much easier to try out new games like this.
And since it's a monthly thing, I barely notice the fact I've spent hundreds on the membership (been going for 4 years). It's also open 24/7 with security so if I need a late night game of Catan me and my friends just head over there.@@extracredits
In Los Angeles there is a place called geeky teas that’s a game store, tea shop, and cat adoption place. They also charge $5 to hang out and play any of their demo games, they have a good sized collection. And they also have snacks and stuff. Also in LA there WAS a board game cafe called game Haus which was insane, like 1500 games or something massive, they closed during the pandemic though.
Now i am in Portland and i noticed a lot of game stores doing well always busy.
All through middle and half of high school there was a local game shop I went at least once a week to. It's the only reason why I even got into TRPGs and board games. I passed it with my grandma once, and I asked if we could look around, and the rest is history. It broke my heart that COVID-19 led to it's downfall, and was closed in 2021. To this day, some of my best memories as a teen come from there, and I still might try and open my own game shop later in life
We feel this! 😢
I play Yugioh at a game shop in a mall, the mall kicked them out of their spot and moved them to the LAST venue in the deadest section of the entire mall. Fortunately their customers followed them.
This sounds like one of the local shops here in Olympia, Washington. Terrible location, but those who know, know!
@@JeremyStroudWhat makes places like Olympia so bad? Does it that tend to play favorites when it comes to certain businesses or do those said businesses have some form of have a economic stranglehold on that area that anything that is local or even remotely independent is immediately curve stomped because see them as threat?
Seems ideal for that kind of store lol they should be glad cuz who wants to be playing in the crazy part of the mall
@@karan_hiremath for the players, it doesn’t affect them, but for the owners it’s a big hit because they lost basically all their foot traffic.
@@Menckenperson ahhh yeah that’s understandable
We're not in the biggest city out here (SW US) but we've had a few new FLGS pop up and some close down - and those new ones have been absolutely thriving. The main way that these stores stay steady is through cultivating community. The ones that we've had close out here tended to stick players in the back rooms, looking just as a store first and foremost. While that worked for them for a while they didn't take that time to evolve and they're the ones that internet sales cut down. COVID hit those ones the hardest too since why risk it when you can just have your stuff delivered direct?
Community is the one thing that internet sales can't replace and the same goes for big box stores since they're, well, stores. After the longest time we had a Warhammer store finally open up here but they only have, what, two tables? It's practically impossible to fit more than a dozen people in because that's not what its focus is. Barnes and Noble has been pulling timed Battletech exclusives (a personal annoyance of mine) but people don't go to B&N to play.
Amazing to hear that some stores are knocking it out of the park! Community building is a MUST to survive here.
This reminds me of a concept called third places. A place that isn't your home or work with the goal of socializing.
And most of them are gone because that second one has consumed peoples lives and a mix of car dependency , the internet, and smaller factors like major cities having so much crime stores have to shut down due to theft
(At least in the U.S.A)
In New York they literally had to have the NATIONAL GARD in the subway crime was so bad
Not the best combo for a local game store that needs foot traffic
I can already hear the cover of "Video killed the radio"
We can't get it out of our head now 😂
@@extracredits you're welcome, I thought it was intentional! 😆
@@AhrpigiI also assumed the title was a direct reference haha
Weirdly this hasn't happened in Ireland, we still have to go to the FLGS to get most games, certain games like Catan can be found elsewhere but the local shops still flourish
I think Kickstarter also hurt them, now instead of browsing your local game store, people browse kick starter and buy it straight from the creator (which probably helps the creator a lot more). I know I have some friends who buy way too many board games, with several they never have had a chance to play due to requiring 6+ people, but they always have 3-4 new games heading their way thanks to a kickstarter addiction. I dont think they theyve gone to a gamestore in a long time because they find what they want on kickstarter. They are also the type of people who coordinate regular game nights at their place.
I think this is why like comic book KS, the creators should have a retailer incentive tier
On the flip side of this, my FLGS has someone dedicated to browsing and backing kickstarters, which the store sells. You'll notice a number of board game kickstarters now have a retailer level because of this. I've found quite a few fun games that I just wouldn't be looking for had I been browsing Kickstart by myself.
I found what I was looking for on Kickstarter - it's called Monsterpocalypse.
Maybe, I'll even get it someday...
While it's not only a game store (they also sell comics) I would like to mention a local shop Rookies, in Lowell MI. They have recently joined with one of the churches near to where they are, to host a local community game night where anyone is welcome to come. Rookies brings the games, and the church supplies the building and anyone who comes has a great time. I just love that this was started great way to bring people together.
Madness Games and Comics in Plano, Texas.
They offer tons of space to play games, including 2 wargaming tables that are free to use (so long as they aren't reserved for events).
Awsome guys.
Last week to a local gaming cafe for the first time to join a Magic the Gathering: Draft game. Although it was enjoyable and the community was fun to hang out with, the price of playing the game (which was draft, so we all had to get at least 3 booster packs) was just enough to make the experience a little bittersweet. Thankfully there are other games to play for the price of a drink.
This was a weird video title to see in my subs considering the board game and miniature game stores have actually been flourishing like never before here for the past few years. But maybe that's because we didn't use to really have a big market for games in prior decades.
That's good to hear that it's flourishing!
Our local game shop is Third Eye! They actually *just* expanded into a music and record store, as well as games and comics! I'm super excited to go on Friday and get the next issue of my comic and browse the records. ❤
My FLGS is actually a major distributor of my state. They act as a sort of middle man for a lot of stores, which helped them a lot to stay afloat. Despite this, they still retain a local feel as they host many tournaments, offer a TON of places to sit and play a game, are full of friendly staff members, and is just overall great. They do lack a little in terms of variety for games, but they let us being just about any game.
A game store I will call out by name as my best experience is The Emerald Tavern in Austin, TX. They used to be my favorite hangout spot before moving out of state. They both were a very great place to eat while also being a great Game Store. A lot of our current favorites were actually bought from the Emerald Tavern that we still play today. Even when the pandemic hit and had to close the Cafe part of the store, they still had awesome selections of games that couldn't compete. I miss it, but if y'all are in Austin and needing a place to chill, play, and easy, this is a great shop.
Many FLGS did not carry the products I was looking for in the 2005-2015 time frame. Not only were the items I was looking for cheaper online, but they were also actually available. I did my best to request orders to the stores, paying extra, but I kept having to do this; they never organically had what I was looking for in-stock. It is not nearly as bad now, but I also have less time for games too.
Here in Poland where I live, board game bars are quite popular. There are some with fantasy tavern themes, some with game consoles as well as board games, game themed snacks and drinks. It's quite wonderful.
Three cheers for Gamescape (San Francisco), my favorite FLGS. I get the feeling they are not just surviving, but maybe even thriving in this new landscape. In person events have restarted (though I don't tend to go... with little kids at home, it's not easy to get time to slip away!), and one thing I've noticed as Covid gripped the country - they really upped the "customer service" element. As a rule, the staff all say hi and ask if they can help me with anything. Some even remember my name, and know what genres of nerd-dom I typically gravitate towards! They've been around for ages (since 1985, I believe) and I hope will be around for many more years to come. Honorable mention to Versus games (also in San Francisco), they're also very nice and helpful, but have a greater focus on Magic and card games. Fun, but not necessarily my thing.
Gamescape is great! Can confirm they are a awesome store.
Gamescape is ostensibly a competitor of mine, but I agree that they're fabulous!
For those in Adelaide, Australia, Good Games Adelaide is right next to the main shopping district and on the Main Street.
They run different TCG tournaments everyday, have rentable spaces for tabletop in their basement, and are just some of the nicest people ever.
Also, pay in silver coins if possible as they always seem to run out.
The big win for our local store is that it was first and foremost, a sports cards store. No matter how MtG blunders its LGS relations, our local store will survive and prosper off Ken Griffey Jr., Babe Ruth, and Albert Pujols.
Alpha Comics And Games (conveniently located in Willow Lawn in Richmond, Va) is my personal favorite FLGS. Every third thruday of the month, they put on a DMs round table covering a variety of topics to hero you through your campaign and world building woes.
Love visiting my local store the Hobby Bunker in Wakefield Massachusetts! A great community of players, and a knowledgeable and friendly staff keeps me coming around for more!
Shoutout to Side Scrollers, my local game store… that sadly closed down last year. It’s where I met my current DnD group, and where I’ve played Magic for the last three years. You will be missed.
We have a game store and cafe in the center of town and conviniently it is located directly on my path of comuting to uni, so therefore I visit that place often. It is really nice and I am gratefull that it has survived and seems to be thriving.
I watch this and I think about my own experience... I'd say game stores were on their way out before this. My experience is in California where I knew the owner of a store really well, was there multiple times per week school/college from 2005 and beyond, and finally was privy to their business woes. However, a perfect storm sort of hit during 2008:
1.) Yes yes, Amazon and online retailers were undercutting Game Stores on price; much a grumbling was had about players walking in with new sets that they didn't buy at the game store.
2.) The 2008 recession happened, which cut spending by large amounts. Further, landlords were not friendly on leases, not giving any breaks. Being game stores are already on thin margins, and being they were on likely a 5 year lease, if they had a substantial amount of lease left by the time 2008 hit they were basically dead in the water.
3.) Finally...many large publishers didn't care about game stores at this time. Particularly Games Workshop. Typically large publishers like GW (or at least their distributors) would have their monthly or bi-monthly releases. Did you want first access to this new, fancy product? You had to order a minimum amount of merchandise that month to receive stock; otherwise you'll get it next month. This might also apply to certain special events for other publishers. This was OKAY (but insufferable) when business was fine, but...
With the recession hitting hard, with pending lease payments, sharp competition from amazon... a lot of game stores weren't able to meet their purchase quotas, because sales had tanked and they were barely covering lease/rent. This meant they didn't get the latest products for popular, which further drove people to get these products online, thus reducing their business even further. This was the death spiral.
I think it was after all this happened in the 2008 recession, after many of the game shops had closed their doors, that publishers started laying on more programs and exclusives for local game stores to give them a lifeline since they didn't realize until it was too late that without support... local game stores, where players played their games, were dying. I think this is part of the reason why tabletop gaming was better in the years following recession since large publishers were a bit more mindful of their local tabletop game store relationships, and ran a lot more events to try to drive players to said stores.
I will say this though: Games Workshop didn't give a helping hand to local stores during the 2008 recession, and I'll always remember that. Just one more reason it's a terrible company.
2 big problems that caused a lot of LGSs to struggle, first a lot of LGSs were owned or staffed by assholes, when that was your only option they could get away with it but as people got more options they no longer had to put up with assholes. The second issue is politics, if an LGS supports the party of bigotry a lot of people start deciding they don't want to support that LGS. Every game story in my area that failed either was run by massive assholes or by people that, even if they were friendly towards everyone and insisted they opposed hate, made it clear to everyone that they supported the party of bigotry.
Are you from the American south?
@@ramshacklealex7772 No, is that relevant to the discussion?
@@falconJB bigotry and terrible people?
My local comic shop, Comic Force, typically have Magic nights and such, but have also expanded to selling classic video games and occasionally having tournament nights for things like Smash Bros Melee, Mario Kart Double Dash, etc.
I agree with most of what you're saying about the struggle to deal with the bloat that KS has created and issues with mega retailers, but the health of a city's gaming scene seems to really depend on where you live. I just recently moved back to the Kansas City area, and there might be more stores here than at any time in the past (10+ at least). A few of them have adjacent cafe spaces, but many of them are dedicated game stores.
I was surprised by this video. My local FLGS was so busy and crowded I only go on select nights. The community is not something you can get online and its one of the main reason I like board games over video games.
We've made some amazing friends over the years at our FLGS
PANR has tuned in.
I used to work at a game store. My whole job was to teach people to play magic and be available to play magic against anyone who wanted to play. I miss that shop...
I love teaching games to people! And I did it professionally for a long time. It brings great joy watching someone enjoy a game you love!
The problem is relying on comercial spaces as the place to socialize. I'd recomend trying to organize some kind of Table top games club on a public space like a library.
That's a good note public Libraries are really good for that!
Library’s have had similar issues for different reasons, everything from terrible public transport to online retailers
And don’t forget government incompetence and neglect
In Washington DC there are a plethora of FLGSs, but I’m partial to Labyrinth in Eastern Market and Victory Comics in Falls Church, VA.
Hasbro in general has also undercut FLGSs by overprinting sets and then dumping product on Amazon for well below wholesale prices.
They stopped doing that, but many FLGSs got hosed and lost thousands on sets languishing on shelves or needed to take a loss to just move it to free up capital.
This has been a big point of contention in the mtg community since 2020.
I'm fortunate to live in the Bay area where we have an embarrassment of game stores. Some card game focused, others wargame focused.
I started in 2015 playing board and card games during college, and after finishing college and moving away from my FLGS, I missed it. Thankfully, as of three weeks ago, I found a new store alongside a new hobby of wargaming and I feel like I'm home again. Thank you Game Kastle Of Fremont!
I’ve helped do a paint-along at one of the stores, I’ve made sure to warn folks away from the unFLGS that’s rather gatekeepy. There’s one that offers boxed game nights, you choose 3 games, and they throw in a selection of snacks (cheese and bread/crackers, or local salsa (it is however Seattle salsa…), and has done a larger similar event as a fundraiser for the PTA (heard about that option from someone who used that as her reception, her and the groom just mixed between tables, seating was picked based on your board game style preference.
Gilded Raven Games here in Somerset New Jersey is literally the best. They are a home away from home and can really hit all notes from Warhammer to Magic the Gathering. Amazing community of people!
Recognizing that I don’t have knowledge of their finances; I guess I should count myself as lucky that I have multiple game stores in my town not only surviving, but at least from my perspective are thriving.
That's fantastic to hear!
I lost a really great game store in my hometown in Switzerland to Covid :(
Many years of memories playing Yu-gi-oh and DnD lost to this final pandemic crush. I do try and folks over to my place to play, but its not the same when strangers come and join :( so many new connections lost!
So sad! One of our favorties is gone due to covid too 😢 We had been going there since we were kids.
@@extracredits that's sucks 😞
As a game shop manager thank yall for all of this. We've been getting hit harder and harder as time goes by because of folks purchasing online and playing online and for the way companies are turning off fans that once supported them. We've been having on thanks to our regulars but the fear is always there
I was wondering when we would see a store owner in the comments! Thank you so much for doing what you do for the gaming community!
@@extracredits I will say I'm not the store owner (that's a struggle I doubt I could handle) but me and my coworkers all manage our own areas. It's been hard but we keep on trucking. 40k and the comics have been keeping us going but it's been very hard getting mtg, pokemon and other events back up and running. I was doing the ttrpg a bit after covid but we're ending it today due to not enough folks coming in :(
Little Shop of Magic in Las Vegas, NV! It's on the 215, so a quick drive from the strip, if anyone wants to spend their winnings helping a local game store.
The FLG store I go to all the time (in London, England) is Dark Sphere, near Shepherd's Bush. It's got all kinds of card games and tournaments, from Lorcana to Yu-Gi-Oh, to Magic, Pokemon and One Piece, just to name a few. I go there to play Digimon every Monday and Saturday, the community is so welcoming and inclusive, I'd struggle to play anywhere else. In addition, they sell minis and even have a Gunpla build day on Sundays. If you're around London, definitely check the store out if you can!
I've recently been able to make it to my local game shop for late night Magic on the weekends, and it's been so great being able to make friends for the first time in a long time.
I live in greater London, you'd think there'd be tons of game stores/cafes but there's only like 4. It's so gawddamn cut throat. Also, Kickstarter bloat was ridiculous, I used to collect Zombicide... NOT ANY MORE!
We just got marvel zombies in and had to kick our last Zombicide purchase to the curb. CMON is killing me!
@@extracredits My brother got the Galactus model...
Here's to Play the Game Read the Story over here in Syracuse. They stock comic trade paperbacks as well as games and paraphernalia, and their dedicated brick-and-mortar stores can occasionally host game nights.
PTG has a pretty great selection!
The city I live has managed to support quite a few FLGS's but there has been many casualties of due to the various issues mentioned in the vid, the MOST successful one (as far as i know) is called 401 Games and its two-fold 1) they embraced the board game cafe thing, their a hobby store first but they have a large supply of board games to rent and an ok assortment of snacks and 2) they somehow sell board games cheaper than Amazon.
Shoutouts for my Local Game Stores, Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy in Austin and Alpha Strike Games in San Marcos.
Dragon's Lair has be going for a *long* time, and was my parents' LGS back in the day. They have big open spaces for hosting wargames, RPGs, and TCGs, have hosted many a local mini-convention for organized RPG play, and have a long tradition of adorable store cats.
Alpha Strike is a younger store that, I'm told, started off as the owner just wanting a space to play Magic with his friends and try to sell some cards in person. It has since moved to two progressively larger locations, hosting weekly Magic events, board game nights, and it's where I met most of my current D&D group!
Serenity Hobbies has been serving Oneonta well for almost ten years. That place was a safe alternative to parties and dumb shenanigans for me and my friends, and we've seen them move from a basement venue to right on Main Street, with glass display windows and all
Oddest thing is prior to 2020 the area I am in (large US city) had two stores and now we have 6. They all changed to being a place for people to go and play games while also selling if you wanted to buy something rather than the "buy something and get out" which they used to be. Really changed the feel and got people spending more.
some companies (like WotC) are hurting the LGS with online clients, online sales, big box store access to their products, etc. but it is worth nothing that other companies like Legend Story Studio are trying to help LGS everywhere with promo cards you can only get for playing at your LGS on official events of every level, including weekly events (and if you can't, don't worry, while the promo might be exclusive to those events, it is only because it is a Foil, the normal version of the card is available in the latest packs), they even send (always free of charge for the LGS) playmats to give to players, banners and posters (every month), They also started a casual play kit for events that aren't competitive (think Commander VS Modern or Standard) with different promos and mats for those players.
My favorite LGS has been around since the early 90's and is right next to a Pizza Hut. Having lots of playing tables inside and a placing a couple outside around dinner time keeps curious new players coming!
I have a couple locations I always love to support to the point where me and my friends are starting Warhammer start ups with KillTeam and Age of Sigmar matches at certain times. I will always love the board game community and they helped out a lot when I lost someone really close to me. I hope they continue to flourish with more ttrpg and card games.
I've been going to my local store for 16 years and the owner is a friend to everybody. Helped me out by giving me a temp job when i was in a rough spot. Their an awesome bunch and will always support them over big box
I have a story of my local game store. It used to just be a small back alley basement store, mostly just miniatures and magic, under a PC cafe. Later moved to a corner location at the end of our local shopping struck, branched out a bit more. Then it had some trouble and the owner had to run it out of his home. Though he did run a LARP game for the younger.
But now they have had a comeback, gotten facilities in the railway station a large location front and center and even gotten more stores in larger cities.
Shout out to Bunkeren (The Bunker) Now they have LARP equipment and Warhammer terrain workshop, plenty table games, nerd collectibles and game nights of all kind.
1:00 Wait a minute, is that a reference to Treasure Planet, one of the best last hand drawn animated Disney movie of all time?
The fun thing my local one does is they have a board game cafe connected to a shop. That way if you find a game you like you can buy it and take it home.
I 1000% percent endorse Red Castle Games in Portland, Oregon. They're incredibly inclusive, great to their workers, and great to their community.
Top Deck Games in Marlton NJ. Just moved locations last year into a renovated BOWLING ALLEY! So it has a HUGE room for players. So big they can run a DND night for like 5 campaigns and do a Magic the Gathering Draft at the same time!
Also there’s a Dollar Tree two doors down, so a place to stock up on snacks for those long gaming sessions!
I'll be real, I'm not sure what they were doing, but the two game stores that have been around here both survived the pandemic and are doing just fine nowadays. hell, I would say that they're thriving.
I definitely buy my Warhammer miniatures off the internet to save money, but I still buy paints at the local stores where I can see them with my own eyes.
For all my Albertans: Sentry Box in Calgary is literally the LARGEST flgs I have ever laid eyes on in my life and it's amazing, they carry tons of niche products. Also in Calgary Games People Play has a great selection and an awesome sales rack (I got seafall there once at almost 50% off). For Edmontonians, the Warp 1-3 comics and games stores are all great, and I've also enjoyed Hexagon and Tabletop cafe which I know are board game cafes but I've heard really great things about their community events so I fogured they were also worth a drop.
The Warps are FANTASTIC, highly recommend them!
If you ever go down toward the Camrose area they also have a cozy place called Fox and Fable that's also got great food
Bell, Book, and Comic in the Greater Dayton area is a great store for Magic: the Gathering.
There's a cute little board game cafe called "Badger Badger" in Deptford, UK, that has a really nice and big selection of games to play for a nice price (£7 per 3 hours)! Definitely recommend going if you're in the area.
Is it just me, or is the premise of big retail chains pushing out local stores by delivering content direct to doorsteps undermined a bit by Factor being a sponsor, since they're a big retail chain which delivers food to your door? I mean, restaurants aren't in as dire straights as game stores but it feels a bit like the cyberpunk dystopia tentacles are starting to creep in...
I'm glad the town I moved to has a thriving game store. it's been great to have a space to meet game nerds.
T.J.'s cafe and games is a store in Milford, MA that runs tons of magic events, D&D campaigns for all levels of experience, has a Warhammer room, and boasts "the largest play space in new England." First Saturday of the month is board game day, and second Sunday of every month is the miniature painting workshop
We LOVE going to minature painint night.
@@extracredits I don't think I would have ever started painting my Deep Rock Galactic miniatures without it, so I am very happy to have found them :)
My lgs is basically my third space. That's how necessary I think they are to a local community.
All C's in Aurora Colorado. Aside from being just, super queer friendly when I was dealing with an awkward transition phase, they're also the closest YCS store to where I live. And while yes, I prefer Yu-Gi-Oh to MTG, that's one of the reasons I love the store, as MTG elietism has soured me on a game I once loved. While this store not only houses tournaments and events for the big three card games of Magic, YGO, and Pokemon, but also newer and smaller CCGs. While less board game focused than the other game shop I like near me, that's exactly what I love about it. Getting together and playing all sorts of CCGs, and having a great time doing it.
Small aside at the end, I wonder if YGO never got hit the same way that MTG did with their online apps, because Masterduel and Duel Links are both very different experiences then the TCG.
In ABQ RIP Active Imagination (the loss of the legacy you inherited from Star base 10 and in tern it inherited from War Games West is tragic) that said please show Ettin Games some love if you are local to Albuquerque
There's like 7 different independant FLGS here in Syracuse, but I imagine it's a lot harder to find them in smaller suburban or rural areas.
If anybody watching this video lives in Salem, Oregon like I do, you need to visit my favorite gaming store, Wild Things games. It’s downtown on Commercial, a block away from the Clackamas center mall. The staff are super friendly and helpful, they have a huge variety of games and figures, and there are two floors for play.
Current Coffee and Collectables in my hometown, which isn't the biggest and is near Huntsville and Athens. But it's nice to have a place nearby. They are a small store that caters to board games, MTG, Pokémon, and Warhammer 40k. They serve vegetarian and vegan options, with their impossible burgers and vegan pepperoni pizzas being especially delicious. The downside is that they are a small store, sandwiched between a bank and liquor store that use to be a pay day lender. I want to see them become more successful so that they can find a bigger place.
Having different food options is amazing!
I am incredibly proud to support three gaming places in Indiana with relitive regularity. A classic game store called Saltire, a Cafe called Hitherto (which I live very close to) and an actual guild in greenwood called Ye Gamers Guild. All very different but very worthwhile places to play games and spend my dollar
Gamers XP in Shreveport LA is one of the most incredible places for gaming I’ve seen! Staff and patrons are very friendly and welcoming, and there are frequent events for tcgs
There's a small store called Over the Brick in my neighborhood in Kenmore that I didn't know existed until a few months ago. They do boardgame nights and paint nights and all that
There is one game store near me, but they don't carry Cyberpunk or Battletech. I say there is only one, because the other one routinely price gouges (prices almost 2x MSRP on some games).
If you're in greater London:
*Rule Zero* down Stratford,
*Badmoon* by London Bridge station,
*Darksphere* at Shepherds Bush,
they're all great places to play and hangout.
If you're in the area, you absolutely need to check out The Castle in Beverly, MA! I absolutely love that place and it's my go-to for board game and D&D nights!
Titan Games in Champaign, IL and Gopher in Urbana, IL are great places to play very friendly environments with good community
I’m looking forward to the evolution of game stores. I stopped going in my teens because the community wasn’t cultivated enough, but there is a renewed focus on the value community brings to these places.
Thank goodness cause god knows they aren’t competing for price.
Cheers to Good Times Gamehouse in Knoxville, TN! It’s the first place I posted a LFP and actually got a bunch of people together!
So weird to hear about other experiences. I've been going to FLGS since the early ninties. I live in a pretty dense suburban area, and I've seen a couple come and go. I didnt pay enough attention to remember how much of it lines up with the boom starting in 2012. At the turn of the millennium, i worked at a WotC retail store in the mall.
I've always seen FLGS as incredibly fragile places. I always try to purchase stuff from these first.
I also only been in (and even became aware of) boardgame cafes last summer when I went to Chicago. Closest thing to that I knew of were bars that had a collection of boardgames to borrow.
Before Covid, my partner and I would host LGBTIQ+ boardgame nights at our local game store, Good Games in Sydney CBD, Aus. The team were always welcoming to us when we were there, and made everyone feel safe and welcome. They were always keen to help new players learn the new games and were always able to give advice on any of the games. When we passed the reigns over to other people to run after we left the area, the place still made everyone in the group feel welcome and safe, so truly a wonderful team there who would go the extra mile for the players and customers stopping in there to play or browse!
I just got my buddy into 40k with a Leagues of Votann boxset that I ordered through my FLGS and emphasized to him that even if he could get his hobby stuff cheaper from Amazon or something to go to his local store to help keep them a float. The stores I go to also started carrying sodas & snack items so that can keep folks in the seats and generate some revenue from the munchies. Shout out to Collectermania in Parker, CO and Colpar's Hobbytown in Aurora, CO!
This video touched me a lot. I am planning to create a cafeteria for board games in Spain and this really hit me. Thank you for the video! I will try to help more in my local store because that's a place I love to go! Hope we can stay far from the biggest monsters (Amazon cof cof) and support the local commerce.
Thank you for watching and keep playing thoes games.
My friendly local game store is Alpha Comics and Games in Richmond, conveniently located in Willow Lawn. They are loverly there and have games to buy as well as a cart of games to try out at one of the tables. A great place to conspire with friends. :)
My shop has been in business for 44 years, but the past 7 or 8 have been a real struggle. Thank you for shining a spotlight on the issue!
I can recommend two great ones in Bucks County, PA! Gamer's Heaven is an incredible social space with regular game nights, open tables, screens and computers to rent time at, libraries of manga and board games, foreign snacks for sale, and a kitchen!
Games Keep is great by being, just, packed to the effing brim with board games and RPG books.
Oddly game stores seem to be doing ... OK ... in Ottawa (Canada). A friend owns a long running game store. Nothing huge, but still chugging along. And there are a few competitors.
My fav store: Freak in Dizengoff Center, Tel Aviv. It's the sort of place you can sit down and get a rando to play magic with you, while other randos watch, and then you all exchange numbers afterwards. Play anything in their decent collection, you just gotta buy some chips or a fanta. I found for sale there all these weird self-published israeli D&D supplements. The staff are super enthusiastic and personally got me into one piece tcg lmao. Amazon hasn't really hit Israel yet hard, though, so maybe its cheating how great a place Freak is. Come on down!!!
Davis Cards and Games in Davis, California is the best LGS I've ever been to and I've been going to them for years! They have a large play space, board game check-out, Sunday miniature paint nights, and Friday FNM as well as lots of TTRPG offerings. If you're in the Sacramento or Yolo County areas, they're worth visiting!
Glad I live in Calgary Alberta Canada, home of the worlds largest FLGS, The Sentry Box, which has been open for over 30 years and still going strong
I can't speak to other metro areas, but while a few places shutdown due to the Pandemic, a vast majority of the FLGS are still around. That said, they also run things in a way where you either end up with a FLGS that doubles as a place you can play/try board games or a Board Game Cafe that doubles as an FLGS.
Mid-South Hobbies out of Memphis, Tn. One of the last great bastions of tabletop gaming and classic models.
Hobby Vault in Maple Shade, NJ has had some nice growth lately. Minis and Magic are well supported and the board gaming side is just itching for more players!
If anyone is in the Belen/Los Lunas area of New Mexico, Nerdtopia is an awesome family owned store. They are helping to support the local community.
Just went to check on the one board game store I went to in the past, "Le Valet d'Coeur". Looks like it survived!
Darkhound Games in Arlington, TX, has great staff, regular game nights, and supported the first board game my new company made by letting us playtest and sharing our Kickstarter!
Over here, cafes and FLGS are both thriving. My gaming store still has several events every single day. It's nice :) Sad to see it's not like this everyhere, these really help smaller BG communities. A cafe does too, but not quite the same way, I feel - very different (but also good) atmosphere. Cafes I find often are more for established groups to play new stuff there, rather than accept new players.
I don’t live in Rochester, NY (or even NY state) but I was blown away by Millenium Games. They apparently recently moved to a new, larger space and had a play space larger than the entirety of other places I’ve ever seen. The store itself felt like a ttRPG mall, with racks for every genre and even a section for manga and comic books. You bet your ass I spent so much money there I had trouble fitting all of it in my suitcase. I even bought their T-shirt 😂Please check them out if you ever have to drive near the area and show them some love ❤
As a Carolina Krayt, i am forced to tell Kat "Joust me, coward" You can joust me at Atomic Empire in Durham NC.
Shoutout to Pair a Dice games in Northern San Diego County.
We used to have a beer tasting room + board game store in San Diego proper that ended up fizzling. It's tough out there even when you do differentiate yourself from the online places.
I don't know if this is just me, but this video feels... really wrong? Like, I understand in broad strokes why the topics that are being discussed here feel like they should be the reason that FLGS are failing, but that's not consistent with the reality that FLGS owners are talking about. My partner and I have been to a number of FLGS workshops and seminars at conventions like Gencon both before and after the advent of Covid, and the issues that they were concerned about had very little to do with competing with Amazon or B&N, or whether or not to transition to a cafe model. Or even the state of board game bloat or board games at all. Consistently the message we heard from the majority of FLGS owners was that standalone board games do not make up a huge part of their business model, with a small number of exceptions.
The things that they talked about were more along the lines of how to deal with the ever increasing flood of MTG products that they were contractually obligated to purchase if they wanted to continue participating in the Wizards Play Network, and the erosion of the singles market to online marketplaces like Card Kingdom or TCGPlayer. Over the last two years, there has been a consistent narrative of Hasbro pushing out more and more product with less time between major launches, and FLGS are the ones left holding the bag as the consumers increasingly buy less product relative to what the stores are buying. To be clear, these products are money in the bank for Hasbro, and liabilities for FLGS owners. Which is why WotC is reporting that MTG is in great shape, even as some stores groan under the weight of seven major product releases and a half dozen supplemental products in 2023 alone.
I also think it's a mistake to conflate the rise of Arena with problems felt by the FLGS model. While there was a significant uptick in Arena players during the worst months of the initial Covid lockdown, the major problem was not the popularity of Arena, but the reality of the lockdown. It's worth noting that during that same time period, some of the most overpowered and ultimately expensive cards of the last five years were released, driving a surge in profitability for cardboard magic, most of which was seen by secondary market websites, rather than FLGS.
Obviously these trends aren't universal. One of the more successful FLGS in my region doesn't have any kind of play space, and largely isn't affected by WPN requirements or the predatory distribution that goes along with it, but these kinds of stores are the exception, not the general trend. And it's also worth noting that, while the subjects brought up in the video are not the major concerns of FLGS owners that we've heard from, they are potential problems with the business model. Depending on how individual stores are monetized, they could be more or less of a deciding factor in a store's health. But over and over, the narrative I've heard from FLGS owners isn't a problem of competing with big box stores or online retail, but rather the danger of being buried by a relentless deluge of product from corporations like Hasbro.
Clifton Road Games and Union County Games doing Exeter (UK) proud