Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

It's far too easy to say this or that problem is going on with the LGS. While not nearly as exciting, anybody got anything good/great to say about their FLGS?
Let's please keep this thread on the positive only. Tell us what your LGS is doing right. What other stores should be copying in practices.

I'll start with Game Vault in Fredericksburg, VA. The store is well stocked and well lit. Facilities include snack sales of junk food and sodas, gaming tables for miniature wargames and other tables more suited for boardgame/CCGs/RPGs and well-maintained restrooms. GV has a wide selection of RPGs, boardgames, CCGs and miniatures wargames. They sell single cards and CMG minis. They carry Games Workshop 40k and WHFB and also have a nice selection for both games. Flames of War and WarMachine are also well supported along with a big bunch of Reaper miniatures.

They have a couple of shelves of boardgames for in-store use. Want to give a game a test spin or just see what the components are? Chances are they've got a copy of it in those shelves.
Game Vault also sponsors several event, tourneys and league nights. On weekends, they stay open way late for the mature set who want to play that knockdown, drag-out session of Twilight Imperium or Axis & Allies or whatever. The player base is amazing. A pleasant community of grognards and newbies abound so you can hear about 1977 OGRE gaming while you're all cracking open Small World for a spin.

Cathy and her staff are great all around folks. Everyone of the staff 'gets' the fact that they work at a great store and actually give a darn GV is a great place to game and esp. buy the stuff you want to game with. If they don't have it in stock, you never get that old saw about 'it doesn't exist' or whatever. They will stop what they're doing and help look for the game, model, whatever for you. They also manage a nice store website that keeps you up to date on events, new stuff that's available and general gaming chit-chat. Did I mention they have nice, clean, well-maintained restrooms, too? Again, can't say enough nice stuff about Game Vault, its ownership and staff or the player base.

What's your LGS doing right?

To be honest, My local GW is like a refugee camp...hot,stuffy,smelly and full of screaming kids (including the flies during the summer). Gaming night is on a Tuesday from 1800-2200, which is fine, but there are no facilities (toilets,brew-area etc). There is another LGS near by but I'm yet to try it. If anyone can point to a nice FLGS in Norwich (UK) then I'll be mighty greatful.

The game store I play in Portland is pretty much the best game store I've ever seen. They hold scheduled events almost daily, they have lots of room (10 tables on 40k league night) and the owner runs the store like a business, though a very friendly one.

For example, she makes sure that her employees keep the store clean and the shelves orderly, and they are always available to help a customer, but never pushy about selling product. She's also very willing to go out of her way to make the store better to play in, such as paying for very awesome terrain, and ensuring that when 40k league night is scheduled other games have to make way for us

Guardian Games in Portland is pretty much my favorite place ever.

Area 51 in Grapevine, Texas. Gamer's dream They stay open late, leave space for the regulars and rarely complain about anything unless it becomes disruptive to others. There are 3 Anima Tactics players that meet on Sundays with a random tag along or cross over player every week, and despite having a Magic release event and Flames of War players filling nearly every square inch of his store one particualr Sunday, Erin left a 4x4 table open. That guy's doing it right

Local place in is a pretty sweet place. It is relatively clean, The employee's are friendly, and they do their best to cater to all different gamers. They're closed on Mondays and open for 5 hours on Tuesday, but otherwise are open 10-12 hours every other day.
Their stock of 40K and Fantasy minis is a little sparse, but you can order through them and get it within a week paying regular price only, and if you pay cash and are a minis player, you get 10% off.

I play at Your Hobby Place in Martinsburg WV. He has a large open gaming area that is open to everyone. He sales just about everything in the hobby realm but has a small rpg selection. He is more then willing to order anything you want and if you pay in advance gives a 15% discount. He offers drinks and snacks. The store is also clean with the only way your going to smell someone is if they get too close to you. He is trying to run tournaments, but the turn out has been low. He says he gets more people from out the area playing then the locals.

Well, both of our stores in Barrie Ontario are well run and carry a good variety.

The Gamer's Lair in the South End carries a pretty wide variety of, well, almost everything, but tends to focus on 40K and an older group of gamers on the miniatures side and Pokeman and younger crowd in terms of cards. Doug runs tournaments once or twice a month and it always seems to draw a nice crowd. I tend to stop in there fairly often since it's close to home for me and carries Reaper paints in addition to the GW stock. Doug also sells used models on commission. The stock of used stuff is far from constant, but it means that you can go in and find a deal here and there. Doug's gone through a couple of lean years, so his stock isn't always comprehensive (though on visiting the store when I got back to town a couple of weeks ago, I was impressed at how much he'd filled out his shelves). Definitely receptive to ordering almost anything for his customers so long as he can price it fairly. If you're better off contacting one of the online retailers, Doug tends to be pretty good about letting you know that.

Sir Games-A-Lot on the North End carries a very complete line of 40K, Fantasy and Lord of the Rings miniatures. If you want something and it's from any of those lines, Vince usually either has it on hand or arriving within a day or so. He also carries a full range of Magic cards, D&D Miniatures, Flames of War and board games. Tournaments seem to be less regular, but Vince makes up for it with the regular gaming days and nights which are very well attended. The gamers there tend to be younger (at least the last few times I stopped in), but it's a very warm and welcoming place to get introduced to a hobby. The staff here tends to be very knowledgeable on most of their stock, which is pretty impressive considering how much they carry.

In addition to these, there are a few other stores that I've come to frequent.

Phoenix Hobbies in Kitchener, Ontario carries a pretty good range of 40K, WFB and Warmachine/Hordes. They also maintain a nice used model section and I've acquired some very reasonably priced models from there on occasion. The staff is friendly, the store is well lit and the tables tend to be very nicely done. The only real issue with the shop is that it resides in a down town loft. There is no store front on the street, so you have to go upstairs to reach the actual shop. I've heard from other players that the store can become quite hot in the summer time, but I've never been there on high occupancy days.

I've actually spent the last few months in San Antonio, Texas and I took to visiting the shops there as well. It was interesting since these shops tended to all have nice, friendly people working there. Friendly, courteous staff seemed to be a common thread in San Antonio.

The Dragon's Lair is large and well lit. They carry a full range of 40K, WFB, Monsterpocalypse and Warmachine/Hordes. They also carry a smattering of other lines. Paint is largely GW and Vallejo with the P3 boxes also available. Their range of comics, manga, graphic novels and cards are also exensive. The store is well lit and open. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable and not afraid to order things for you.

Dibble's Hobbies seems to carry everything. Quite literally. The store is reasonable in size, but chocked full of stock. While their main concentration seems to be on model railroads, nothing you can assemble and paint is really left out. The staff there are among the most inviting and friendly I've ever seen and somehow, they manage to keep abreast of all of the hobbies supported by the store. This is an excellent place to go for oddball requirements and older stock. I'm not entirely sure about how their pricing structure works, but I managed to pick up some older models for very reasonable prices. Dibbles also carries a good array of basing supplies and at least four lines of paint. Very broad selection. No gaming area that I saw.

Alien Worlds is another friendly and well lit store. Full range of 40K and seemingly a lighter range of other GW. Plenty of cards and RPG books. Their GW stock tends to be a little easier to gauge and reach than the Dragon's Lair's racks. They offer a loyalty card system in the store as well. Something to the tune of a $20 credit for every $200 gaming stuff you pick up. I really wasn't around the city long enough to make full use of it though, more's the pity. For me though, one of the really nice things about Alien Worlds was the old toys they stocked. Getting a walk down memory lane in the form of old GI Joe, Transformers and Starwars toys was pretty cool.

The closest store to me is pretty small, but is pretty well stocked and laid back. Triple Play in Lebanon, NH is a sweet store if you're anywhere nearby. And whatever they don't happen to have they'll gladly order for you. It's a great place to game.

Changing Hands in Joplin, Missouri is a great little game store. The owner is always willing to give helpful advise if he knows the game and if he doesn't he can point you to the people to ask. Due to its small size its just run by 2 people so getting to a first name basis is pretty quick. Since its a smaller store in a average sized town there isn't much always in stock for warhammer (not that big in the area) but rather than dealing with the random wait times of GW shipping he can get it in 2-3 days. Great for the impatient person like me.

Triple Play is a cool store, and they have some hard to find stuff there if ya look around

There are two stores that are close to my house in Lafayette, Indiana.

First off, Game Preserve, does a points system. Pretty much the way it works is if you buy $100 worth of their product, cumulative not in one purchase, you get $10 worth of free stuff. The store has, at least before they moved... a clean bathroom, a bar right down the way, and they'll set up any table you want. There's also a Panera Bread right down the way for food. Overall, 9/10.

The second store is called Castle Comics. It's more of a family store, and I've been going there since I was young and played Dragon Ball Z CCG. The woman that owns it is always there and so is her daughter and her grandkids. The only drawback I guess you could say is that they're more focused on comic books, so some of their product is outdated/damaged. Usually, they're willing to knock off the price if the box has battle damage, and to compete with Game Preserve, they just knock off 10% of every purchase (at least for me). Their bathroom is in the back... and it's dark on the way there! Food wise, there's a donut shop right across the road that has really awesome/cheap donuts.

New World Games in Oklahoma City. Right off-base (good for me and my fellow barracks-dwellers). Also, they offer a nice military discount Owners and employees are friendly and easygoing, not ultranerds either (which is good for me as that can become offputting, no offense) Several nice gaming tables with tons of simply amazing terrain to play with. Huge selection of 40K and WHFB minis and associated paints and supplies. Open for 40K games every weekend, too. Overall awesome store.

Nexus, or Kingston Gaming Nexus, in Kingston, Ontario is the one closest to me. The owner, and his employees are extremely nice, going out of their way to offer help (Just before a tournament, the owner borrowed from his friend a Manticore for me, that I had wanted for my army list that had not arrived from ForgeWorld). Additionally, they don't try to push merchandise or new releases on you when you enter the store, which is something I've heard about happens at GW stores...

The store is kept clean, is open for quite some time, and accomodates those that are packing up just as the store closes. Open for 40K, Fantasy, and other miniature and board games 7 days a week. There's a huge selection of terrain, over fifteen gaming tables, including one massively detailed-Cities of Death style table, a ton of rulebooks, dice, and various games strewn about the store for anyone to pick up and use, as well as a healthy gaming community that plays there!

I have nothing bad to say about Nexus, ultimately.

Dez wrote:Triple Play is a cool store, and they have some hard to find stuff there if ya look around

Oh hell yeah it's a cool store! Don't get me wrong, I love it! I'm there every freaking weekend... It's where I buy all my stuff. Everyone should go to Triple Play!

Game Castle is just bigger, that's all I'm saying.

My lgs games+1 is mostly a magic/rpg store but he has alot of space now for gaming, and always sells at 10% off.

owned by a gret guy and he even has a sign on the door that says that if you havent showered dont come in.

willydstyle wrote:The game store I play in Portland is pretty much the best game store I've ever seen. They hold scheduled events almost daily, they have lots of room (10 tables on 40k league night) and the owner runs the store like a business, though a very friendly one.

For example, she makes sure that her employees keep the store clean and the shelves orderly, and they are always available to help a customer, but never pushy about selling product. She's also very willing to go out of her way to make the store better to play in, such as paying for very awesome terrain, and ensuring that when 40k league night is scheduled other games have to make way for us

Guardian Games in Portland is pretty much my favorite place ever.

Never been there, but it is the one down off Martin Luther King right?

I go to Bridgetown Hobbies and Games here in Portland. Nice little shop, with a small set of people I regularly see whenever I go there. They aren't the best at keeping themselves well stocked, they usually buy whats new, and pretty popular stuff. But if they don't have it, they are good a ordering it for you. Clean, small, friendly. Not the best but for my neighborhood store it is nice to go to.

Guardian Games is on 3rd, so like one block off MLK.

Cool. I should go down there some time, probably won't be for another few weeks though.

I'll ditto Privateer's endorsement of Game Vault. I just wish it were closer so I could go there more often.

This is a repost of a review I made on Board Game Geek a few days ago about my recent trip to a very new game shop in the Invergrove Heights suburb of Minneapolis.

I just got back from visiting the Armored Ogre with my GF this evening.

Mike, the proprietor, was very helpful in giving us directions to the place from where we were in Invergrove Heights.

First impression upon entering was great. The store was clean, well organized with a good amount of stock. We were immediately greeted upon entering and Mike struck a conversation with us. Very amicable.

The store itself is quite roomy with enough tables to cater to a couple dozen gamers at a time to sit and play and still room to breath comfortably. We both used the restroom there and were pleasantly surprised by the handicapped access and more importantly, the cleanliness of the facilities. Big plus. We purchased Carcassonne and sat down to play it.

Conversed with Mike and a couple other customers while we played and then Greg showed up and offered us some good pointers on how to play Carc and some nuances involved. Then Greg broke out his ultra pimped out copy of Agricola and Mike joined us for a four player game. Greg taught the game thoroughly and with patience. Tons of fun. Thanks Greg!

All in all, I have to say it was one of the most pleasant experiences in my 20 years of visiting game shops across the country. Three and a half hours just flew byfor us. When the significant other gives it two thumbs up and walks away with a smile, I am inclined to remark that this is the biggest plus to see her that impressed. This isn't easily done. Normally after 20 mins in a game shop she is like a rabbit gnawing at her own leg to get free.

The only downside? The Armored Ogre isn't closer to our house for us to visit more regularly than we would like.

If you have not yet had the chance to patronize his shop, I highly recommend doing so. Its worth the extra bit of a drive to visit. Professional, yet friendly.

Armored Ogre is Double Plus Good (x2) and truly deserves the title of Friendly Local Game Shop.

I've only been there once, but Showcase Comics in Media, PA is probably the best LGS I've ever been to. I hope to make it there this weekend.

I fact they just opened their own battle bunker.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/279725.page

Static games in glasgow is a good store the staff are always friendly sure its a bit dingy and has no real gaming area for war gamers but i can deal with that becouse the owner runs a gaming club that if you join you get a discount in store.
I have not been to the club as i dont live in glasgow so no point in me joining it if we do a point system i would say 8 out of 10.

“Avalon Comics and Games” here is Silverdale, Washington is the place I always go. Tried all the GW stores in the region for a while but they seemed to cater to the younger crowd. At Avalon there is a more mature crowd with a lot of veteran gamers but a lot of new players too. Friday nights are always packed and the owner is a really cool guy.

They are currently running a 40k Campaign and tournaments are the norm.

If you are in or near the Puget sound area come by and check us out:
http://avacomicsgames.com/indexOld.htm

Emerald Knights in Burbank, CA.

Nice, large store. Two stories (the second story being a "balcony" type dealy which encircles the first floor and is seperated by wooden railing). The first floor is mainly comics, action figures, and various other knick knacks (drinks and junk food too!) and the second is boardgames, DnD, and WHFB/WH40K. The other 1/3 of the second floor has about... 12 tables which can be pushed together to form a slightly bigger than 6'x4' table (2 of them for this example). There are also lockers for storage, two clean bathrooms (male and female), two storage rooms they happily let you use, and a "VIP Room" that you can rent if you want to play in private or if the upper story is full.

Every Friday night they have a local MTG tournament (and thusly stay open until midnight). They are happy to host any clubs and almost always have space. The owners are incredibly awsome and helpful. They totally make an effort to get to know you. They have the Emerald Knights League where for $25 a year you get a 10% discount on all products, a 25% discount on new comics, a gift card in December with 1% of all your purchases back on it, and a t-shirt. The owners are knowledgable about diffeerent subjects so one of them will always be able to help (except in the case of 40k/FB oddly enough) but never come off as overly nerdy/lame. J pretty much taught me everything I know about painting and I can't thank him enough *sniff*.

The one single complaint I have about them is that they are closed Mondays.

As an added bonus I live only a block away.