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The title pretty much covers it...I'm heading to NYC for a vacation and want to know if there are any excellent stores I should make it a point to visit.

There aren't too many, honestly. At least not in Manhattan.

There's the Compleat Strategist at 33rd St. & 5th Ave, which has a pretty decent selection of various games, as well as some GW products.

There's the Greenwich Village GW on East 8th Street. Small, but pretty much the only GW in the NYC area.

There used to be another decent game store in the city called the Neutral Ground, but it closed its doors at the beginning of the year.

That pretty much sums up the list of Manhattan stores, unless there're some I'm not familiar with.


Edit: put down the proper cross-street for the Compleat Strategist (33rd, not 32nd, as I previously wrote down

How about Brooklyn?

Not terribly familiar with the other boroughs, sadly. Brooklyn would probably be the best other borough to check for hobby stores, while the other three (Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) are likely to be pretty devoid of game/hobby stores.

What kind of stuff are you interested in perusing?

There is another GW in Queens. I don't know anything about it though.

As far as Manhattan stores goes the Compleat Strategist is the best. Large amount of Product and a lower level used for Gaming/D&D etc.
located right off 5th Avenue on East 33rd st (not 32 as said above)

The GW in Greenwich Village leaves alot to be desired. its a cramped little store, but sometimes they have little GW products you dont see at other US GW's like special editions in stock and little knick knacks like Imperial eagle luggage tags. The staff there can be a bit pushy though. Don't expect to have room to game/move at all.

The Compleat Stratagist also carries a multitude of other games and gaming supplies. its the only place ive seen stock Wargames factory stuff, etc

there is also a GW in Forest Hills, NJ. I've never been there, even though my girlfriend lives in Forest hills.

dinogj wrote:As far as Manhattan stores goes the Compleat Strategist is the best. Large amount of Product and a lower level used for Gaming/D&D etc.
located right off 5th Avenue on East 33rd st (not 32 as said above)

Bah, I always get it one street off (I know it by location, not by address )

Agreed with the other comments dinogj made. Not sure you'll want to go out to NJ on your visit, though.

Jin wrote:
Agreed with the other comments dinogj made. Not sure you'll want to go out to NJ on your visit, though.

The tolls coming over are highway robbery and we eat tourists alive.


Anyway, there isn't anything terribly exciting in North Jersey. There is the Game Room in Woodbridge. They have a great selection, but not much space to play IIRC (I haven't been there in a while).

Are you just staying in Manhattan?
Because if you are not, there are a plethora of amazing stores in Long island, Westchester county and Rockland county.

Westchester? Really? I'm only aware of Comic Book Heaven in White Plains.

Gah. I wish I had known about the complete strategist when I was in Manhattan a few months ago.

Besides the GW in the Village, the only other place was a comic book store around 54th and Lexington (or there abouts) but they didn't deal in tabletop games except for maybe clix games.

the complete strategist is clearly the best general hobby shop in the city. Has a decent line of GW stuff as well as everything else a hobby gamer can want. They have great alternate brand of green stuff. Not not mention every once in a while they have found in the basement sales. Generally its old school boxes sets or armies at a significant discount can't remember off the top of my head what they had last week though. There is a flyer near the 40k section when you go in. As for brooklyn there isn't anything worth mentioning.

The strat is on a side street, 33rd between 5th and Madison.

I've been to the GWs at Amsterdam Avenue on Upper West Side and 1457 Third Avenue Upper East Side.

They were both the usual mid sized Games Workshop stores that you see in the UK and Australia. However they did have quite a bit of limited edition stock on the shelves that we don't get in Oz.

The one in the Upper West Side closed a year or two ago. I suspect the one in the Upper East Side met the same fate.

Yeah I think only the Village GW is left.

But the Strat is the place to go.

The Warmongers are the club there
www.warmongerclub.com

yup no more GW aside from the village one is left. Also some of the redshirts there are well I can't think of many nice words to describe them, the best I can come up with of is over enthusiastic. The strategist on the other hand is filled with a motley group of help individuals, kinda like the crew from Firefly (but not nearly as cool. I'd totally buy anything from Adam baldwin)

I'm glad someone started this topic. I'll need something to do between museum visits when I go visit my brother this summer.

I've been in the Complete Strategist, and I consider it one of the best game stores I've encountered. Not that I've been in very many, but in terms of breadth of what it carries, it wins. Hell, they even have a large amount of Osprey books (the white ones, my kryptonite), in addition to....everything.

dumplingman wrote:Also some of the redshirts there are well I can't think of many nice words to describe them, the best I can come up with of is over enthusiastic.

Oh god yes. Though really, it's just this one guy there....ugh.

Compleat Strategist is full of everything. It's pretty wonderful, albeit a bit cramped.

There really isnt much in westchester. We have comic book heaven in white plains that has very little stock and gaming 2 days a week.

There are a few good stores liek brothers grim out on LI but that might be a trek from manhattan.

But as far as manhattan goes the strat is the best place to hit up. I think Don is the only guy at the GW in the village I can talk to without wanting to shoot myself.

Yea i think i may have slipped up when i put westchester in my list.
Comic Book Heaven is (was) my home store so im biased

I should also note the Compleat Strategist is across the street from the Empire State Building so easy to work into a vacation itinerary AND down the block is Jim Handley's Universe one of the best comic shops in Manhattan (and NY is FULL of great comic shops).

Kid_Kyoto wrote:I should also note the Compleat Strategist is across the street from the Empire State Building so easy to work into a vacation itinerary AND down the block is Jim Handley's Universe one of the best comic shops in Manhattan (and NY is FULL of great comic shops).

That's what I think would be called "a good landmark."

If I get to NYC with some free time this year I may have to go by The Compleat Strategist just so I can say I did.