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I was wondering, there's a non-GW LGS about 30 minutes from where I live. IDK if that's a good thing, as 30 min is a good bit of drive time. How far do you guys think is too far for a Game store?

I have two options near me. A close store that offers no discount and doesn’t have a regular crowd (20ish min away)

Or a store with a solid bunch of people who show up and play, and a solid discount on all products. But is about 45 min away in a direction that I need to worry about conflict with rush hour traffic (other side of Albany).

I make the drive to the farther store. It’s not just the discount (although that’s nice) but the fact that when I make the trip, I will get a game in. After one too many trips up to the close store where I just hung out for an hour or so with no other players showing, I gave up. The owner seemed nice, but didn’t put any effort into growing and supporting the hobby. Besides just keeping a well stocked shelf and a few tables.

45 min is approaching the outside of what I’d do. On a weeknight, it would be a rush to get down there and get a game in. Weekends are less of an issue.

Up until my most recent move the nearest FLGS to me was about 30 minutes drive.

Now it's about 6 minutes.

I wouldn't say it's too far, but it doesn't limit the days and times when a trip the shop is feasible.

20 minutes away - Local MtG shop + some wargaming (I can buy paints/glue and so on here)
45 minutes - Old FLGS - better gaming

 Jathom wrote:
Up until my most recent move the nearest FLGS to me was about 30 minutes drive.

Now it's about 6 minutes.

I wouldn't say it's too far, but it doesn't limit the days and times when a trip the shop is feasible.

Same for me. Local store just moved from 30 minutes away to right around the corner, literally walking distance (if I didn't have so much stuff to carry...)

My nearest FLGS (that I know of) is well over an hour away. And that's driving on a motorway, across a country with high fuel tax. I say go for it.

Both stores are on the other side of the city from me, it's a 30-45 min drive, depending on traffic, regardless of whether it's the GW (which is nice, but small) or Legions (which is big)

I personally don't see 30 minutes as much for travel time, but I can understand how it would be hard getting a game in after having to travel that amount of time on a weekday after work when the place closes 1-2 hours after you get there. My closest store is about 30 minutes away, but my work is about 45 minutes away, so I'm used to a longer drive twice daily anyway.

The nearest, Cape and Cowl, has a very limited selection of about a dozen or two GW boxes, all 20% off. It's 20 minutes away. Brookhurst Hobbies is 40-60 minutes away, but has a much better selection of everything, and a slight discount.

gakky GW store is about 25 minutes away.

Excellent FLGS is 3 minutes away. I can walk there, actually.

Another good FLGS is about an hour away.

Really, it depends on if it's worth it to YOU. What we're willing to do? Don't matter for squat diddly.

To answer the question, my local GW is about 20 minutes away.

Up until a December my two closest choices for GW wargaming were;

GW store 22 miles/24 minutes via toll road or 26 miles/41 minutes no toll road
FLGS 27.3 miles/29 minutes via toll road or 36 miles/50 minutes no toll road

New FLGS opened that is a bit closer and is 16.3 miles/19 min via toll road or 17 miles/31 min no toll road.

The best I ever had it was when there were 3 GW stores and a FLGS all within 10 miles/15 minutes or less 8 years ago. The FLGS closed and then within 18 months all 3 GW's stores had closed.

Up to an hour - no issue. Warhammer World: it depends entirely on the traffic.

Thanks all for the responses, for juxtaposition, the GW is about 15 min away in Kent Station. It has 2 gaming tables, but i'm not so sure about the flow of people coming in to game. They both have gaming schedules, however, idk if the other store has any discounts on 40K or the meta there.

Near me there is a shop, same town, about 20 mins drive though as its over the other side.

Doesn't feel inviting, no atmosphere, so I never bother going.

Go to my old club, about two hours away, ideally once a month, for the atmosphere alone its worth it

My FLGS is 1.5 miles down the road from me. Great people, great place to play. Now I just need to get Warpath in there. I already got Knight Models in there. And they've started carrying Mantic now with Walking Dead and Mars Attacks.

An hour one way and I'm at two different game stores.
Thirty minutes away in the opposite direction is a comic store that also sells games & GW but has no store gaming or interest in helping gamers find other gamers.

My nearest FLGS is a 15 minute walk (5 minute drive).
The nearest GW (only regional GW north of Sydney and still in the state) is a 10 minute drive - but there's also a very good model/hobby store closer than it, too (for glue/paint supplies).

Next nearest FLGS is a 30 minute drive.

My nearest club is a 5 minute walk (most of my gaming isn't in a store). It has monthly meetings. I've been to more of them than I have to gatherings at the store.

Before I moved up here (Newcastle, Oz), I lived in Sydney and would happily travel up to 90 minutes (on PT) to get to a club to play (northern and western suburbs) as there wasn't anything locally - but Sydney has a decent PT system (compared to where I am now). Up here, it's drive or stay where you are (or spend half the day travelling).

Mine is 45 min. (Although its pretty rural--grocery store is 15.)

Nearest GW is several hours.

My preferred FLGS is seven miles from my house, door to door, which is about 12 minutes of drive time. They have a sister store about another couple miles away from them that caters to a different crowd (young kids and casual gamers).

There's another hobby shop in the town I live in and after finding a parking space and walking to it, it's probably the same amount of time. They're a traditional hobby shop (trains, scale models, R/C, etc.) but they also sell some wargaming stuff and tons of board games. They host gaming nights on the weekends but I've never been; my group typically plays at someone's house.

Closest GW is about 20 minutes away, give or take 5 minutes due to traffic.

Closest non-GW LGS with playing space is probably about 30 minutes away up the highway now given the closer gaming store just moved to a rural town 2 hours away (it was a family-run and owned business and they moved as a lifestyle choice, taking their business with them).

 chromedog wrote:


My nearest club is a 5 minute walk (most of my gaming isn't in a store). It has monthly meetings. I've been to more of them than I have to gatherings at the store.

Legions is rubbish though

I have 30min walk then 30min bus ride to get to LGS

I used to drive about 20 minutes to get to the store that I frequented when I was back in Cali. I didn't mind the drive at all considering it was well worth it when I got there... mostly because the folks I played with were great to be with... I miss those days...

Now I have a store about 5 minutes away... a gw about 10 minutes a way... and other options about 20 minutes away... about I don't go to them because I haven't been able to find anyone I feel comfortable playing with.

What is this driving you talking about? I live in Japan and it takes me about an hour to get to the FLGS, with a car it would take longer.

sort of depends, for general use I'd say about an hour, but if there is a event I don't think two or so hours isn't unreasonable, then again I have to reason like this as I live in the depths of hobbit-shire

 Jehan-reznor wrote:
What is this driving you talking about? I live in Japan and it takes me about an hour to get to the FLGS, with a car it would take longer.

I can relate to that.
The store I go to is 25mins away, taking the subway. I mostly go there because it's right next to my parents and places I often go to on weekends.
Sadly I don't have any shop much closer to my place (that I know of), but many in a 20-40mins bubble (I live in Paris), so at least I have options.

 Rolsheen wrote:

 chromedog wrote:


My nearest club is a 5 minute walk (most of my gaming isn't in a store). It has monthly meetings. I've been to more of them than I have to gatherings at the store.

Legions is rubbish though

I have 30min walk then 30min bus ride to get to LGS

It has beer and no majik players - it has all it needs for me and my gaming mates. Besides, it's newcastle, the arse end of the state - and beggars can't be choosers (and at least it's not in wallsend.).

We hold the largest WHFB tourney on the East coast there (we get players coming from 4 states to attend AND some even fly in from Singapore) - 90 players.
That said, it's less a gaming club and more a beer drinking social club where we occasionally roll dice and play mandollies. It's not for everyone, but that's fine. It doesn't have to be.

Due to being in Wales, and out in the sticks, it's a thirty minute car journey to my nearest games store.

Which sucks.

45 minutes to Warhammer world on public transport for me !

I would not mind over an hours journey to be honest as long I knew that there would be people there to game / chat with.

Where I live? GW is a ten minute or so walk into town.

Where I work? Darksphere is about half an hour away, less when that sodding underground station re-opens and knocks five minutes off the walk!