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Hi everyone,

I'm doing a little bit of research into gaming stores and their target market, and wanted to ask the community: what is your idea of a 'perfect' game store?

Is it something as simple as having the latest releases in on time and in a sufficient quantity? Are you more interested in a hub that becomes the focal point for the gaming community? Is having a decent quantity of space and tables an issue, or just enough seating so you can pop down and have a chat with other gamers? What about painting and modelling areas? Would you prefer a focus on miniature gaming only or would card games, board games and RPGs be of interest? Anything that you would define as important for a game store to succeed I am interested in hearing about.

I'm pretty sure that everyone has their own version of a gaming nirvana, and I am keen to hear all about it!

Thanks for reading!

- Valtyr

The perfect store would have all of the above 24/7.
Also private rooms, food, a bar, great discounts, active online/instore community, great terrain, storage available for customers, B+B facilities, loads of packed out events and plenty more stuff.
The big problem is that there really isn't a big enough community with the funds or mindset to support all of this all the time.

A big selction of products at a decent discount is all I really need.

If I owned a game store I would love to have the following in my store:

1) A thriving Magic the Gathering community, without card gamers, it becomes really tough for game stores to keep the lights on, though I would want them relegated to their own section of the store as it is best for all parties involved. This section would be open and available for magic and card gamers to play any time the store is open, which allows for a casual community and then hosting tournaments for the community.

2) A space to contain 3 to 4 40k games at once. That means three to four 8x4 tables with places to stow terrain and gear during the game. This allows the store to easily break the number of tables in half to accommodate games played on a 3x3 or a 4x4 table as well as keeping it clean for your 40k, Fantasy, or Flames of War players. These tables would be open at all times for Open Play during the day, but on specific nights would be reserved for a specific game.
2.a) Terrain of various scales, manufacturers, all painted and sealed. Nothing too extravagant because I wouldn't want someone to break it and feel bad. Theme boards possibly, but not needed.

3) New releases in a prominent section so I don't have to go searching for the latest space marine kit, or that new Warmahordes faction, etc... Keep these near their main lines so you don't have to travel far to pick up other things.
3.a) Gaming literature available in an easy to peruse section providing a large variety of gaming and hobby magazines
3.b) Hobby Supplies near the front of the store by the counter so you see them on your way in, and on your way out with purchases (to maximize impulse buys)

4) Schedule of Events so that all of the players in my store know what is being played on what night, make this available via a calendar at the front of the store as well as online through w/e form of media my store uses (website, facebook, twitter, etc...)

5) Demo Table near the front that would have a board game, tabletop game, or card game available to try. This might only be available during certain times, but it would be a way for people to quickly learn a new game. I'd work with various volunteer programs (henchmen, pressgangers, sarges, etc...) to work out days of the week when they can come in and demo as having them be excited to demo means they do better demos and we both get bigger communities

6) Hobby Workshop, a small garage/slightly open air place where I could house a store spray booth for priming models, airbrushing, or working on some hobby related things

7) choice selection of beer on tap, because why not.

A realistic thing that will make or break any store is a good community. It doesn't matter how good the tables are or how much food they have if the community is filled with great unclean ones and jerks. It also doesn't do you any good if there is no community period, since you need people playing games to show off product and encourage others to buy in. Being involved with your store's community as the owner is huge.

Everything from organizing specific nights for each game and encouraging people to run demos helps, as does encouraging a fun community by requiring cleanliness and kicking out jerks. Yeah you lose the bad egg's sales, but other people will be far more likely to come back if they know he's gone.

Other than that, nice tables with good terrain, a nice selection of snacks, and nice chairs to sit in are big plusses. And of course, things like a good variety of games carried is a given.

 Alfndrate wrote:
If I owned a game store I would love to have the following in my store:

1) A thriving Magic the Gathering community, without card gamers, it becomes really tough for game stores to keep the lights on, though I would want them relegated to their own section of the store as it is best for all parties involved. This section would be open and available for magic and card gamers to play any time the store is open, which allows for a casual community and then hosting tournaments for the community.

2) A space to contain 3 to 4 40k games at once. That means three to four 8x4 tables with places to stow terrain and gear during the game. This allows the store to easily break the number of tables in half to accommodate games played on a 3x3 or a 4x4 table as well as keeping it clean for your 40k, Fantasy, or Flames of War players. These tables would be open at all times for Open Play during the day, but on specific nights would be reserved for a specific game.
2.a) Terrain of various scales, manufacturers, all painted and sealed. Nothing too extravagant because I wouldn't want someone to break it and feel bad. Theme boards possibly, but not needed.

3) New releases in a prominent section so I don't have to go searching for the latest space marine kit, or that new Warmahordes faction, etc... Keep these near their main lines so you don't have to travel far to pick up other things.
3.a) Gaming literature available in an easy to peruse section providing a large variety of gaming and hobby magazines
3.b) Hobby Supplies near the front of the store by the counter so you see them on your way in, and on your way out with purchases (to maximize impulse buys)

4) Schedule of Events so that all of the players in my store know what is being played on what night, make this available via a calendar at the front of the store as well as online through w/e form of media my store uses (website, facebook, twitter, etc...)

5) Demo Table near the front that would have a board game, tabletop game, or card game available to try. This might only be available during certain times, but it would be a way for people to quickly learn a new game. I'd work with various volunteer programs (henchmen, pressgangers, sarges, etc...) to work out days of the week when they can come in and demo as having them be excited to demo means they do better demos and we both get bigger communities

6) Hobby Workshop, a small garage/slightly open air place where I could house a store spray booth for priming models, airbrushing, or working on some hobby related things
t.

This really sums it up but I would enforce a strict policy of no one under the age of 20 inside said gaming spaces. Because no one likes kids going anywhere near their models

Well it's bound to differ between respective hobbyists but my friends and I all agree that somewhere that's clean spacious and well lit is somewhere we'd support and return to.
So many stores we've walk into are dark, damp and smell of stale bodily odours. It's horrid! Not a good first impression.

Even if space is an issue, just somewhere that's brightly lit is a very good start. Somewhere to sit down and converse with others is just a bonus.

Personally speaking, a wide variety of stock as is possible is always great, ACME games in Llandudno, North Wales offers a fantastic and extensive range of just about everything and the staff are friendly and chatty too (not in the GW way either)

4th Planet games In Wrexham, (North Wales again) doesn't have a wide a catalogue as ACME (it's only just opened though to be fair) but the staff are, again, friendly and the playing areas are very well lit and spacious which is great.

So yeah, pretty basic. Pretty boring but pretty fundamental too imo.

Your big problem is kids are probably going to be quite a large source of income. If you were going to try and have an age limit the I feel 20's a bit high, as a 17 year old I feel that I'm responsible enough to not go around just picking up other peoples stuff and ruining them. Good AC ever game store I go into seems to be roasting.

This is what I really like to see in a game store in which I would like to play wargames:

1: Hub of the local gaming community. This tends to flow from the elements below, but it is nice to see an owner/manager that really wants to support the local gaming community.

2: Plenty of well-organized gaming space/materials. Note: this is something that I don't mind paying for, such as with a membership fee, rental fee, etc. In my opinion, the very best game stores have ample gaming space available, preferably segregated such that wargaming can be cleanly separated from board games/magic/RPGs, etc. Wargaming tends to take up a lot more space, and in my experience as a customer, available space tends to be maximized in terms of usage if part of it is set aside for closely-spaced tables where folks can sit down and chat, paint miniatures, play card/board games, and so forth without being jostled by wargamers moving around boards, terrain, and bags of miniatures.

I also like to see plenty of terrain on hand for wargaming, with a clearly marked and easy to use organizational system. I have noticed that terrain gets treated much more respectfully if there is a good organizational system for storage, even if it is simply clearly marked and sufficiently-sized shelf space, e.g. hills go here, ruins go there, river sections go here, etc.

3: Snacks/Drinks. The reason I like having snacks and drinks available, even at a sharp markup, is that I like to support the FLGS, but I don't always want to buy gaming stuff. Slightly over-priced snacks and drinks allows you to spend money on what are typically decent profit margin items without getting the stink eye for coming home with another box set of miniatures.

4: Fresh, up to date stock. Whatever it is that is being stocked, the new stuff should be on the shelves. If I am at the store, I want to be able to see the latest products, even if I am not planning on purchasing them at the time. It signals that the store is being run well, and if the shop is well-stocked, it makes impulse purchases more likely, which I like as a customer. I also like to see plenty of stock of inexpensive items that I probably would be reticent to buy online due to shipping annoyances (it irks me to pay 6 bucks to ship a 5 dollar purchase). Reaper models are a great example. If a store carries RPGs or wargaming miniatures, I always love to see a nice, comprehensive selection of Reaper blisters. It is fun to dig through racks of blisters and look at different models in the flesh, and rotating displays of Reaper blisters is also a way to keep stock looking fresh without putting out new products.

5: Storage space. Again, this is something I don't mind paying for. It is really awesome when a shop has storage space to rent, such as lockers. If you go to a shop on a regular basis, it is nice to be able to store regularly used materials at the shop, and renting storage space is another way to support the store.

6: Community events not necessarily directly related to gaming. I love to see a shop that organizes events that aren't directly tied to gaming, even if it is just a day where customers are invited to help refurbish terrain. I think it helps to build a solid community, and it is nice to interact with folks other than across the game table, which might otherwise be difficult to do.

 Alfndrate wrote:
If I owned a game store I would love to have the following in my store:

1) A thriving Magic the Gathering community, without card gamers, it becomes really tough for game stores to keep the lights on, though I would want them relegated to their own section of the store as it is best for all parties involved. This section would be open and available for magic and card gamers to play any time the store is open, which allows for a casual community and then hosting tournaments for the community.

2) A space to contain 3 to 4 40k games at once. That means three to four 8x4 tables with places to stow terrain and gear during the game. This allows the store to easily break the number of tables in half to accommodate games played on a 3x3 or a 4x4 table as well as keeping it clean for your 40k, Fantasy, or Flames of War players. These tables would be open at all times for Open Play during the day, but on specific nights would be reserved for a specific game.
2.a) Terrain of various scales, manufacturers, all painted and sealed. Nothing too extravagant because I wouldn't want someone to break it and feel bad. Theme boards possibly, but not needed.

3) New releases in a prominent section so I don't have to go searching for the latest space marine kit, or that new Warmahordes faction, etc... Keep these near their main lines so you don't have to travel far to pick up other things.
3.a) Gaming literature available in an easy to peruse section providing a large variety of gaming and hobby magazines
3.b) Hobby Supplies near the front of the store by the counter so you see them on your way in, and on your way out with purchases (to maximize impulse buys)

4) Schedule of Events so that all of the players in my store know what is being played on what night, make this available via a calendar at the front of the store as well as online through w/e form of media my store uses (website, facebook, twitter, etc...)

5) Demo Table near the front that would have a board game, tabletop game, or card game available to try. This might only be available during certain times, but it would be a way for people to quickly learn a new game. I'd work with various volunteer programs (henchmen, pressgangers, sarges, etc...) to work out days of the week when they can come in and demo as having them be excited to demo means they do better demos and we both get bigger communities

6) Hobby Workshop, a small garage/slightly open air place where I could house a store spray booth for priming models, airbrushing, or working on some hobby related things

7) choice selection of beer on tap, because why not.

I would find a game store perfect if it had just half of that.

I dont think it needs to be rocket science, the continuingly impressive sales figures of Sports Direct, my fat corporate brothers superpower entity, which floated shares at 20p and now sells them for £6, shows that people don't give a gak about decor, they care about stock and price.

If you have both of those, you can peddle your wares surrounded by human filth and still happily flog tons of gear. Money talks, and if you sell cheaper, you will crush your opponents no matter how much nicer their store looks.

If that isn't the answer you like I would say all of the obvious stuff, plenty of gaming tables, an area to paint, obvious gak like that.

Oh and hire a girl who works there who has 3 tits to coax the teenagers in.

An area for painting, many boards, good few tournaments/painting, lots if minitures on display and friendly staff!
Pretty much my dream.

 sing your life wrote:
I would find a game store perfect if it had just half of that.

Same, the first 4 things are all things that I'd consider "must haves" with 5, 6, and 7, as "addons".

 Alfndrate wrote:

 sing your life wrote:
I would find a game store perfect if it had just half of that.

Same, the first 4 things are all things that I'd consider "must haves" with 5, 6, and 7, as "addons".

Guardian Games in Portland, Oregon:
1) A thriving Magic the Gathering community: I think they've hit up over 200-250 people for MTG releases now.
2) A space to contain 3 to 4 40k games at once: They run 12 table tournaments and could go higher. They're running a 20 person 2 day event in November, iirc.
3) New releases in a prominent section : Great retail space and new releases prominently displayed
3a) Gaming literature available: Check
3b) Hobby Supplies near the front of the store: Check
4) Schedule of Events: They have whiteboards/etc with schedules as well as a website that shows off their stuff.
5) Demo Table near the front: Tons of demos and events all the time.
6) Hobby Workshop, a small garage/slightly open air place: This is the only area they probably don't have.
7) choice selection of beer on tap, because why not.: They have a bar area that is 21+. Amusingly, most tournaments runs half and half in that area. So you can end up playing 2-3 of your 4 games in the bar and drink during it if you're of age.

And more!

Also private rooms - I believe they have these.
food, a bar - Check
great discounts - 10 or 20% off 40k for anyone in the league if they buy on league night, iirc.
active online/instore community - yep
great terrain - yep
storage available for customers, - yep
B+B facilities - ???
loads of packed out events - There's always something on there.

1: Hub of the local gaming community. - Definitely, they run a league and are the go to store in the greater portland area.
2: Plenty of well-organized gaming space/materials. - Tons of terrain on wheeled racks, plenty of tables, etc.
3: Snacks/Drinks. - Bar plus soda plus snacks, etc
4: Fresh, up to date stock. - Huge selection of all mini games, board games, rpgs, card games, mini cases, video games, etc
5: Storage space. - Rentable lockers
6: Community events not necessarily directly related to gaming. - Everything from armor making workshops to burlesque nights in the adult area.

I'd want proper staff. I like my local gaming store and all, but they don't hire good people. They hire gamers. Knowledge on stock and games is good, but that shouldn't be priority when hiring. I mean grocery stores don't hire the guy that knows the most about groceries. Priority should be on someone that'll do a good job meeting and serving costumers, not someone that can name every Magic card.

So make sure your employees fit the standards for retail. And that's not asking for too much, really.

Pretre, so jealous of you

 Alfndrate wrote:
Pretre, so jealous of you

Dude, seriously.

If you're ever out this way, you should check it out. They are having a two-day GT, if you are the travelling type.

 pretre wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:
Pretre, so jealous of you

Dude, seriously.

If you're ever out this way, you should check it out. They are having a two-day GT, if you are the travelling type.

Spoiler:

That's ridiculous... I'll have to check it out whenever I can afford to travel on my vacation days.

 Alfndrate wrote:
That's ridiculous... I'll have to check it out whenever I can afford to travel on my vacation days.

Let me know if you do. I might be able to break free of the kids and get in a game.

The sad part is that I'm going to miss the Guardian Cup because I can't get away for both days. :(

A smart man once told me there were two reasons to open a busines.
1. To make money
or
2. To make friends

Make up your mind before you start anything if this is a research thread.
Mattyrm is right.

fishy bob wrote:
I'd want proper staff. I like my local gaming store and all, but they don't hire good people. They hire gamers. Knowledge on stock and games is good, but that shouldn't be priority when hiring. I mean grocery stores don't hire the guy that knows the most about groceries. Priority should be on someone that'll do a good job meeting and serving costumers, not someone that can name every Magic card.

So make sure your employees fit the standards for retail. And that's not asking for too much, really.

THIS THIS THIS.

Can't believe I forgot to add that. Having a gamer behind the counter might work well for regulars, but its terrible for serving new people or people who ha e stumbled across the store and are curious. If a person comes in and asks "So is this 40k game like a board game or something?" and they get greeted by a guy with poor social skills and a 20 minute tangent on how they're nothing alike, you will never see that customer again.

You can teach a retail guy about the hobby fairly easily. You can't teach good retail practices to most gamers.

I like the layout of my local GW actually:

- demo table at the front
- painting table with 6 seats at the front
- 6 full sized, decent looking tables (some shelves with more terrain then needed nearby)
- the store is pretty long so that if you are at the front you can't really hear the noisy gamers in the back (or vise versa)
- 5+ display cases with very well painted complete armies (great for inspiration on new ideas)
- great staff, not overly pushy, but full of genuine suggestions that "coincidentally" help their sales

I wouldn't change much, it would be nice to see a game of FoW or infinity though

I all honesty, I only care about stock levels and deep discounts.

Painting? I prefer to sit at home where I can use my airbrush and watch movies/listen to music while painting without having kids screaming in the background.
Playing? I play at home or in the local club. No need to go to a store for that.
Friendly staff? Would be nice, yes. But since I usually know what I want it's a quick in-grab-pay-out job so interaction with the staff is minimal.

1.) Don't leave kids unattended in the store- it's not a daycare.

2.) Have a selection of deodorant and body spray at the counter for sale. Maybe with a snarky sign about hygiene nearby.

3.) Plenty of Table Space.

4.) Easily located, and prominent schedule of events, players looking for groups, and general info about the store.

5.) Open by 9AM. (I've tried to go to so many stores to only find out that they don't open until 11AM, or even 1PM that day! I understand its a slow time, but it still aggravates me.)

6.) If you have aisles, make sure there's enough room for two people to pass by comfortably.

7.) Discounts on slow selling, or old items are always nice.

8.) The owner needs to be personable. And clean.

9.) A wide selection of games besides Magic the Gathering.

10.) Keep the customers in line, and keep them from bossing other players off tables.

1) Blackjack
2) Hookers

Otherwise I'll be forced to open my own gaming store, with both of the above included.

 Sinful Hero wrote:
5.) Open by 9AM. (I've tried to go to so many stores to only find out that they don't open until 11AM, or even 1PM that day! I understand its a slow time, but it still aggravates me.)

Argh! This one kills me.

f2k wrote:
Friendly staff? Would be nice, yes. But since I usually know what I want it's a quick in-grab-pay-out job so interaction with the staff is minimal.

If this is aimed at my and MrMoustaffas posts then I for one aren't really asking for them to be friendly. Just professional. I totally share your shop philosophy. In - grab - pay - out, but with gamer staff it's more like: In - grab - go to the counter where no one is - look around the store at who the staffer might be - ends up asking someone - staffer doesn't want to leave his Clix game and asks me to hold on a second - finally gets to the counter where he hasn't even opened the register for the day so it takes forever to check out - doesn't give me a receipt, and says he can't give me one cause he can't be bothered changing the roll - I leave as a dissatisfied costumer.

fishy bob wrote:

f2k wrote:
Friendly staff? Would be nice, yes. But since I usually know what I want it's a quick in-grab-pay-out job so interaction with the staff is minimal.

If this is aimed at my and MrMoustaffas posts then I for one aren't really asking for them to be friendly. Just professional. I totally share your shop philosophy. In - grab - pay - out, but with gamer staff it's more like: In - grab - go to the counter where no one is - look around the store at who the staffer might be - ends up asking someone - staffer doesn't want to leave his Clix game and asks me to hold on a second - finally gets to the counter where he hasn't even opened the register for the day so it takes forever to check out - doesn't give me a receipt, and says he can't give me one cause he can't be bothered changing the roll - I leave as a dissatisfied costumer.

Point taken.

Perhaps I should point out that a staff can be fully functioning without being friendly. What I mean is that, while I would of course like to be treated in a respectful and professional manner, the staff does not need to immediately come up to me and ask what I need, doesn't need to have a huge smile plastered on their face all the time, doesn't have to spend half an hour chatting with with me, doesn't need to remember every purchase I made in the store and so on...

Sure, all those things are nice and I certainly enjoyed the good and friendly service at the store I used to frequent before it went out of business. But with the current crazy prices, discounts is more important to me than service.


Of course, this perspective is from a guy who always play at home or in clubs. If you have a community based around the store as the primary "club" then service become more important as the store will also serve as recruitment center.


Ultimately though, I feel that this kind of store is slowly going the way of the Dodo. I've seen most of those in my own hometown close their doors over the last decade or so. The margins are too small and the prices too high. I've talked with several people - all of whom are much better at the whole retail business than I am - about the possibility of starting a gaming club/store centered around a plenty of tables for both 15 mm. and 28 mm. gaming with a bar, rest area, and small shop backing it up. But no matter how we twist and turn it, none of us can see it work over the long term.
Indeed, at one point in time I was offered to buy the store where I was freelancing for a while (setting up their webstore and doing a bit of work in the store itself) but I walked out of it. And sure enough, the store folded not long after. Once again, there simply isn't money in a pure tabletop gaming store anymore.

Hence my emphasis on stock levels and discounts. That seems to be what people are looking for these days. Of course, Games Workshop is doing their best to stop this but... Well... Yet another problem for the average store to deal with...

And parking!
Free would be the best type.

My ideal game store:

1) Friendly
2) Stocked
3) Good hours
4) responsive when i order something
5) value me and my business
5a) intelligent discount program
6) close in proximity
7) parking and food
8) Events (and not just tourneys)


1) Friendly - This is actually hard to perfect. You can go overboard. A warm greeting (i cannot tell you how far remembering my name goes, seriously) is enough, maybe a bit of asking if i need assistance, but past that, let me browse unless i ask for help. Customers love compliments on their armies. Seriously. Don't overdo it, but a paint job, conversion, or even just general "High Elves ? Nice ! I love how X model looks on the board" goes a long way. It's real easy to make a potential "regular" someone that doesn't come back if your staff isn't sincerely friendly.

A good friendly, social staff is key. A good staff are guys that are nice and helpful, but i could see myself grabbing a beer with. At the shop i frequent, i drive 30 miles away partly because i like the staff.

2) Stocked. Duh. Don't need to have everything, but a good selection is key. I don't mind doing some special orders, but if i have to special order everything, then it starts making you wonder why i'm not buying online.

3) Good hours. Key. The *best* game stores have (where local ordinances permit) a set in stone open time, and a "closed when all the games are done" closing time. I have been at my local shop until 1:30 am before playing a big game of WHFB where, at 11:30 we commented that we should wrap it up because it was getting late and we didn't want to make him stay there all night - the guying manning the store told us "Are you kidding ? This is awesome ! Keep playing!" ... and he watched, joked and laughed with us. Awesome. I can't get that online. I will be okay paying MSRP for that.

4) If i order something, please order it. An occasional slip up here or there is understandable. This is much easier now with computers and apps and stuff, but if you don't have something that your customer is willing to give you money for and wait for, don't sit on that. Get it on order. If it's going to be a longer than usual lead time BE PROACTIVE. If you tell a customer who is ordering "It'll be two weeks" and come to find out its going to be 3 or more weeks, get in front of that, and be the one to tell the customer. Don't let him come waltzing in on the nose of "two weeks" to be told it's going to be another week or two.

5) I walk into my local shop, i get greeted by name, and of the three guys that work there, each one knows something about my gaming habits. Guy 1 asks me "how the high elves are doing" and asks if i've painted any more up recently. Guy 2 asks me how many 40k armies i'm up to now, and what's my favorite right now. Guy 3 knows i play Magic with my son, and what my son likes, and sometimes shows me cards my kid would like (big creatures - he's 6 heh!).

All of these are sales pitches, but they are sales pitches to me, and they show that my business is valued. I feel welcome, i feel like this is "my" game store.

Best part ? I come in maybe 2-3 times a month. My local shop has kick ass customer service.


5a) Best of all ? The local shop has a deal : spend 100 bucks, get 10% off your next purchase (which does not count towards the next 100 buck block). Sure it's not Warstore levels of discount, but it shows that they know i can go cheap online if i want, i recognize that, it's definitely a nod to customers that drop money in the store, and i appreciate that.

6) Proximity, i like the store to be close, but as mentioned, i travel 30 miles to my shop of choice. There are three closer to me that i don't like as much.

7) Parking is key. Proximity to at least decent food is key.

8) Events - Tourneys, swap days (local shop does a thing where i go what i want to "sell" or "trade" - we agree on a price, buyer pays the store the agreed upon price, seller gets a store credit. It's fething awesome.... i can't friggin' wait for them to do it again), painting classes, terrain stuff, campaigns, etc. are great.