>bored at home
>decide to head over to my LGS because I hadn't been there in a while
>as I ride up, I notice the place was dark and empty which was weird because they don't close until hours later
>I notice one of the gamestop employees from next door walking by so I ask him what's going on
>turns out while I was gone the strips landlord trippled the rent and they couldn't pay so they went out of business
>tfw I realize my LGS is gone and I wasn't there for it in its dying hours
Tell me about your LGS, are you still having fun there, or did yours meet a similar fate?
Mine's become one pittance of a board game shelf, a Warhammer room that sits dark and empty for 99% of the time that the shop is open, and the majority of the space is now dedicated to playing MtG or selling vidja
>>46447623
My LGS is dying a horrible death.
It started off as a comic store. Then it incorporated MTG about ten years ago.
For about 7 years, there was a really strong community. But then, people got older, got married, moved away, and the crowd continued to get younger and younger.
Ownership changed, and it became a weeb-centric youth store, sponsoring like saturday night weeb raves or something. Then airsoft. Then it moved locations.
Now, nobody even shows up to MTG events.
It'll be gone within a year.
>hosts x wing, 40k/fantasy, warmahordes, mtg nights
>Always some pnp game going on
>decent selection of games and products
>lists 10% off msrp even for special ordered items
>lets you run a tab for snacks and shit
The only shame is I am moving in like a month
Between work and school I have three stores available to me in any given week.
Close to home I've got Imagine, which is an odd duck. Recently closed for two months and updated the whole store. Now the store is 1/3 store, and 2/3 play space. Packed on event nights (so 5 nights a week) and weekends. Not bad considering it is the only one in that town.
Next is Bat Cave which acts as a small college town's only comic and game store. Tiny space but always full (in the game space). Comic area is empty unless I'm in there (never see anyone shopping it).
Finally Game Goblins. Pretty neat place. Super new location and updated stock. Big place. Always have a few tables full of either 40K or MtG.
I play Munchkin, Pokemon, or DnD so rarely any of my people there. Sadness.
>>46447623
I feel bad for you guys, my main LGS I go to is buying out the gym next to them to expand into a larger gaming area, they plan on making it a warhammer/mtg area where they will host tournaments and shit.
and the second one I occassionally go towhich is filled with a bunch of elitist assholesjust bought a bigger place as well and has a metric fuck ton of room, but they are almost 100% MtG and other card games
>live next to original FFG.
Naw I'm fine
>>46447623
Mine died about two months ago, just after a burglar took out a door and stole a grand in merchandise. The owners have another store that they run besides the one they closed, so they're doing fine, but it's on a military base, so that sucks for their civilian customers who can't get in.
I've got another one nearby my house, but it's mostly Magic and 40k, which is disappointing.
>>46447623
Store #1 is in a mall so there isn't much space. Mostly MtG and the like for this reason. A lot of college student gamers in the area though, store definitely isn't going under any time soon. Overrun with annoying kids, even at FNM drafts that run until like 11.
Store #2 is much bigger, has a far better selection, and hosts more events, but I don't go as much since I've gone to #1 longer. Miniatures and wargames seem to be their big thing, there's a huge wall devoted just to minis, although oddly the 40k section is tiny.
There's a third store nearby (/tg/ hobbies are big enough in the area to support all three) but I don't go because it's cliquey and run by horrible people.
OP here
Was listening to this while I was on my way to my LGS before I realized it was closed
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BTCfQ6Bb8QE
Just thought I should share that or something
I live in a University Town, so mine's doing pretty well.
It has a small section for comics. Employees are always helpful. You can sell your books to them for about the sale price. Have several dedicated areas for games. Also sells board games for those who aren't into TTG. Frequently has events and stuff. Employees will join groups and play with you if they have time, and will also help you make good characters. (One of our groups best players is an employee there. He's great.) It has a section where you can watch some TV.
All in all, pretty good.
My LGS moved out of the local mall a few years ago, moved right across the street in an area that was just getting new food and shit. Now its even bigger than ever, gets PACKED for FNM, has TVs in the corners (strangely shaped store) to help display scores and the like.
>>46447623
>the strips landlord trippled the rent and they couldn't pay so they went out of business
>not "so they went somewhere else"
It was almost dead anyway.
>>46447623
I also live in Arizona and frrequented Empire. A shame about it's closing it was a nice place.
Not the same without Jimmy though.
>>46447623
>>46449818
Brock the owner was having a midlife crisis or something, forcing half of his stock out of his store because he didn't want to support Warmahordes anymore. Which is a pretty damn awful business strategy.
I wasn't hearing anything good about the place anymore, I think it was on it's way out without any Landlord's help.
>>46447623
My favorite one died in a flurry of mismanagement and incompetence. It sucks because it was run by two guys I went to Community College with and they were both pretty cool.
I haven't been able to make myself play in fnm or a prerelease since it went under
My LGS is pretty great. Employees are super friendly and helpful. Has a giant back room with enough play space for multiple different games running different tournaments.
>live in Montana
>there probably isn't one LGS in the entire state
Just kill me
>>46448325
I really think living in a university town/city is the key to success. I grew up in a town where the nearest non-community college was 30-45 minutes away and our only LGS almost closed like four times. When I moved for college not only did I find a TON of stores, but the one closest to me is massive and thriving with generally nice clientele.
>>46450259
What are you talking about, there's like five.
my lgs is the fantasy flight games event center, so doing plenty fine i guess.
>>46450325
Maybe in Missoula but I'm not driving 4 hours to get to one
>>46447623
My LGS exists... on Google Maps. Unfortunately when I drove there for the first time to check it out the lot had been long abandoned, and I'm stuck without one until I the next time move (which is thankfully soon).
>>46450349
What town are you in?
My lgs is fuck huge. Its the biggest fnm in the country so you can literally walk in any time any day and get a game or 2. But there's an awful lot of guys on the spectrum up there too. I guess thats the price for being so big.
>>46450349
So what you're saying is you don't care about games.
>>46447974
The FFGC is the shit. Best LGS I've ever been to. They've got a fully-staffed kitchen, beers on tap, events practically every night. I just wish it wasn't so damn crowded all the time.
>>46447920
Shout out to Little Rock area. You forgot to mention Mizewell but they have an unfriendly staff. Batcave smells weird and is populated mostly by YuGiOh CHUDS so I avoid it
>>46450402
There's elitism and then there's this. I hope you're not serious or you're autistic as fuck.
>>46450502
If you live in America you can't expect European travel times.
I worked at, owned by a woman who had no interest in board games and wnated to maek a quick buck. Became friends with my dad and eventually introduced her friend to him and they started dating
>her own marriage collapses and takes it out on them, also fires me with a blatant lie.
>six or so months later check in on the store, half the amount of board games. Only cards that are left is a single box of 3 year old MtG surrounded by cards against humanity.
>its now mainly just toys
>the guy who worked there had no idea what i was talking about when i casually asked about some board games.
fuck that bitch
>>46450530
I don't think not wanting to spend 8 hours travel time plus gas to play games means you don't care about them anon.
>mfw I moved to Bakersfield CA, have no idea where anything is.
>>46450564
>part 2
>hears im going to film school and offers me a job to start some youtube thing for/with her
>her initial offer is 12 dollars an hour of filming
>i ask about script writing, directing, post production
>she think im scamming her expecting to be paid for that too
>she says she spent 10 years in an editting room so either a dumbass, or trying to cut me short again
>>46450593
you got a 2 hour drive to the nearest G-Dubz in Glendale (los angeles)
>>46450807
2-hour drive, eh?
That's not too bad if I went every once in a while and spent the whole day there.
>>46447623
There's four (three-ish) now
>Game Storm
Only one that does warmahordes, has a decent but pretty cutthroat mtg scene and almost all singles I need. Owner is alright, but one of his employees is a bro and the other is okay, furthest one
>Amazing Fantasy
Does FFG games, RPG night and mtg. Has the best employees, have stayed till 2 am to talk to. Only sells standard mtg stuff though, so I go to store one most of the time for that.
>GW
Managed by a pretty awesome guy. Community is good, but has a few power gamers. Feel bad because I never buy anything from the guy, but he's solid and doesn't try to force me to buy anything.
>A hobbytown usa
where I first started playing mtg. Barely gets enough people to fire draft/sealed, because no one will play standard. Friends with the guy who runs the events. Feel terrible because he used to be so optimistic and we'd get like 20-30 people, now our friday release had 10 people and our saturday one had 10 as well.
>>46447623
Literally one store.
I go in and the very beardy-looking fellow behind the counter doesn't so much as lift his head from his phone.
It's nothing but old RPG books what haven't moved, and MtG cards.
I tried to get into a H:tR game through an advertisement on the board, but like 3 days after the ST said we were all good he texted me and said he had to cancel the game due to RL.
So yeah. I don't know how these guys make money, considering it was barren all 3 or so times I went in, but they somehow made enough to move out of a corner shop in the halfway shut-down mall and into a big ass building on a major thoroughfare.
>>46447901
Where do you live? I'll take your house.
>>46450263
The one issue with ours is, it's open to the street, but you have to park in a back alley that's next to a bar, and right by a bunch of Frat houses. It's also right next to the Town Hall. It's in a weird and occasionally dangerous placement, but otherwise it's a great store.
I am too scared to go to mine. Past stores in the area were super shitty and run by sketchy people. This place has stuck around a while so I don't think it can be that bad though.
>>46447623
There are two, one up the street that is little more than a Magic the Gathering and Yugioh shop (though I did pick up some nice AD&D things from their one shelf of non-card game stuff).
The other is two towns over but much nicer. Used to be a hole-in-the-wall, then moved to a larger location next to the mall in that town. Went there quite regularly for about a year but gas is going up and I'm not getting paid more.
Anyway, I made it up there recently and found out they lost 1/4 of their place (mostly consisting of the private game rooms and extra table space) and are a little more cramped. Still the best damn shop around my area though.
>>46451658
I should also mention the one nearest me I can't go to anymore. Fiancee (fellow RPer but also really into Magic) was going there regularly and this one guy got a little too close to her. When I picked her up, he told her later I was evil and had demonic energy and shit around me. Said he'd beat my ass next time he saw me.
Somehow he got her number (probably from one of her Magic friends) and blew up her message system so we have a restraining order on him now. Since he is there from open to close, we won't go until we hear he's behind bars (shouldn't be that long, guy isn't exactly stable).
>>46447901
Full Spectrum?
Only one in my small town that I almost considered going to for tournaments and shit but decided against it when the one time I went in it was filled and staffed by awful millennial types.
>>46450386
Such a good store, I show up about once a month (I live out in fort worth) to look at the stock and trade cards. That and Starcity events on rare occasions.
>>46447623
TOP DECK GAMES NIGGA
>>46450962
...Ventura County?
>>46450593
>mfw from bakersfield but live in LA now
do yourself a favor and come down friend
bakersfield has nothing now that the oil industry is fucked
>>46450349
Missoula -
Muse Comics
RetroFix
Great Falls -
Kelly's Komix
RetroFix
Action Cards
If you're also looking for a spot to play, there's the Sandbaggers Game Club.
Helena -
White Knight
Bozeman -
Rooks
There's quite a few others scattered around the state actually, Billings included.
MT's gaming convention scene is pretty awesome, make it to MisCon in May or GFGR in October.
>>46447623
>>46447623
well I'm in Murrieta, California, not sure what is exactly out here, there's a comic shop relatively near that has some /tg/ stuff, and if I remember properly there should be a GW store somewhere relatively nearby, haven't been though cause I can't drive myself, and haven't had a good chance to get anyone else to drive me there, anyone near where I'm at that knows of anywhere else?
>>46452147
Goddamn, people still try to use GIR to advertise things?
Local gaming store died a few years ago, owner died last week.
Next gaming store is an hour away so i dont participate in their events but they always have cardgame tournaments and stuff. I go shopping there 4 times a year, they have 4 floors filled with comics pen and paper tabletop larp stuffand weeb shit
>>46452147
Guess some brony wasn't a fan of Luna.
>>46447623
Mine became a liquor store.
ours died. The owner was a dick and never stocked anything decent aside from Yugioh and a few warhammer mini's. the player base for warhammer had a massive falling out and so that part died and wouldn't restart (a shame because i wanted to build an army) and he never sold any decent comics or manga, just random obscure shit that would never sell. also he never opened the windows so it always stank. He would get all pretentious and act like a dick if you tried to order anything in that wasn't what he thought was good i.e ordering in Yugioh and magic was what kept his business running that last two years of it and he would openly talk about how shit it was and how the player base is cancerous. he tried selling anime but overpriced it to ridiculous amounts. in the end he closed his shop and a few other players do bulk orders or go to a local hobby shop an hours drive away and run local tournaments every now and then.
>>46448325
>>46450263
I don't know, I live five minutes from a university, but the game stores we have are pretty shitty. One is purely cards, the other is pretty much just cards and comics, and the staff is horrible.
>>46451027
>I don't know how these guys make money, considering it was barren all 3 or so times I went in
That's been the case in all the game stores I've gone to as well. My guess is they do most of their business during magic drafts, and moving the occasional high profit item.
Man, i'm kinda jelly of all your murrican strip mall FLGS, ours are usually in tiny old buildings with high rent.
I only know of two in my area since I just moved in.
One's a smaller store that sells mostly comics and MTG but has a small section for GW games and paints. The owner's always on his phone and the one time I came in he completely ignored my questions to keep talking on his phone so I left.
Second one's a larger store in a mall. It's about a twenty minute drive but the staff aren't cunts so there's that. These guys do almost entirely MTG and comics though, and have a slew of tables in the back for FNM and an incredibly small wargames section with no paints. I'll probably head back there in a couple weeks to buy some minis.
>>46447901
That's sounds oddly like my lgs
