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The game store I found in Oakland, CA. I have never seen a store this organized or containing more helpful staff. No, I don't work there.
Let's see, for "The Most Jam-Packed Shelves" I would have to go with The Complete Strategist in New York. (I may be misremembering the title.) For Still In Existence and Pretty Darn Cool I would go with Greenfield Games in Greenfield MA. (Four FLGS within an hour of me died in the past year. Blah.)
I second the Complete Strategist (still there, you got the name right; I visited last Friday). Days of Knights near the University of Delaware is another old favorite, full of all sorts of goodies. There's another one in Glen Burnie, Maryland whose name I'm forgetting. And Legends in Towson is a fun bunch of people too . . . .
I assume you mean my favourite store based on any qualifiers I choose. In that case it's a toss up between the Silver Snail in Toronto, which is just the largest and most soundly organized one that I've been to..
And a mom and pop card store which I totally forget the name of in a small town called Orillia, Ontario.. for the memories of Magic tournaments and small D&D games we used to play from time to time.
I've been a fan of Pegasus Games ever since I started in the hobby more than 20 years ago (they just celebrated 25 years recently). No longer downtown because of skyrocketing rents, they're on the west-side of Madison. One big draw for me is the 20% birthday discount. Go in on your birthday, get the discount. They also offer good grade discounts but I'm well past that.
While no longer here, the small town of Verona actually had a game store for a year before the owner decided to move back to Waco, TX to be closer to family. Merlin's Keep was a little place but it was jam packed with awesome stuff and was ridiculously close to my home and work.
I also like to visit game stores as I travel and back in 2007, on a trip to Reading in England, we encountered a game store right by the bus station - Eclectic Games, I think it was. It was a converted pub. They had recently got back from a big game show in Germany and had a stack of new German games (including Agricola). We had our kids with us (3 and 9) and the staff was so nice to them, they even gave them a couple of free toys. They really put the friendly in friendly foreign game store.
What do you consider to be the most important hallmarks of a great game store? Lots of stuff on the shelves? Lots of obscure games? Knowledgeable clerks? Friendly clerks? Should there be comic books? Tables for regular M:tG tournaments? Pop and snacks? A wall of REAPER figs?
I'd settle for one that doesn't smell like B.O.
I'm having trouble finding one that meets my high standard.
Actually I think the name is Compleat Strategist (olde English spelling :) But yes it's a store just chocked full of awesome. they've had to retrench, they've closed thier other New York stores and the one they had in Montclair but otherwise it's still the same classic place. And the main reason why I won't be a Pathfinder subscriber :)
I second the Complete Strategist (still there, you got the name right; I visited last Friday).
I love the Complete Strategist. Found it for the first time last year while working in Manhattan. (My service tch had no idea why I was suddenly going...Wow Wow Wow.. We're going in there!) I remembered seeing their ads in old school Dragon Mag in the 80's.
They have some great deals and lots of old stuff. I bough some great minis and, of course, dice. (always buy dice when you find a new game store).
My favorite place to shop used to be Crazy Egor's in Rochester, NY, before he moved. Back in the day (early 90s) there was so much stuff in the store, that you were literally walking on, and climbing over, piles of old games in bags. IF you had the time, you could find just about anything.
For PLAYING games, Altered States in Syracuse was my favorite place. Lots of space to play, lots of free games avaiable for trial, and the owner used to let you open sealed games to see how they were. Alas, several name changes and moves later, and a different, more money-oriented/ less gamer friendly atmosphere has made it a place to avoid now.
There is nothing like the Sentry Box in Calgary.
http://www.sentrybox.com/
With over 13,000 sq. ft. of display and gaming space, the Sentry Box is a Mecca for those interested in fantasy, science fiction, or military games, books and miniatures. The policy of the Sentry Box has always been "If it's in print, we'll try to stock it." With over 46,000 different items on the shelves, this shows that we mean what we say.
I'm not sure if the stores are related, but the Compleat Strategist in Falls Church, Virginia is atrocious. I've never encountered store employees that were less friendly or less helpful in all my life.
They are related, according to the Strat's web site. That's a shame because I really love my local Strat (NYC).
All-Time Favorite - Enterprise 1701 in Orlando, which had 1701 Corrine Drive as its street address. When they grew too large they didn't move into a new location, but took over the adjacent retail space, naming it 1701A - The Expansion
FWIW,
Rez
I was going to say Enterprise 1701 as well. :) When I went to boot camp and follow-on schools at (the now closed) RTC Orlando, Enterprise was right down the road within walking distance. Very important to a young enlisted sailor.
That was back in '92 and I *still* remember it as one of the best stores ever.For best/friendliest staff though, I think I've got to go with the Green Dragon in Charleston, SC. They leaned more towards tabletop games than RPGs, but those were a fantastic bunch of guys.
-J
It varies.
The Dragon's Lair locations in San Antonio and Austin are pretty gamer-friendly, they've got lots of stock, they've got gamer space, good people, yadda yadda. They also seem to be able to manage lean times pretty well. They're places I like to spend money...
...but Dibble's Hobbies in San Antonio is just ... I don't know. The inside of the place is like the TARDIS. There's stuff in there that hasn't seen the light of day in decades. Ghod knows how they get their stock; half the stuff in there hasn't been in print in ages. Only place I know of that will still sell you 2nd edition D&D stuff, mint in box SPI wargames, and Ral Partha blister pack figures. I'm convinced the place is run by time travelers with a strange sense of humor.