Hey everyone, Reecius here with a question for you all as we are looking at potentially moving the store in the next 6 months.
I am also asking this after having missed a flight due to an insane wait at the Canadian/USA Border on the way home from the holidays with my girlfriend. Then having to catch a puddle jumper to Seattle, then hop a flight to Oakland and haven’t had time to write an actual article for tomorrow.
So, I figured this was a great time to get some good ideas from our readers as to what they would want in an ideal game store as we are gearing up to move (hopefully) in the summer.
We’re looking for first and foremost, more space. Secondly, parking and freeway access. We also would like to be close to public transportation if possible.
But what else would you guys and gals like to see? Anything goes here too, a bar in the back, stripper poles, kiddo’s play room (although not around the stripper poles, duh!), etc. We love thinking big and challenging the status quo, so throw out your craziest ideas, we are open to them!
I think that a paint station that anyone can come in and paint some of their dudes would be awesome. That way if they ever have a problem, there is a handy staff member nearby to offer advice.
Yeah, we just require that people bring their own paint or pay to use ours as otherwise you’d lost a lot of money on materials.
We do that now actually, and it is pretty cool to have a pro painter sitting there to help you out!
But the children provide padding if a stripper falls.
Honestly a tun of gaming space and a bar has done great for a gaming shop up north of you.
Haha, kiddies, block the stripper from falling! She’s saving money for med school! =P
Lots of gaming tables and a great snack bar! Lots of swag too… My local store Drop Zone frikkin rocks! They have like 20+ tables and lockers for members…
Lockers is a great idea, I totally agree.
MD representttttt
Def agree with lots of tables and terrain! Even customized boards etc. back in the 90s the store I gamed at had an arcade up from (I was beast mode in Killer Instinct 2!). So something with a few throwback games would be cool to play while waiting for a pickup game. Also, a tv or 2 for watching sports games, hockey/football etc. I usually game on Sundays and my local shop has a decent sized TV set up so im able to keep up w games (and fantasy football!). A bar in the back would be awesome. I think a lounge area to go with that bar, or just in general, would also be really cool although that sort of takes away from revenue generating space.
Yeah, that would be awesome to have a bar and TV, plus some retro arcade games, too! I like the sound of that.
Plenty of gaming space and lots of quality terrain. The bar is high in northern Cali I think, so you will have to have a good gaming area to be a “destination” store.
I think that the opportunity to play some of the top competitive players as a pick-up game adds a unique element to your store that can’t be replicated by others.
Lastly, I think a store should inspire with displays of painted armies and high quality gaming tables being available. Check out the tables used in Scorpion82’s YouTube bat reps to see some amazing terrain.
Good luck.
Scorpion82 is the man! Those bat-reps are amazing.
That is a good point, people like coming to our little store now because they can get some expert play and practice in.
You know how Buffalo Wild Wings will show pay pe view events for UFC, WWE, etc? It would be great if a gaming store did that and made a gaming day of it. People could come on, play some games and have the PPV on in the background.
Yeah, or sporting events, too. That would be killer.
A beer license would be just lovely.
We will definitely be looking into that and a food license.
To me I just want the store to look cool inside, like a sort of bar-room atmosphere. Nice paint on the walls, no florescent lights, maybe some comfortable chairs/stools to sit on. I know it sounds kinda weird but I’m big on ambience.
No, I agree, I totally believe in Feng Shui so to speak, or the way a space can influence your mood. It totally makes a difference.
good tables with room for model storage. comfortable chairs. knowledgable staff.beverage availabilty would be nice but we all know you need kids to make a game store run.enough room to lean back and not hit someone. painting workshops. climate control.
Yeah, Climate Control is a big help. Room is also very important.
I like the gaming stores that bring “extras” like a pub/cafĂ©. There are some good examples of this – take Seattle where your puddle jumper left you: Card Kingdom (the magic card reseller) has a fantastic store with a small cafĂ© (simple foods using a Starbucks style quick oven; beer and coffee) a huge room for boardgames all brightly lit; separate rooms for miniatures, card games, and RPGs. They don’t focus on miniatures and so have “only” four tables in their expansive space for this. But they highlight some good things for servicing not just the crowd that wants to game in the store, but the casual consumer or the new entrant: Attractive entrance with new product in appealing displays, brightly lit, and the gaming areas visible, but off to the sides so as not to force the shopper to wade through customers who are playing. They also have two RPG rooms that can be reserved and a large room for supporting MTG card tournaments. Turning their model around to focus on the miniature world, I’d see the same general product up front gaming in the rear set up. Have areas of the store set up to focus on particular game systems – I visualize alcoves for each system with the “entry” flanked by lighted display cabinets showcasing completed models for each system as a show window of sorts. The gaming tables should be set up for everyday use with showcase type terrain (i.e., less tournament standard and more eye candy) to again, bring the customer in and excite them – have storage where you can modify the layouts for tournament play.
Yeah, I agree that variety really helps to make a store a more well rounded, fun place. I also like seeing all the cool game stuff I may not have been familiar with previously.
Plenty of space. Cramped game stores get really funky real fast. I’d go with square footage over location if your brick and mortar business isn’t a huge portion of your income. If you rely on foot traffic, however, then I’d retract that.
And in that space, good tables. The tables we have at our game store are awesome. They’re built using 2x10s and bolts. They are 8’x4′ so you have a place to put your models and have a lower level for extra terrain and stuff. Since they are made of 2x10s, they are strong enough even for fat guys to stand on the cross members when reaching to get models.
Adam is stunningly correct. 8×4 tables would be awesome! After playing at the BAO and Black Diamond and Battle Bunker, I think large tables are very important. Or, the tables you have but with the under section cleared out for players to put their army bag/case/box/crack stash.
Air conditioning is good, too. A hot summer in your store can be rough, as you know.
Yeah, either 8×4′ or multi-level tables.
Gaming tables – to use your nice models on.
Seats – to sit and read the nice rulebooks on.
Display cases – so you can show off the best of the local armies / your own painting skills / new releases
Lockers – so you can store some models if traveling is not easy for you. (maybe a refundable locker payment or small weekly charge to avoid locker blockers)
Drink machine – gaming stores can be very dry. A game of 40K always leaves me thirsty.
Easy to access and well organised stock – obvious really, but I have seen some bad shops.
Clear understanding of what can and can’t be bought from the shop – knowing what you can and can’t buy from the shop really helps. I got so annoyed first few times I went to GW stores and got told “direct only” on products they had in-store a week before.
Friendly staff – obvious.
An adult feel to the shop – I don’t mind the 12 year olds who are learning to play, I was one of them 15years ago. But my parents stayed with me in the shop and helped me learn. I was not dumped in there, and the management were not expected to be babysitting me.
Excellent suggestions, thanks!
A game store that becomes a gastro-pub at a certain point sounds like a Mecca that I would make a pilgrimage to twice a year!!! Seriously though, I would fly cross country at LEAST once a year if that was a real place!
Haha, awesome!
Well this one is not your average suggestion.. When I worked at a gaming store one of the biggest issues was a bathroom with a good fan/ventilation. The restroom was located on the main sales floor. Man, there is nothing worse than the smell coming out of a recently used bathroom hitting a room that may already have some body aroma in it, it’s not a good thing when you get a whole room collectively gagging. Well there’s my thought. Good luck on the new store and I’m sure your endeavor will prosper.
Dude, I know that all too well. My office is right outside the bathroom door and yeah, it’s rough.
How about this one.
clean!
Clean store area
Clean gaming environment
Clean bathroom
Clean to look at and smell.
This cost time and the longer a store is open the more they forget to do the little things like clean.
seconded
Yeah that is a great idea and we will do our best to keep it clean. We need to get reece a nice apron! Im thinking of starting a kickstarter for Reece’s custom apron.
Hahaha, yes, I feel like the store maid!
A big clean area, with lots of space and separate rooms (get those filthy Yugioh players away from me). Ie. an area for painting, an area for magic, an area for DandD, an area for tabletopgames, etc.
Air conditioning is also a must. As is a great collection of organized terrain.
Basically, I hate walking into a single large, stinky, stuffy room, with little kids running rampant and shit all over the place.
If you could get a beer/wine license, that would be killer as well. Stocking a kitchen would be highly unlikely, not too mention the pain in the ass that is kitchen equipment, so I wouldn’t expect a full service bar/grill.. just the ability to snag a beer.
Also, we have a local game store that is literally next door to a pizza place. It’s amazing. They knock on the adjacent wall to let you know your food is ready.
Yeah, I totally agree. Ideally we want a store area and a game area. And tables dedicated to different games would be fantastic, space allowing.
Lots of space and good ventilation/climate control (stores with good temperatures can go bad when they get packed on tournament day). A good benchmark would probably be the ability to host a 32-person RTT without the place getting hot, stinky, or having the players packed in uncomfortably. Lots and lots of terrain is good too! Terrain can get stale quickly at a shop. A lot of times this can come from passionate customers. You need a “terrain guy”.
As for the surrounding area, you want to be close to your gamers. Maybe you could do a survey of your regulars to see where they’re coming from? Look at other 40k stores in the Bay to make sure you’re not too close to an established store.
As people have mentioned, it’s nice to have parking. If you’re not providing food in the store (it’s probably a no-brainer to at least get a drink fridge or vending machine), it’s great to be within walking distance of a couple of reasonably priced lunch places. One of the FLGS in Atlanta (Giga-Bites) actually has a small restaurant inside it… you can buy breakfast items, sandwiches, smoothies…
One thing I don’t personally care about that much about is having lots of retail space. I’d rather bookshelf most of the GW stock behind the counter and just have a couple of feature displays that show off new products or well-painted models. You know your customers though! What do people like to browse? Put that stuff out on the retail shelves, put the other stuff behind the counter.
A food place and bar in the game store, also that sells coffee for example, is a great idea. Food and liquor license in CA is pretty expensive, though.
And I agree that the ratio of retail to game area should favor game area.
Food nearby is always good. Healthy food is even better.
Cheap living area nearby would be good for your legion of painters. Then you would have less excuses about why people are late for work.
I wish you had more folks that agreed with you on the healthy food topic, I can’t give away healthy snacks here!
And a flex, live/work space would be killer. Our guys would love to have a place to live and work.
Realistic:
-You only need as much room as you will use. So do you regularly need 20+ tables on a given day, especially if your big events are elsewhere?
– Atmosphere! I would want to walk in and it be like Cheers, where everyone knows your name. Almost like a second home, warm and cozy where you feel comfortable walking around in your underwear.
Less-Realistic:
– Hot (female) assistants that wore Japanese schoolgirl outfits.
Wish upon a star:
– To move to the East coast so that I could come visit…
“- Hot (female) assistants that wore Japanese schoolgirl outfits.”
Great idea, until you end up banging the assistant, which ends up being horrible, and then you never want to go to that shop anymore because of the embarrassment. Leave the chicks out of this one.
Yeah, that results in illegitimate gamer children and my GF castrating me in my sleep! haha
Beer on tap. More tables. Closer to BART!
Yes to all of the above!
Hot girls in skimpy outfits running the register. The foreign and domestic beer on tap all free.
Hmm, reaching a bit there, my friend! haha
lol, you said Ideal, not feasible. XD
Haha, fair play =)
Table space, lots of smaller company’s bits/models (Maxmini, Kromlech, etc) and lots of parking.
If there was a game store with a bar or that served beer, even if it was 100 feet from my house, I would NEVER go there. It keeps kids out, which is nice but bad for business. Plus, gamers can be awful and obnoxious; boozing them up would only hurt that. Lastly, some gamers have alcoholism and are intentionally avoiding all these lame “beerhammer” things and the LVO because gaming is the safe and healthy alternative to being at their favorite dive bars every night.
I mean, at least one gamer is like that.
Hmm, I had trouble understanding the logic that beer and games is bad! haha
But no, we understand that some folks do not approve of mixing the two, and that is fine.
No magic players. Kids under 14 must be supervised by a parent. Possibly interracial pron playing at all times. Stuff like that would be nice.
I concur, magic can die in a fire
a) It’s a tremendously good game.
b) The reason you see so much floor space dedicated to it it most game shops is that, unlike GW products, WotC WANTS it’s partners to make money and Magic is way more profitable for the shops than 40K will ever be. Wishing for Magic to go away is the same as wishing for LGS’s to go away.
But you’re ok with the interracial pron, right?
Some people think I’m a stick in the mud, and that’s ok, but I’m not crazy. I like my interracial porn like I like my coffee: first thing in the morning, and then all day until it gives me a heart attack.
The problem being magic gets all the pecial treatment. They get all the good nights, all the space for tournaments and they even have priority many times
It generates profits; why should a store dedicate it’s floor space and best nights to games that don’t make them any money?
You’re insane. Magic runs gaming stores. Cash flow comes from Magic. They support their stores super well. Any store that refuses to run Magic on some weird notion that it sucks is not run by a good business man
You sound fat.
I would have to agree that the main focus should be cleanliness. Some of the best stores I’ve been to were because they maintained a clean environment.
I agree and lose my mind trying to keep the guys here at least a little organized and clean.
1. You nailed it with the parking space, need more of that for sure.
2. Painting area for the customers and the commission artists.
3. Snacks and drinks with some healthy choices in there.
4. Expanded selection of paints from other companies.
5. An awesome display featuring the MegaMat!
6. An annual event where folks can bring in their unwanted stuff and trade it to others.
7. A Pablo free environment.
8. A Koi pond near the front door, not necessary although that shit would be pretty pimp.
lol at #7
He makes the place more colorful!
But yes to all the others. Even the Koi pond! haha
servant monkeys wearing ninja outfits that bring me shots while I play are a must!
Yes! That is awesome!
If I had a game store I would want it to include:
1) Separate gaming areas for different gaming communities (e.g. minis, cards, board games) so that the groups could all be in the store at the same time.
2) Plenty of space to game – including places to set bags, coats and other stuff that gamers drag along – cramming 16 tables in a room to get to 32 players and having no space for stuff means in most cases the room will have 16 players in it – and the other tables will be covered with stuff
3) Supplies, it is all well and good to have the games, but having a good selection of paints, glues, and other supplies is critical to the mini part of the industry
4) Special order catalogs – you can not stock everything, so having a set of catalogs people can order from saves having to hunt on the internet
5) Display cases, if I am going to game there – I want to show off some of my best work, give me a place to do it.
6) A vending area, soda, snacks, hot food (via microwave) should all be in machines and available – with a regular restock
7) At least 1 gaming location that supports wheelchairs – they want to be able to play too.
8) A nook that is out of the way where people can talk
9) A clean location with professionals behind the counter, reasonable HVAC capability and good lighting inside and out. Parking should be in an area where you don’t have to worry and if there is public transit the walk should be safe and short.
10) Lockers – with long-term rental
11) A “make” area, including potentially an area to use an air brush in. It should be an area that can get messy, but the user(s) should be required to clean up – a cleaning deposit is reasonable.
12) Signup and ladder board, where people can arrange games, matches, etc and people can see where they stand in the store
Those are some excellent suggestions, thanks!
If people bring their own refreshments during certain “adult” events that would be fun and hopefully legal as getting a beer license at a gameshop might draw red flags unless it is run properly.
It would be a unique concept but you guys wont have the time to do it right away as you would have to have enough staff to monitor customers if they drink too much etc during family friendly time among other issues if people drive away buzzed etc, hence my above suggestion.
A clean and well designed place with room and no funky smells from the sweats pant brigade would be good enough for me.
P.S. There appears to already be a no asshole policy but a limit on cheese D’s might be neccessary.
Good suggestions and yeah, we have been told that players bringing their own adult beverages is OK as long as we don’t provide it. We always keep that separate from family friendly time as you can’t mix the two.
There is painful lack of solid gaming stores on the SF bay peninsula. Deep south bay is well covered but those stores are all generalists and can be intimidating for newbies/outsiders. But I’m guess you aren’t moving that far. 🙂
The second issue is that as an occasional gamer I hate the idea of driving 30 minutes and not being about to get a game in the system that I happened to bring. Solve that and I’ll drive longer.
Yeah, space is key, no doubt.
I am fortunate to have a game store in my area that I consider to be the best game store I have seen so far in my life. Here are the things I like about it.
1. Massive playing space
2. Great product selection
3. Plenty of events – beer and pizza night to geek burlesque show
4. Discounts on product at league/game nights – IE: 20% off GW on GW league night – great way to compete with online retailers – but you do that already
5. Used merch
6. A lot of off the wall hobby supplies, Vallejo Model Air, weathering pigments, resin bases, etc.
7. Multiple events for just about every game system
8. Gaming tables with good terrain
9. Bar area that sells beer and wine
Most of it seems to come down to a place for gamers to hang and play. I know I am much more likely to pay where I play and try to support the store in different ways.
I know the store you speak of, and I am insanely jealous.
Those are great suggestions.
I know it has already been said, but I’ll reiterate.
I really REALLY want a good snack/drink selection. I’m a relatively poor gamer, and spending money on snacks that I know the store can mark up a lot helps assuage my guilt of coming and gaming and not always buying models.
Nothing crazy, but having a good selection of soda that isn’t just cans (those are just shot glasses to me!) and plenty of chips is a good way to go IMO.
Another option I haven’t seen explored too often is getting vending machines in the store. Lots of people rent space to set up a vending machine. Might be easier for the store owners and still gets money in on a fairly decent clip.
I also really want hours that work for my schedule. Please be open late at least one night a week so that I can get more than half a game in or don’t have to use up a weekend. My favorite game stores have always had LATE nights which allowed gamers on game nights to stay and play ’til the wee hours of the morning during the week. (One place had a separate room for the gaming tables/terrain that let someone take the key and lock up when they were done.)
Yup, agreed. Munchies, later hours, and drinks are what a lot of folks want.
Awesome AC/Heating can seriously make or break a gaming experience. No one wants to wear a parka while playing 40k, and no one wants to smell the guy two tables over cuz its 110 degrees in the store.
On a related note, well ventilated bathrooms are a must, preferably separated from the gaming area.
I agree on both counts.
A members club. With monthly or a yearly fee. With perks like free locker rental, discount on display case rental, or able to open tab at bar.
Also I think a club should have standers. IE maintain a tournament army, any system, 3 color standard, with highlights and based. Volunteer at 1 store event a year.
Nice suggestions, thanks. Lockers I agree are a great idea.
I think having soft mats to stand on are important to ease pain in knees and backs.
Chairs help a lot, too. We try to get carpeting but it isn’t always possible and it gets owned in a game store.
Closer to me and my gaming group would be awesome…but unlikely to happen.
Hahaha, we’ll see what we can do =P
That would require a 600 mile relocation lol
second.
Couple of things I have seen in stores that are cool…
Wifi … Simple but critical especially with all the downloads.
Doughnuts… Gamers love em they don’t take up too
much space
A bar/food area separate from gaming space
A strong club presence.
Some general use boardgames
Projector unit for displaying results /pairings
Modular tables that can be split up for card games
Box or shelf storage for terrain…with terrain designed in sets to maximise impact( think of snow terrain on your alpine megamat!
Lastly as odd ideas…perhaps a 3d printer?
A fridge for byob
Accessible bits bins / packages for sale
Store guarantee for any terrain brought in to store for use in store
1 quieter table for recording battle reports maybe with a fixed camera mount / or some sound absorption best by
Big noticeboard
Cool, we do almost all of that already.
1-clean
2-well lit, with sturdy tables. Friday night magic, Saturday night 40k, Sunday wannabes, weeklong walk-ins.
3-COD/HALO/Battlefield console lounge
4-indoor fully enclosed reball cage with DYE/PROTO guns and masks spitting out rubber reusable paintballs. To settle any disputes or tie games.
5-sandwiches and drinks
6-organized play so you can take advantage of GW’s awesome terrain program for game shops.
This is my dream, honest to goodness. May it come true for you.
The paintball shooting after disagreements is legend! haha
A cheap store gaming club with things like campians and little local 1 day tournaments would be great for a store like urs, thats what i’m missing here in the uk!
Yeah, once we have more space, we will definitely have regular leagues and such.
Alright, so this idea might sound a little insensitive but has been something that bothered me about gaming stores since I was a kid…. etiquette. Teach the employees and game room users to notscare off potential patronswith social awkwardness. I would love to be able to bring some of my buddies who aren’t in the hobby to my lgs but I can’t because of their baf experiences. Game stores are notorious for their ability to congregate groups of gamers that look down their noses at non-regulars. I can’t count how many times I’ve invited people to come to my local gaming stores to come check out board games, or 40k, or just to browse, only to have to walk back out because of some socially awkward slob giving us the “What are YOU doing here” look. There’s gotta be some kind of code of conduct while in the game room during regular business hours. I’m sure you could arrange for the game room to be closed off to the public after certain hours so that the regulars can cut loose. But during regular business hours the gamers and hobbyists that use the facilities are going to be regarded as your ambassadors by the general public. I’m sorry in advance if this comes off as offensive.
Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. A lot of game stores and comic shops are like that. I just went into a comic shop in South Bay, and tried to talk to the owner and it was like he wanted nothing to do with me, it was bizarre. We always go out of our way to make people feel welcome.
I really like the paintball thing haha… But definitely open gaming all week… later hours for club members/regulars. A club program would probably be a good idea too… Pay like $20 a month or something and have exclusive events/discounts/gaming hours/club access etc… That way you mitigate some of the overhead. Maybe even have different levels of membership… make it a really social thing… Bros will flock to your banner. haha 🙂
A terrain crafting station or two akin to your painting stations. Customers could bring in there own projects and get advice and assistance, or for a small fee could work with store materials and tools to make terrain. Special terrain classes and contests. This could also help you guys improve our terrain options for events.
Consider proximity to Middle and High Schools. FLGS stores won’t survive long if all they focus on is catering to the 30-40 year group with disposable cash. The next generation of players are important too.
Good point, we always try and encourage young folks to come in and learn the games.
Well, as my local GW store is pretty close to that, I just list what I like about it:
-friendly staff, helpful but not wanting to buy as much as possible and get you out of the door again (saw this in other cities)
-quite a few paintstations for visitors
-enough gaming tables (including a custom made to put together a huge board for apocalypse)
-good community, you can always come by and just talk about the hobby, movies, whatever
-coffee machine, fridge, small garden for priming, grill for BBQ
-back room to store the regular’s armys
-interesting events. Friday evening is always fun, sometimes overnight painting, BBQ evenings, so it’s quite an awesome store to hang around
In terms of surrounding stuff:
-public transportation (bus, train) and parking lots nearby
-supermarket / kiosk (at night), fast food restaurants
In Fresno. Get it done son
Actually, my big thing is room to play and support for the game system I enjoy and other games I may eventually be interested in. My family loves board games so board game support and tournaments, leagues, etc are great. We have a local store that is heavy on the boardgame end but doesnt’ really support minis. They let you “check out” store copies of games and take them home to play and see if you like them before you buy. Very nice feature.