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| ephealy |
 Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 12:17 am Post subject: Retail Gaming |
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Location: DuPont, WA
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I've never played a regular game at a local retailer. I know many people do, though.
Do you play at your local shop? Why?
What are the advantages?
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Ed Healy |
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| terraleon |
| Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 7:15 am Post subject: |
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We play there for the same reason we occasionally play at my work conference table:
large space with nearby snacks and (relatively) few people to harass with cheers.
But the retail space might also have:
network access,
replacement materials for those who forgot something they *must* have (dice, miniatures)
possibly a bin of communal terrain that might not be available otherwise.
It might also be a central location with later hours than someone's home.
These are all reasons we've chosen Flights some times over someone's home...though everyone seems to love playing at my work. I blame the free coffee. 
-Ben.
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| ephealy |
| Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 9:07 am Post subject: |
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I've played at one of the local shops here, but only once. I was killing time, with nothing on my schedule and saw some people playing CthulhuTech. I'd never played, so I plopped down and rolled up a PC. That's it, though.
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Ed Healy |
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| Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 10:22 am Post subject: |
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There's a couple (2 or 3) such places in my community.
I don't play at them because in one game, two of the players are bachelor roomates, so the places is always available.. with no bedtime (ironically I quit GMing at 11 pm anyway). In the other game, everybody is at least 26 to 41.. and most of us have decent and accomodating homes.
I guess.. the folks I seeing using the gameshop facilities are the younger folks. Teens to younger college students.
One store is at a mall, and it has all the niceties, except it's a little small, bright (red and yellow walls with bright flourescent lighting), and can be a little loud.
The other shop is an independent game shop, but they have a lot of miniature games going on.. but they sell RPGS and are very welcoming of RPG games using their tables too. But the girls don't like to go to that one though, because the bathroom is dirty.
(Maybe someone should tell them that, but I seldom go there myself)
Its a nice idea for those groups who can't play in someone's home.. I think it helps keep the hobby going.. but personally I'm glad I don't need use that alternative.
*********
I think age is a factor there Ed. Those places help the young people, but I don't think the older folks think of that as a first option. My experience only. |
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| ephealy |
| Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 11:25 am Post subject: |
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How do you think this affects organized play - such as the RPGA and Paizo's Pathfinder Society? What role do retailers have in encouraging these organizations, if any? Or do organized play participants generally game at home and at conventions?
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Ed Healy |
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| Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 11:29 am Post subject: |
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| ephealy wrote: |
| How do you think this affects organized play - such as the RPGA and Paizo's Pathfinder Society? What role do retailers have in encouraging these organizations, if any? Or do organized play participants generally game at home and at conventions? |
Organized play is outside my area of expertise. I've never done one before. I'm thinking of proposing a home one with Pathfinder as an emergency back-up campaign that can have rotating GMs for those times one or two players can't make the regular campaign..
Anybody else has an experince that relates to Ed's question? |
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| terraleon |
| Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 7:54 pm Post subject: |
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| ephealy wrote: |
| How do you think this affects organized play - such as the RPGA and Paizo's Pathfinder Society? What role do retailers have in encouraging these organizations, if any? Or do organized play participants generally game at home and at conventions? |
I don't know that it's necessarily younger kids.
I have done a lot of RPGA and home games...so I would say the retail play is good because you get a large variety of players. All types. Some less...capable... than others. Also, it's possible for us to field three tables on a game night. When we muster in retail space with lots of room, we can sort out who's played what, who will GM, and how the tables will shake out pretty easily, and then disperse to the appropriate spaces to play.
That's less feasible for someone's home. When you're sticking with the same group of just one table, then yes, a home is probably a superior environment. But when we've got 15ish players showing up to play RPGA's Living Forgotten Realms or finish out some Living Greyhawk modules, well, you want to draw your tables out of that pool as best you can, then get stuff running, so that the slots finish before the store closes.
The slight cost to Pathfinder's a little bit of a turn-off, in comparison to LG or LFR, but they've got to pay the bills too, and if the tables prefer the system, the cost is negligible.
Retail play is great once you start to get a local group that exceeds your acceptable table size and wants to play organized campaigns. It means they'll be able to change up table composition from time to time, continue to build capable GMs through rotation, provide variety in the available modules from week to week, and keep the hobby viable in the area. It does good stuff.
Does that answer your question?  And BTW, harass Rone about his IronDM movie. I'm itching to see something, a preview, perhaps?
-Ben.
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| Amy Carrier |
| Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 2:27 pm Post subject: |
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I once ran a game at a fast-food restaurant. It was the slow season, and the owner was an old-time gamer. He didn't join our games (being the owner, he actually had duties during business hours) but he was kind enough to let us take up table space every Saturday even if he couldn't play.
One advantage to running a game at a public location like a game shop or restaurant is that you don't have to invite total strangers into your home. You have a chance to "preview" any new players and get to know them before telling them where you live. It works the other way around, too: A young female college freshman might not necessairly want to accept an invitation to go home with five strange guys she only just met, but going to a game shop is a bit less scary. |
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| varianor |
| Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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There's no such thing as a local game store here in CT. (There are two stores left, but I'm nowhere near either.) My experience is skewed.
That said, I think there's value in the "open gaming forum". In college, I got a big start due to the gaming club having a room with tables and blackboards. You got to see all sorts of coolness going on, and ask players to join, or join someone elses game. The few times I go into a gaming store (far from home), it seems like there's a lot happening. |
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