Imagine this: You're away on a business trip in a University town in the Midwest, far, far from your normal stomping grounds of Washington, DC. You've spent a long day on tedious work, know no one in the city, and while the concert of Violin sonatas that you attended last night was lovely, there's only so much Classical music that you can take. The idea of hitting a collegetown bar with a bunch of underage freshmen is similarly unappealing. Luckily, you are a Magic player and a gamer, part of a phenomenon that spans ages, cultures and countries. You've heard that there is a comic and gaming store just off the main campus, and so you eagerly stroll in that direction, hoping for a duel, or just a friendly conversation far from home. You locate the shop, heartened by the posters of dragons, busty heroines and evil evincars on the windows outside, and step through the door.

Immediately upon your entrance, you are greeted by a snarled warning from a heavyset man behind a glass counter.“Put your bag on the shelf!” he growls, then turns back to a conversation with another man, slouched against the counter. Startled, you comply, depositing your bag (containing airplane tickets, checkbook, spare eyeglasses and other important items) on a shelf by the door.

Inside, disorganized shelves of comic books, shabby looking FASA and TSR volumes and a selection of board games (admittedly including Setters of Catan, yea!) are crammed against each other, adorned with hastily drawn cardboard signs condemning loiterers, shoplifters, browsers, freemasons, southpaws, libertarians, rotarians (not to mention all members of the local parent-teacher association) and admonishing all comers to remain standing where the owner can see them. Furthermore, the hopeful reader is forbidden to actually pick the books up and look through them.

Magic, the Gathering, Sold Here! had been proclaimed loudly in the window outside, and indeed, boxes of unopened boosters are displayed behind the counter, as well as a small collection of singles. But nowhere is there space within the store to sit and actually play a game, browse a book, or carry on a conversation (unless one happened to be slouched over the counter).

So you retrieve your bag, endure the owner's scowl as you leave, go back to your hotel room and read a novel, wishing for a simple and congenial place to play the game you love.

* * *

I'm sorry to say that the above story is entirely true (well, not the bit about the PTA), and happened to me on a recent trip. The exact store and town doesn't really matter (my older articles indicate the University), since I've had several similar experiences elsewhere. Take, for example, a store owner in the vicinity of Cornell (my Alma Mater) who refused to allow purchases to be opened in his store, hemmed and hawed about special-ordering merchandise, harassed his employees and seemed to generally resent customers in his establishment. This present article is part plea to such store owners to clean up their act, and part list of qualities that I wish every gaming store possessed.

With respect to the owner near the Unnamed Midwestern University, I honestly can't imagine that I looked like a threat or a shoplifter, coming from a meeting with university faculty and dressed in Dockers, an expensive sweater, dress shoes from Nordstrom's and a London Fog overcoat (my ponytail nothwithstanding). I might have even purchased something had I been greeted, asked if I needed help, or been made to feel like something other than a nuisance and suspected shoplifter. Frankly, the whole experience felt somewhat like bathing in slime.

Is it somehow profitable to run a slovenly store? Do customers gravitate to rudeness and filth? Do clients appreciate being forced to abandon their bags at the door for fear that they will stuff them full of Jim Lee artwork and plastic action figures? How else can these stores stay in business? Discount box sales on the Internet? Is there no more to a gaming establishment than the simple vending of mountains of magical cards?

I think there's a lot more to be desired, and I propose the following golden rule:

A quality gaming store must be a gathering place for gamers.

You can look at this in strict economic terms if you like . . . if people frequent a location, they will ultimately patronize it with their dollars. But in more general terms, games are inherently social activities. For them to truly thrive, they must be sold and promoted in a social setting.

There's a whole tangent to be explored here on the internet and cost cutting, which I'm going to mostly save for a different article. I have my own rants about that. For the time being, I‘m talking about the sustainability and quality of physical gaming stores.

That said, I present my non-comprehensive guidelines for a better gaming environment, corollaries, if you will, of the golden rule above.

1) Provide comfortable space for the customers

These need not be fancy furnishings, but solid tables with sturdy chairs and ample leg room in a well lit setting are absolutely crucial to fostering a gaming community. If people aren't comfortable, they aren't going to spend time in a store. This environment is also crucial to a number of my other criteria (i.e, if you're having a weekly booster draft tournament, you also need a stable location).

2) Support popular games with regular activities

Gamers like to play games. They do not like to buy games and sit them on their shelves. Therefore, it is vital role for a gaming store to also act as gaming organizer. I can always tell a healthy establishment by the presence of well attended tournaments and gaming sessions, be they Magic: The Gathering, AD&D, Warhammer, Chess, Go, Diplomacy, or whatever. A schedule should be drawn up and advertised. If the event is competitive, the store should arrange to have certified judges, mediators or equivalents present. It is entirely appropriate to charge a nominal fee for such events, especially as a means to cover prize support or judges compensation.

3) Provide space for free pick-up gaming, and encourage customers to spend time in the store

Do not growl at them. Do not post signs accusing them of thievery. Trust me on this one.

4) Promote new and unusual games

Here's an exercise in logical storytelling: Go is an incredible strategic game. Go is not terribly popular in the West, because not many people know how to play Go. If Go is taught at gaming stores for free, some people will like it and will want to buy sets. Go sets rage from inexpensive to very pricey. People will buy a variety of sets. People will want to play with their sets. The local gaming store owner has read #2 above, and promotes a Go players' afternoon. He gives small prizes and repeats the cycle. He sells out of stock on Go boards, and replaces his inventory. Soon there is enough interest to run regular Go tournaments with bigger prizes and reasonable entry fees. The owner makes a profit, introduces a new game and satisfies his players, all at the same time.

5) Cater to biology

Games take a long time. Gamers are biological creatures with biological needs. To that end, provide bathroom facilities (free and clean). Provide snacks, drinks and foodstuffs at a reasonable but profitable cost. Allow the occasional use of the phone, or provide a convenient payphone. In short, make it easy for gamers to stay comfortable in the store once there.

6) Location, Location, Location

Gamers are often not the most mobile people in the world, being generally young, and often still students. If at all possible, place your store near public transportation, and try to provide easily available directions (perhaps through a webpage). If patrons can't get to a store, they can't patronize it.

7) Employ knowledgeable gamers

A great number of gamers will happily work on occasion for low wages or product, especially as judges and moderators of organized events. Tap that resource, and you've also created personal investment in the gaming store. Moving up the ladder, having a few full (or near full) time dedicated and knowledgeable employees can dramatically improve an gaming environment. All too often, I've seen such competent people be hired, and lost a year later due to low wages or lack of health benefits, etc. I'd like to see that be a much more infrequent occurrence.

8) Foster communication

This can be as simple as providing a physical bulletin board to help gamers connect with one another for more esoteric games, or as elaborate as an internet site with interactive content. Get the gamers talking and involved in the gaming community, and furthermore:

9) Listen to the customers

Gamers aren't shy about their likes and dislikes. Listen to their concerns, and respond intelligently. If no one likes the All Friday Candy-Land marathon, then don't hesitate to shake it up and replace it with a trial of the new Pikachu versus Conan the Barbaran CCG. Or whatever your players demand.

In closing, consider this rewrite of my second paragraph of the article. Which do you prefer?

Immediately upon your entrance, a woman notices your confusion, smiles at you from behind the well lit counter and points out a coat rack, tucked behind the whirring soda machine.“Can I help you find something?” she asks,“or are you here for the Masques/Nemesis draft?”. Off in the next room, you hear a clamor of voices.“Eridan strings his bow grimly and motions Tabitha to scout ahead. Maybe we can take the goblins by surprise,” states a young boy, quite grimly.“Checkmate!”cackles a man to his wife, tossing the white king high into the air and catching it deftly.“England!”, yells another patron, leaning intently over a gameboard.“We need to talk in the back room. I am NOT happy about Normandy and I do not intend to forget your and Germany's antics in the North Sea!”

“Ah,” you sigh happily. You've traveled a thousand miles to come home.

Brian Sidlauskas,
* * * Traveler's Addendum. I am going to be in the San Francisco/Berkeley area March 11 through 18, and the Boston area March 23 through 26. If you are interested in a game, dinner, or whatever, please drop me a line at the address below and we'll see if we can connect. Don't let the Midwest happen to me again! Please send comments to bsidlauskas@earthlink.net