I can think of no RPG-centred FLGS in the UK that I've been to where in-store play occurs. At all. As far as community goes, they'll post your calls for gamers and adverts for clubs on their noticeboard, they'll sell you the games, and the better ones will be happy to chat with you for hours on end on gaming topics, but that's about it. As far as I can tell, what regular public game occurs in the UK (outside of the context of convention) tends to involve people booking function rooms at pubs or church halls to run regular games evenings there. It seems to work fairly well.

Quote from: jgants;307850QFT

*snip* but QFT *snip*

I agree 100%.   I have a suspicion (though obviously there are exceptions..) that a great number of the "game stores" that set out to be meeting places and open-gaming areas end up closing...because they became meeting places and open-gaming areas instead of places where product is sold.

They forgot to sell anything except the occasional loose card or mini, assumed they'd pay rent with frito and coke money, and are generally run by disinterested family members so the weird nephew who can't get a normal job has a place to work, or owners who think think can magically SAVE VS. CHAPTER 11 and keep themselves in business.

do i sound bitter?  I am.  Why?  Because i've (to date) seen 3 businesses in 10 years do THE SAME DAMN THING in this town.

Quote from: kregmosier;307909I agree 100%.   I have a suspicion (though obviously there are exceptions..) that a great number of the "game stores" that set out to be meeting places and open-gaming areas end up closing...because they became meeting places and open-gaming areas instead of places where product is sold.

They forgot to sell anything except the occasional loose card or mini, assumed they'd pay rent with frito and coke money, and are generally run by disinterested family members so the weird nephew who can't get a normal job has a place to work, or owners who think think can magically SAVE VS. CHAPTER 11 and keep themselves in business.

do i sound bitter?  I am.  Why?  Because i've (to date) seen 3 businesses in 10 years do THE SAME DAMN THING in this town.

Me, too.  Actually, here I think it was more like 5 or 6.

There are two potential pitfalls in these types of business, two potential models for disaster:

1. Guy who is a great gamer but knows absolutely nothing about business and just assumes "how hard can it be"?

2. Guy who is a ruthless businessman who doesn't actually know anything about his product or the culture, assuming "these nerds will just buy whatever I bring, and as for knowing stuff about their freaky hobby I can just fake it".

Recipes for disaster that I've seen over and over again. The former tends to fail quicker than the latter, but both inevitably go down the tubes.

RPGPundit

Pundit is right about his two models of people who make stores who fail.  We have had small stores that had those same two models in the last few years and both dropped.  Add to this mix comic fans, who are tangental gamers, who run comic stores and figure three players handbooks make them a game store, and you have game stores on the track to fail.

Planet 10 and One other store stayed alive for over 7 years following the right course, proper business sense while supporting a community (not existing just to be a community point).  Both stores did not close because of their business, both owners realized that they could return to their lucretive high tech jobs and earn more money in two months than they made on the store in a year or ever.

To answer the original question:  No, we do not need FLGS's.

We can go online and buy what we need, most times right from the game company which in turn makes them more money which they can use to make more cool games.

All we need is one good site for people to find other players and we are set.   Posting in a game store is limited.   What if you live in an area with 2 game stores and you post in one game store and people go to one store and not the other.  They will see your  post.  An online post is open to a larger audience.

I have two game stores near me, one that is really good, and one that is ok.  I don't go to either and dont care if they live or die.  I am not going to pay full price for rpgs anymore.  

My group gets together at a players house each week so FLGS's provide me nothing I need.

Quote from: Warthur;307870I can think of no RPG-centred FLGS in the UK that I've been to where in-store play occurs. .

I've seen a couple over the years but usually the guy running the store was a complete dick that only wanted a certain type of game played. If you wanted to play something different or didn't play in the style him or one of his buddies approved of then expect abuse until you left. They wouldn't even be in the group just sat on the sidelines and heckle.

None of them lasted very long.

I discovered, to my delight, that I do have a FLGS in my area.  Okay, not my immediate area, but not a 50 minute drive either.  

The staff was relatively friendly and had a small clue. There was a small community that hangs around.  They have side rooms that have (on sundays) Pokemon in one area, and Warhammer (40k and other) in the other.  The Magic Players were out in side tables.  The Table Top players were over by their racks, chatting to some degree.  The table toppers could play in one of the back rooms, but they never seem to sign up for it.

They do a decent job selling things (I found shelves with pretty much every game grouping, not just a cluster of White Wolf or D20/D&D.).  They had a good stock of minis and mini games (seemingly the bread and butter of the shop), as well as a good stock of cards (though no singles). They also sell soda, Bawls, Mana Potions, and some snacks, to those that are hanging about.  

This place has been open for 2.5 years now. (I had been here once before, a few months ago, accidently on a Card Tournament Day, so I wasn't able to experience the actual shop). It seems to be going strong.

This is proof that it can be done in our current market.

Do we have to have them, no.  Do we need them? Yes, they are just not a requirement.