CCG and Tabletop Gamers

[Aurethious]

Hello PPLers,

I'm looking for a little bit of help from those of you who play collectible card games or other tabletop games. To make a long story short, I'm beginning the process of opening up a gaming store somewhere in the South Shore, Massachusetts area. You can read that as I want to open one, I have some ideas, and now I'm trying to figure out if I can make it happen. I'd like to speak with as many gamers as I can about games they like to play, reasons they do or don't go into gaming and hobby shops, and just some general information gathering that I can use to go about getting this little dream project of mine off the ground. I'd especially like to talk to anyone who might happen to be in or around the South Shore Mass. area to get an idea of some of the stores already established and what's going on in the area.

I appreciate any and all input that can be given to me, so feel free to post any thoughts here or send me a PM if you'd prefer. Thanks in advance and I'm looking forward to seeing many of you soon at PAX East!

[Kopaka]

Saw this post and thought it looked lonely.

I play quite a bit of tabletop (when I can, anyway...I would happily kill to have a shop focused on it near me) so let me see what I can come up with. I'd say if that's the sort of crowd you're looking for, variety is one of the most important things. Have the obvious things (dungeons and dragons, etc.) for people who dabble, but have all sorts of things so you can attract all the other crowds as well...even if you don't have much of each, having a book each of, say, Mutants and Masterminds or Call of Cthulu is a great way to draw people in and introduce them to games they might not already know. Pay attention to what the majority of people want, but also to what the hardcore fans want -- they're the ones more likely to buy more stuff, even if it's less popular (I'd buy 3.5 Dungeons and Dragons books if the store near me carried more of them, but it's mostly 4.0 as that's easier for new players and kids)


Next important thing is events. You've gotta host gaming events (tabletop nights, card tournaments, whatever), whether they be weekly or monthly -- though really I'd say have them as often as you can manage. Run some of the tabletop stuff yourself if you can, to draw people and get new players interested, but eventually if you can find other people to run games that's even better as it gives more variety in style (some prefer 'kick in the door,' some story based, etc.). I'd actually say events are the most important part of running a shop like this. It's how you get people interested in stuff; if someone comes to the store and sees 'game night this friday,' they might come to try it out because they know the shop but not the game. Conversely, they might know the game and not the shop and come just for the game that they already know. It's a great way to attract more people and introduce them to new games (so that they buy stuff from the new games, from a monetary perspective). The only potential problem here is whether your games can draw people (i.e. how good you are at running a game; can you make it fun enough for people to come back?) That one can be tricky if you're not already in pretty deep in that sort of things, but you can always find help online. I'm sure there's plenty of forums that can help an aspiring game master, and I can direct you to a few if you need that sort of thing.

So much text! Really though, if you can pull it off, the world always needs more independent game shops. They're a fun place to be, and it's always cool to go somewhere where the guy in charge knows you and maybe even plays with you. Good luck!

[Aurethious]

I appreciate the feedback Kopaka and there's some great suggestions in here. I've been talking with a friend of mine who is probably going to go in on this with me and we both agreed that we want it to be more than just a store, we want to really focus on the events. We want it to be a community just as much as a supply place for gamers. We're still a ways away from getting into the specifics on what to carry and support, but these are all ideas I'll keep in mind along the way. Thanks for taking the time to share them.

[Propriety]

Oh man. I can't believe I didn't see this! Sorry for not responding sooner.

So, right off the bat, I don't know anything about anything. All I can say is what I've seen from experience:

-My feeling is that the key to a successful venture of this sort is location, location, location. You're relying on people coming to your store for their purchases, rather than just buying things online. Your target demographic is tech savvy. They'd have no problem buying things on Amazon, and in fact those products might be cheaper. You must do everything in your power to make impedance for visiting your store absolutely minimal. That, of course, means you must must MUST know your area. Do people drive, bike, walk? How do they get from place to place? Where are the busy roads that people travel frequently, or the areas people go for entertainment and fun? Are there restaurants in the area, places people hang out with friends? All of these things are important considerations that are, I think, vital for the success of a gaming store. As Kopaka points out, a big part of this is holding events, but it's also about engaging the community.

-Second: you must go beyond making it easy. You must give them a [ia01]reason[/ia01] to come to your store. What is that reason? Where's the value added that makes it more worthwhile for them to buy games and cards from you, rather than online? It's not going to be cost, so it has to be service, and for gaming, that means facilitating the development of a community. That community will become your regular clientele, the bread and butter of your store. Good gaming stores do this by holding community event nights, making their stores welcoming, inviting and enticing and interesting to look at and visit and be in. The best example of this I've ever seen is [url=http://www.cardkingdom.com/static/storeinfo/infoa01]Card Kingdom[/urla01] in Seattle. Obviously that's a bit high end and kind of a special case, but it illustrates the point well.

-Third: Know your product, and know what makes money. I'm guessing the biggest money makers for stores are games that entice players to purchase regularly, with expansions and new products. That means card games like Magic, and miniatures (I'd guess?). Board games aren't going to have the volume, so you'd need to stock your store wisely, with the choicest games that people would want to buy. Which means knowing your product.

-Fourth: Have a good website. I think this is a must for a business to be successful.

I've always disliked gaming shops that look and feel cramped and unwelcoming, like a dank cave I have to crawl through, or with staff who aren't super welcoming, or an already established community that doesn't really welcome new members. I always feel a little intimidated and end up venturing inside only once or twice before being sort of frightened away.

That's my opinion! I don't know how much it helps.

[Aurethious]

Thanks for the input Propriety. From doing some of the research, and from my own experiences with the store I usually go to, I know that one of the biggest issue facing brick and mortar stores is the ease and and price of ordering things online. Being a Yu-Gi-Oh player myself, I often go online to purchase singles of cards I need specifically for my deck, but I always make sure that when I go to my local store to play, I make a purchase there as well. Supporting the local store isn't a sentiment that all players share. One of my goals is to create a place that people not just go to in order to buy their games, but a place where they go to play them as well. All of the points you've raised are things I will definitely consider in order to make that happen.

[Propriety]

[Aurethious]