But, I'm old and still have that twinge. And I (believe) I'm pretty supportive of local gaming and Friendly Local Game Shops.
I started Austin's RPG Meetup, current $funder and organizer of Austin's D&D Meetup. There and elsewhere I promote FLGS. I run games (campaigns, demos, newbie one-shots) at FLGS. I created google map of FLGS. I spam everywhere about South/Central TX game conventions. I buy something (OSR related if it's been on the shelves a couple months) almost every time I enter a game store. Which gets hard (to find something interesting) when you game at one every other week.
But, esp with more "indie" games that many FLGS don't believe are profitable to carry is Kickstarter the new FLGS? Why not "cut out the middle men"? I remain "active" in the local game community but lately a lot of my money has gone this way http://www.kickstarter.com/profile/njharman
BTW Norm's FLGS
- Dragon's Lair - Central - http://www.dlair.net/
- Kings Hobby - Central - http://kingshobbyshop.com/
- Tribes Comics and Games - South - http://www.tribecag.com
I participated in the recent Ogre Kickstarter through my FLGS.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to purchase the Kickstarter edition of the new OGRE game through my local store, but the store dropped the ball and never ordered any through the Kickstarter. And I didn't find out till after the campaign ended, so I'm stuck with the regular edition.
ReplyDeleteThat better not happen to me. I called my FLGS, asked them if they were participating (they said yes and they agreed to put one aside for me).
ReplyDeleteI am a strong supporter of two FLGS in the Metro Detroit region (one on the east side Guild of Blades, and one on the West Warriors 3) yet many things don't hit their doors. Even things outside of the realm of Kickstarter, that are now available via distributors can get scarce with OSR material. "Death Love Doom" being a prime example, neither of them have a single distributor that can get it, despite having access to other LOTFP material. Sometimes the interwebs win.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty much the reason I ended up not backing Reaper's Bones Kickstarter. The project got to the point that really didn't need my money. I already had a few of the mini's either in metal or as the pre-painted Legendary Encounters. This way I'll just go to my FLGS and pick up the ones I want.
ReplyDeleteBTW FLGS for the north Austin types:
Rogues Gallery, Round Rock http://www.roguesgallerytx.com/
Tenth Planet, Cedar Park http://www.tenthplanetstore.com/
and Mothership, Austin brand new still building their table top stuff http://www.mothershipatx.com/