Still in the thread of my last post, I’m thinking through the positive parts of our profoundly negative experience living in Boston. I tell people that there are five good parts; in my last post I mentioned Trident Books, specifically the Writer’s Nights. But what actually got me up and out of bed? Well, usually work. But what made it worth it? Community. The remaining four all had to do with community in some way.
Back home, I felt spoiled for choice in good gaming shops, something I’m reminded of as I’ve come back. There’s one that is the institution (Empire Comics and Games and their partner buisiness, Card Haus) with board games, Magic, and comics (and a smattering of TTRPGs). There’s a coffee shop (Pearl Street Coffee) with board games and Magic. There’s a newer shop with a focus on meeting up specifically to play TTRPGs and card games (TCB Games and Collectibles). Coming back also means traveling around the state of Kentucky, where one of the best finds is Chaotic Good Coffee and Games in Lexington.
But I was shocked at how little choice there was in the Boston area. It wasn’t that there weren’t any, but it didn’t feel like there were more choices than I have here– and shops were more spread out and harder to get to between them. In my neck of the woods, the closest option was also a great one: Alpha and Omega Hobby.
Options
A&O was a place with more options in one location than I had ever seen; if you’re into any kind of tabletop game, I struggle to imagine you can’t find something to do here. They had a massive collection of the kind of army tactics games like Warhammer, including Song of Ice and Fire, and Star Wars: Legions. They had the largest selection of non-D&D TTRPGs I’ve ever seen– though they had all your D&D needs too. A huge collection of board games to buy and tables on which to play them. All your known card games and some I hadn’t really heard of before (like Final Fantasy).
Events
One of the best parts of the shop was that there were regular events and they were well advertised. Some of my local shops don’t even do this well. While I was pretty isolated overall, one of the best things to get me out of the house was to get out and play Magic– a hobby I had gotten out of around the time I graduated from college. Being able to get out and play draft nights was a real sanity saver.
Wait, Did You Just Write a Post Bragging On Your Favorite Gaming Shops?
Yes. Yes, I did. It doesn’t seem hard to create a gaming shop, but it’s hard to survive and do well– let alone make one that is awesome. I know it’s not my usual content, but I felt like all my favorite gaming shops deserved a shout-out– especially the one that got me through a pretty dark time.
Thank You For Reading!
If you also have a favorite gaming shop, please share it in the comments below; it might help people find a good one in their area or while traveling!
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