There are so many aspects to running a game store, and one of the amazing things is how different each one is. We each lean into different things, and different games, so how do you decide which direction to take your shop in?
Probably the 2 most important things are emphasising the areas you are passionate about, and offering what your community wants.
There is a small town quite near us that has 3 (yes,3) games shops serving it’s population of only around 44,000 people. How on earth can this be sustainable? You might well ask, but each of them is quite distinctive from the others.
The longest established shop has proven very adaptable as other shops have sprung up. They have a very interesting, eclectic environment and run events for many under supported games, They also run events for better known games and are particularly strong in Pokemon. They also provide a very safe environment for special needs,
The second shop is very clean and sharp, with a strong retail space and 4 seater tables. They are clearly appealing more to families and conventional retail. I can imagine that middle class parents would be happy to take their children there to play on a Saturday afternoon. They also carry a very deep stock of board games and lean into wargaming and D&D heavily too. They keep more conventional retail hours, running events as an extra some evenings.
The third shop has a bigger space and leans heavily into providing a play space, much as we do. Theirs seems to appeal largely to older teens and people in their twenties, and provides a social space where people hang out. They also do retail and offer organised play.
Each of these spaces has a cross over and sells some of the same products, but you can see that each of these shops offers something different, and so attracts different customers from across their community, and from surrounding areas.
We really wanted a play space, and that was central to our view of what a games shop could be. We embarked on this journey as complete rookies both in retail and in running social spaces, armed only with our love of Magic The Gathering, and an idea.
Whilst Magic The Gathering was a given for us, the other games we offer have grown up slowly over time. I have always loved games, but I’m of a pre-Catan generation, when game nights largely consisted of cards, cribbage, backgammon, Cluedo, Monopoly and the like. I'm still protective over those games, and whilst it is highly unfashionable in gaming circles to admit to a love of Monopoly, I have to confess that I still hold a deep fondness for that game.
Nowadays of course, there are many amazing board games to play and choose from, and I only wish I had more time and spare brain capacity to learn more of them.
The games that have flourished in our shop have largely done so due to the enthusiasm of us or a member of our gaming community. If I had any advice to give to a player who loves an under represented game, and wishes it was played at his/her local games shop, it would be to offer to run it. To show up at a given time, week after week, sharing the love of the game with anyone around to learn it. If you can stick with it for all the weeks that nobody shows up, eventually they will, and your game will grow.
As a person running a games shop, unfortunately you don't really find you have the time to dedicate to each game that you would like. The games that take off are the ones who have great ambassadors for them. When people turn up are they welcomed and included? Do they see people having fun? Is the group cliquey so that people feel they are somehow on the ‘outside’? These are some of the things to consider.
I sometimes imagine myself in the shoes of a new player. Our space can be intimidating to enter as the door is often shut downstairs (unfortunately out of our control), so a player has already had to buzz a buzzer to be let in, and walk up some stairs. As they enter the room, they probably don't know quite what to expect or who to talk to. There is music playing, and when it’s busy there are people playing, laughing, chatting, and I can imagine not knowing quite what to do with myself.
Greeting people at this point is important, but not as simple as it sounds. You might be busy serving somebody already, and you also have to assess whether the person wants to be approached or not. Some people feel ‘pounced on’. Perhaps they have just come in to browse, and they feel pressurised by a greeting and too much chat. Those people I give a light greeting to, and let them know I'm there if they want some help. Other people I will chat to for longer. I'm sure we get this wrong sometimes, but you can only do your best to make sure that once people have taken the brave step to come in, that you make the path as smooth as possible for them from there.
Some people will come into your store and feel comfortable and love it, and some people will never darken your door again. A games store is a combination of the passion of the people who run it, and the personalities they attract in their players, and that is okay. For some people your store will feel like wearing an ill fitting shoe. You try to rub along, but eventually there are blisters and you give up and pop a comfortable shoe on again. The players who don't love your store will find (or open) one that they do, and you will retain the players that share something in common with you. It is important to remember that you cannot be everything to everyone. Horses for courses. I can think of nothing more fitting for the players on your wavelength being drawn to your shop than the scottish saying “whit’’s fur ye’ll nur go by ye” (What’s for you, won't go by you).
