I was away in northern Ontario last week. While there, I was surprised to discover that the main street of the closest small town included a game store. Though the focus of the place was clearly on board and card games, there was nevertheless a decent selection of other offerings, including roleplaying games. Most of the RPGs were the usual suspects – D&D, Pathfinder, etc. – but also present were multiple copies of Lamentations of the Flame Princess, which, along with some Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classics material, carried the banner for the OSR. Not bad!
Might that Northern Ontario town be Huntsville? There's an excellent game store there, with an amazing selection, and tables in the back for session play.
ReplyDeleteIt's a must visit, if you've never been! Quite a surprise, given its population.
Huntsville indeed. I hadn't been to the town since 2000, so seeing a well-stocked game store on Main Street very much a surprise, though a welcome one.
DeleteCool. For a while, our favorite beach town had a game store with some OSR stuff in addition to 5e. I thought really hard about purchasing something to support them but my budget was just too tight. Sadly they didn't last very long.
ReplyDeletekind of a waste, should do the adventures. the main book is tame.
ReplyDeleteI live in the middle of nowhere, and one time when searching for retailers near me, I used my actual postal code, and wait, there is a gaming store where?
good times. bought a ton of old stuff
I love that! I will have to check it out next time I make a trip north.
ReplyDeleteExcellent customer service and selection of RPGs. My only complaint with Up North Games is the price stickers they put on their products; especially if it is a non-sealed RPG book. They are BIG and are difficult to peel off.
ReplyDeleteNorth Bay has 3-4 stores that sell RPGs, one of which (Dark Horse Comics) sells OSR products (LoFP, Castles & Crusades, DCC/MCC RPG). I recently saw a DCC RPG demo Facebook post for Jump City Comics in Timmins.
The OSR appears to be healthy in Northern Ontario.
Man, I hate stickers on products. The FLGS goes a step farther, they use those magnetic security tags and frequently stick them on inside the book cover, where they absolutely aren't coming off without damaging the product.
DeleteAnd they wonder why I won't buy books they've defaced that way any more. I know what shrinkage can do to a store, but they need a better solution.
"And they wonder why I won't buy books they've defaced that way any more. I know what shrinkage can do to a store, but they need a better solution."
ReplyDeleteMy heart bleeds for your first world problems.