Ok, I am posting this out of frustration and a bit of anger, so just bear with me for a min. I want to talk about game stores and how they can help, and hurt themselves.
First, i should start with a little back ground. In 1998, I started playing Warhammer: Fantasy. My parents got me the 5th edition starter box for Christmas, and soon I was deep into building and painting a High Elf army. I Read and re-read the rule book several time. I tried to play some games with my friends. but try as I might, I couldn't get the rules down. So I went (rode the bus for two hours) to a game store in a nearby game store called Games People Play.
While there I was treated well, I learned the game and made friends that I still have today. It was a great time. I could be found there every Friday night, except during Football season when i had games. That was Where i made the jump from 5th to 6th editions, and if you thought the jump from 7th to 8th was big, you 'aint seen nothin'.
Anyways, this was where I played until I turned 19 (2002) and decided to serve a 2 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I served my mission faithfully in Taipei Taiwan and when I returned, I could not wait to start gaming again. But my beloved game store had changed.
They had moved locations (not a big deal) and had fired the manager. They had stopped getting regular shipments of new things from GW, and by all accounts were on their way to being a full blown toy store rather than a gaming store.
At this point I moved north, to Ogden, Utah to attend school there. games People Play was an Hour and a Half away, I had no car and was pretty much stuck on campus. from 2005 to 2007, I did not play a game of Warhammer. These were dark times indeed. at this point, something interesting happened.
I had moved back to my home town and was playing in a regular D&D group, playing every Sunday night. In early 2007, two of our number moved out of state, and two of our number were arrested. This left me and my friend Big Game as the only two law-abiding players in our group, so I took to the internet.
Games People Play had basically ran off all their gamers, so i knew that wasn't an option, so I went to the only other game store I knew, Dragons Keep. I went on their forums and pleaded my case. My friend and I needed a D&D group badly, and the Keep answered. We went for our first gaming session and i saw people playing WARHMMER! My heart jumped, I couldn't believe it. There, in front of my own eyes were people actually playing my beloved warhammer. I found out when their regular game night was and from that point on I was a regular. Not only was I a regular, but I took the reigns and started leading the group.
We started running tournament, campaigns, escalation leagues....anything you can think of related to Warhammer, we did it. these were truly great times. but it would not last. In late 2009 I met and started dating my future wife. in March 2010 we were married (quick, i know). With my new family beginning (my wife got pregnant is September 2010) and work and school, i didn't time to go to The Keep every week, then they started shooting themselves in the foot.
They fired the very employee that reached out to me and my friend and got us coming in. He was very great at helping whoever came in the store, teaching anybody every game they had there. I know he had his faults, but all the customers liked him. Then they started moving their game nights. Warhammer went from Monday to Tuesday. From Tuesday to Wednesday. From Wednesday to finally Saturday, where it died. the problem with having a regular game day on Saturday is that is the day you run your events. Half of the Saturdays we couldn't play Warhammer because all the tables were being used for other game systems tournaments.
this Brings us to today. the Warhammer community at Dragons keep is non existent. The officially have "Games-Workshop" night on Thursdays combining both 40k and Fantasy. Every time I go in on a Thursday, there is no one there playing. they used to run a Warhammer Tournament every other month, but they refuse to advertise for it. the most they do is, if you buy something for Fantasy they say "oh, were having a Warhammer Tournament Saturday.....if we have enough people."
Then there is the fact that the employees there are just plain rude. My wife has gone in there several time to buy something for me for my birthday, christmas, fathers day and in each event, she had to call me to get the help she needed. she was totally ignored when she walked in. On a different occasion my friend Big Game went in to pick up the new Empire book. When he was checking out the employee said "I thought nobody played Warhammer anymore."
Well, Dragons Keep, nobody plays Warhammer THERE anymore. The above examples are just a few of the things that have made us feel unwelcome. We were tired of being thrown around, pushed aside and ignored. We were tired of seeing every other game system get supported but ours, so we found a home where we were wanted. Just a short drive to the north and I found a thriving Warhammer community playing at BlackFyre Games.
Here, on a Tuesday night, were at least 14 players playing Fantasy. You know why Dragons Keep? A few simple things. 1) They are nice! They acknowledge every person to walk through the door. They ask if you need help and help you if you do. The go out of their way to make sure your experience in their store is a good one. 2) They Advertise. Now, they are not using every thing they have available to do so, but at least they advertise. they have signs in their store, they post on facebook and twitter and they e-mail. Guess what, people show up to their tournaments. 3) They support all their games equally. Yes, one game might not be as popular as the next, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve prize support for their tournaments.
In conclusion, Dragons Keep, you were good to me for a while, but then you started to make decisions that hurt you. I even wrote you e-mails, called and talked in person. I told you my concerns, offered you suggestions and help. but now i am done. I have found a new place where I am accepted and wanted. All I can do is Pray BlackFyre doesn't go the way of Games People Play and Dragons Keep.
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