What is your ideal Warmahordes retail experience?

[TrentReznorofIos]

I work at the Source Comics and Games, near Minneapolis, MN, and we're moving in about a month. This presents a unique opportunity to create a new, expanded, and improved Warmahordes area. If you could do it yourself, how would you like the models to be organized, special orders to work, etc. Any ideas are welcomed.

[PG_Jack Tesla]

Organized via faction, tables in the open portion of the room and not against the walls. Lots of open space, and shelves for terrain. Also a throne for the local pressganger

[Vicarious]

Coming from a practical sense since this store sounds like it does in fact have more than just Warmahordes products:
- Shelving for terrain is a must. My LGS uses free standing shelves set up next to/between tables. This makes for super easy setup and cleanup.
- Models can be organized by faction, no need to get too fancy here. Generally people don't do too much browsing once they've selected their faction. When I'm looking to buy I know exactly what I need.
- Tables not against the wall is nice if you have the dedicated space, but not absolutely necessary. Just make sure there is enough space on the "long" edges (where you deploy) and the short edge can be against a wall. My store starts at a wall, and lines up 2 rows of ~3 4x6 tables. 4x4 areas are marked off with a strip of painters tape. This allows Warhammer players to play normally, and lets us really pack in the Warmahordes for tournaments.

- For special orders my store lets us have the option to pay in advance or to pay when the order comes in. They do NOT stock Battle Engines but will happily special order them upon request.

- Someone please correct me if I'm stepping out of line on this last one:
I've always wanted to see some sort of incentive to support my LGS financially. Unfortunately, there are a LOT of discount gaming products available online and some of the deals are really really good. I alternate purchases between my LGS and online avenues because of this. Consider small discounts for your Warmahordes stuff such as including tax in the base price of the product or you could get really fancy and create some sort of in store reward points system so players can work their way up to free stuff. This way you at least let you're players know that you're doing a little something to compete with those online options.

[usbprime]

- Someone please correct me if I'm stepping out of line on this last one:
I've always wanted to see some sort of incentive to support my LGS financially. Unfortunately, there are a LOT of discount gaming products available online and some of the deals are really really good. I alternate purchases between my LGS and online avenues because of this. Consider small discounts for your Warmahordes stuff such as including tax in the base price of the product or you could get really fancy and create some sort of in store reward points system so players can work their way up to free stuff. This way you at least let you're players know that you're doing a little something to compete with those online options.

I wouldn't say you're out of line.....but it's a tough call for a retailer to do that. One of our local places has a pretty good system. For a long while they were tracking how many of their customers took part in the local league, and there was enough of us supporting them, that they've turned around and offered to match our prize support for tournaments/events.

As far as setup, for the retail area, pretty much as been stated. Separate everything Via faction, for easier browsing. For the gameing area....the one thing nobody really thinks of (at least not that i've seen in my travels) is a place for people to put their bags/carrying devices....if you have an area that you're planning to put tables, may i suggest sacrificing 15-20" along the outside walls, to build fixed tables around 30" in height for people to put their stuff down and organize their models....thats the one problem my local group runs into.....we usually set up 1 4x4 table to put all our stuff, but 4 battlefoam bags pretty much fills that......and our turn out is usually 10+ every week.

[alchahest]

My Ideal Warmahordes experience:

Thunderground, in St Albert, Alberta

[DaPreacherMan43]

My previous lgs had a buy $100 get a 30% discount one order or purchase.

Another lgs we had gave store credit for playing your league games if you made a min purchase during the visit. If we bought at least $10 during a tournament night, we got a $2 savings per week at the end of the league.

[MagnustheJust]

A few of the gits in my area have been half joking/half serious for a few years now about a 21+ game store that had beer and dancing girls in the corners on small stages with poles.

[PG_Vynde]

A few of the gits in my area have been half joking/half serious for a few years now about a 21+ game store that had beer and dancing girls in the corners on small stages with poles.

I would go to this store >.>

[Kevin]

Carry everything (are close enough). The one thing hurting my LGS is they very rarely have the model I am looking for. I am spontaneous.... they could order it for me or I could drive 4 more miles and get it at a store that has everything (but isn't a gaming location).
I know investing in alot of up-front volume is tricky/expensive but that should be part of the investment when you (re)open.

Seriously, I've dropped at least (stressing at least!) $500 at the competing store (in the past 3 months) in the area vs my LGS due to the other place always having almost every model/unit for every faction in stock.

[SneaklePete]

A few of the gits in my area have been half joking/half serious for a few years now about a 21+ game store that had beer and dancing girls in the corners on small stages with poles.

On this note: Food.

My LGS allows food, which is great considering most of us come right from work. There's a top notch italian joint around the corner, but better yet he sells snacks and drinks from a fridge right in the store. I don't think a night goes by that I don't at least grab a soda, even if I'm noming a chicken roll from down the block.

Went to visit another store over the weekend, and not having drinks readily available really put a damper on the experience.


And yeah, I wish there was beer in that fridge too

[PG_Tadgo]

If you build the tables to be used while standing, shelves can be made for under to store terrain and/or bags.

Free wi-fi? Don't remember if anyone suggested this.

[Karl Eller]

A few of the gits in my area have been half joking/half serious for a few years now about a 21+ game store that had beer and dancing girls in the corners on small stages with poles.

And yeah, I wish there was beer in that fridge too

The dancing girls I would find pretty distracting...
As for alcohol, it involves the hassle of going to the effort of getting a liquor license, with all the regulations involved with that, while limiting your store to 18+/21+ only. Unfortunately if you want to drink and warmachine, your only realistic options are A) play at someone's house or B) have a club meet at a Leagues/RSL club.

Carry everything (are close enough). The one thing hurting my LGS is they very rarely have the model I am looking for. I am spontaneous.... they could order it for me or I could drive 4 more miles and get it at a store that has everything (but isn't a gaming location).
I know investing in alot of up-front volume is tricky/expensive but that should be part of the investment when you (re)open.

Seriously, I've dropped at least (stressing at least!) $500 at the competing store (in the past 3 months) in the area vs my LGS due to the other place always having almost every model/unit for every faction in stock.

A lot of this depends on your store's supplier. For me it's less of an issue since I'm mostly buying models to build lists, so I tend to plan my purchases in advance, but if your store has a good distributor you usually only have to wait until the next delivery day to get something in.

On this note: Food.

My LGS allows food, which is great considering most of us come right from work. There's a top notch italian joint around the corner, but better yet he sells snacks and drinks from a fridge right in the store. I don't think a night goes by that I don't at least grab a soda, even if I'm noming a chicken roll from down the block.

Went to visit another store over the weekend, and not having drinks readily available really put a damper on the experience.

Our FLGS has a cold fridge stocked with (non-alcoholic) drinks, an ice cream freezer and a decent selection of chocolate/candy bars, and for less than what you'd have to pay at the local supermarket/petrol station. It's one of those things that doesn't take a whole lot of effort to set up, is really convenient for the players and makes people more likely to hang around and spend money.

[SneaklePete]

The dancing girls I would find pretty distracting...
As for alcohol, it involves the hassle of going to the effort of getting a liquor license, with all the regulations involved with that, while limiting your store to 18+/21+ only. Unfortunately if you want to drink and warmachine, your only realistic options are A) play at someone's house or B) have a club meet at a Leagues/RSL club.

My FLGS is actually very adult oriented, except for some younglings in our WarmaHordes sect. Still, the topic comes up periodically of having a 21 and older night with beer, etc. The liquor license is definitely an issue though, seems like a lot of effort and investment for a gimmick event. Plus, tequila shots and fragile models don't mix well, haha.

Unless you play Borka of course.

[TrentReznorofIos]

We have most of the non-21+ improvements you guys suggested in our current store, but thank you for your suggestions! For anything that we don't have in stock we do speedy and free special orders, although you guys have to understand that specialty suppliers don't have the kind of stock that big chain suppliers are able to keep. So sometimes it isn't the store's fault, or even PP, as much as it is the distributor's folly. We are a family store, so no dancing girls, or boys for that matter, or alcoholic beverages are allowed at any time in our store. In addition, we do have quite the snack selection and we're the only store in MN that carries certain candies and pops. Thanks for the storage suggestion especially, I'm going to try and work that into the new game room. We also have something called the Source Adventure Club, where for ten dollars a year you get ten percent off almost everything in the store, including are entire PP line. A few times a year we hold pretty fantastic sales as well, and I can't remember a time where our discount card didn't stack on those sales.

[Acrux]

I've always wanted to see some sort of incentive to support my LGS financially.

This always gets me. If that they provide a place for you to hang out and play some games isn't reason enough to support your LGS then I don't know what is. If you just play in your friend's basement then get your stuff wherever you want, but if you play at a store I've always felt that you should support your store exclusively. And no, your LGS is probably never going to be the cheapest option and it may not always be the most convenient option either, but that online retailer is not providing you with a place to meet your friends and they're not providing you with tables and terrain to play your games. I've seen lots of these places disappear so if your store goes under and you find yourself with nowhere to play at least you can find comfort in the fact that you saved a few bucks on all your little toy soldiers.

Now, forgive me if I'm out of line, but this is a sure way to get me fired up.

[tordeck]

My FLGS is actually very adult oriented, except for some younglings in our WarmaHordes sect. Still, the topic comes up periodically of having a 21 and older night with beer, etc. The liquor license is definitely an issue though, seems like a lot of effort and investment for a gimmick event. Plus, tequila shots and fragile models don't mix well, haha.

Unless you play Borka of course.

I'm pretty sure that you can get away w/o a license if it it BYOB. My FLGS holds a monthly "Vets Night" were the older players can get games in with out the minors around and we stay a few hours past when the store closes to the general public. And there is always a bit of drinking involved.

[Minotaur]

Organised by faction, well stocked, sub categorised by caster/solo/unit/jack/battle engine, and being able to look through things and browse without knocking down other stuff in the process that is shelved/presented too close to one another. Also, having some space to put down the large amounts of models I have to buy and put back because I go over budget... Also, nothing that I have to kneel down on the ground to see, or go on my tippy toes to grab, and plenty of space around the display, away from a corner, and away from a front door (re being in a draft and looking for a long time).

Hope it helps!

[Jhokalups]

If your shop has a website I find it very helpful to have an up to date catalog/inventory online of what you currently have in stock. For me going to the game store is a rarer/special event and I like to know ahead of time if you have what I want instock or if I should call in to have you special order it.

[Rochr]

My local LGS is both a bar and a game store so if you want a beer, whiskey or whatever you can just walk upstairs

But the dancing girls... yea id go to that place.

[Stuh42l]

As far as providing monetary incentive to shop at the LGS as opposed to online, my LGS has a nice take on it.

It is basically a loyalty card that costs $20, and you receive 10% of your purchases (without tax) onto it as store credit. Then you can use the credit to buy store items (and you pay for tax with it).

This nets to about 9% savings in my area after you spend the initial $200 to make back the investment in the card. From a business perspective, you are offering something that many will buy, and only a few will actually capitalize on the investment on. The most the LGS gets hit on is 9%, and that is after the $20 pure profit. Seems to work well.

In my own view though, I will gladly spend the extra 10-15% over online retailers just because I can meet biweekly at a dozen tables stocked with terrain and play a variety of people. So worth it to me.

As far a tables go. I thought setting up rows of tables is a good idea, but make them all 4x6. This lets 40k and FoW people have tables, and it lets WM/H players have a 2' buffer between games to store the dead and detritus from our death and rampage filled games. Also, having flip-able table tops has been nice at our LGS with each side painted different colors to represent different terrain (green white space etc)

[yrtneS]

Honestly there are a few things that would make Warmahordes (or even other wargames for that matter) better.

1. Lots of terrain and an easily accessible location to store the terrain.

2. Lots of tables, that way pick up games are always possible.

3. A place on the table to set your models when you are setting up and when they die, be it an extra foot on the side of the table or a small shelf under the table.

4. A clean and secure area to store bags while playing.

5. A place to set sodas/water while playing that isn't on the other side of the store.

[Tielc]

This always gets me. If that they provide a place for you to hang out and play some games isn't reason enough to support your LGS then I don't know what is. If you just play in your friend's basement then get your stuff wherever you want, but if you play at a store I've always felt that you should support your store exclusively. And no, your LGS is probably never going to be the cheapest option and it may not always be the most convenient option either, but that online retailer is not providing you with a place to meet your friends and they're not providing you with tables and terrain to play your games. I've seen lots of these places disappear so if your store goes under and you find yourself with nowhere to play at least you can find comfort in the fact that you saved a few bucks on all your little toy soldiers.

Now, forgive me if I'm out of line, but this is a sure way to get me fired up.

I agree with this whole heartidly. We have one store in my area that carries very little PP, and has no tables for PP or GW and offers 0 discount or incentive. They do not get a dime of my money. On the other hand, the store I play Warmachine at doesn't carry much in stock, but I purchase everything from them as that's where I play, and they do discount heavily. The biggest thing is, they have the tables and the players. That's where my money goes.

[Blackraine]

My dream setup:

1. All new releases for the current and previous month go on a special call-out shelf next to the standard display.
2. Remaining stuff is organized to be faction specific.
3. Tournaments and league participation grants store credit (total store credit equal to entry fees). This effectively splits up the purchase, even though it feels like a discount to the person buying the product. It's a win/win... the customer plops down $5 or $10 to play a bunch of games and get "discounted" merchandise, and I don't have to actually mark anything down on the bottom line since the "discount" is paid for by the entry fees.
4. Tables will be self-built 4x4 tables that can be put together for 4x8 tables for Warhammer or card tournaments.
5. Terrain is divided into general terrain and "event" terrain... the event terrain is for tournament use only, is generally nicer, and is more-or-less under lock and key in the back. I also keep my personal terrain stash back there.
6. One or two small, seperate, walled off rooms with a conference-style table and several chairs for roleplaying. These rooms could be rented for $20 per 5 hour session (that's about $5 a person for the average D&D group). I'd work out some kind of discount for weekly games provided it was reserved up front (like maybe $40 a month, which is roughly half price). The advantage for the gamers, is that it gives them a nice private area with plenty of space and no one walking up to interrupt their game and tell them about their favorite character, or how some other system is way better than whatever they're playing. The advantage for the owner is keeping the more socially awkward roleplayers from disturbing the other customers (sorry, but it's true... there's no sense in letting the 10% of gamers who don't know how to act in public ruin it for the other 90% by reenforcing bad gamer stereotypes).
7. A part time employee whose sole job is to plan and run events... that is what he is hired and paid to do. He doesn't sell stuff, he doesn't run the register, and his pay comes out of company overhead and entry fees. I've found that people will pick up and play games far more readily if a store employee is playing those games and actively promoting them. Even then, it's a lot of work, there's a lot of planning involved, etc, so it's not like he's doing "nothing" for his $10/hr.