keith264•23d agoMost Upvoted

I stopped by my old game store after 8 years away

Walked into Adventure Games in Portland last weekend and barely recognized the place. They used to have maybe 10 tables in the back for D&D and Magic, now the whole back half is a full cafe with pour over coffee. I saw three different groups playing board games I never heard of, like some weird one about farming in space. The owner told me their board game sales are up 40% since 2019, way more than cards these days. Made me wonder if anyone else has seen their local spots change this much.

3 comments

3 Comments

hugo_nelson18d ago

My local shop in Seattle tried the cafe thing and it lasted maybe 8 months before they had to shut it down. The equipment cost them over 12 grand and they got hit with a health inspection that killed their food service permit. Now they are back to just selling Warhammer and Magic singles, barely scraping by. I get that the farming space game sounds fun for a night but board games take way longer to learn and play than a quick round of Commander. I have seen three different stores in my area pivot hard to board games and two of them closed within a year because the margins are worse and people buy one game every few months instead of coming in weekly for card packs. Your mileage may vary but I would rather see a store double down on what works instead of chasing trends that might leave them with a bunch of expensive coffee equipment and no customers.

paulw6323d ago

Maybe it's just me but I actually like the shift toward board games. I remember when my local shop doubled their table space a couple years back and it felt more alive with people actually playing stuff instead of just flipping cards. Farming in space sounds like something I'd try, honestly. If board games are keeping these places open, I'd rather have that than another empty storefront.

john_singh22d ago

Wait are you telling me that cafe isnt just a front for some underground farming sim tournament league? I swear the last time I walked into a game store it was just bags of dice and a guy arguing about which Magic card is too overpowered. Now they got pour over coffee and space farming board games. The whole vibe shift is wild, like somebody hit reset on what a game store is supposed to be. I mean good for them for staying alive, but I half expect to walk in next time and find a yoga class happening between the board game tables.