RPGCentric » Blog Archive » Tony and Dave’s FLGS Tour ’09

Tony and Dave’s FLGS Tour ’09

Recently, one of my readers, and new friend, Dave contacted me about a thread on EN World. In the thread, a man in New Jersey toured his friendly local gaming stores and posted pictures of his journey. Dave’s idea was to do the same thing in our area, Omaha, NE, and then post the photos. I thought it was a great idea so off we went!

(Click on the name of each store to visit their website. Click on each image for a larger version.)

The Game Shoppe

We met at a store in Bellevue, NE, called the Game Shoppe. I had been there a few times and it was always nice. While I was waiting, I met the shop owner and it turns out that I knew him! I actually had gamed with him years earlier and we had fallen out of touch. It was nice to catch up with an old friend. The store itself is really nice and clean (no gamer funk) and the owner was able to purchase the stall next door and will expand into it shortly. They have a great selection of board games, miniatures, and RPGs. I highly recommend it!

Ground Zero Comics – Bellevue

Our next stop was Ground Zero Comics in Bellevue, NE. Ground Zero has been around for a long time and it shows. It’s a very nice store with a very large selection of comics and RPG material. There are shelves in the back of the store filled with old material. A lot of local gamers play here. Highly recommended.

Ground Zero Comics – Omaha

We then headed over to the Omaha branch of Ground Zero Comics. It definitely feels newer but is just as nice as the main Bellevue store. One thing I noticed, however, is they have no metal mini’s. The is disappointing as Warhammer mini’s are still a big seller as are mini’s by company’s like Reaper. Still, definitely a cool store and the one my family visits most often.

Dragon’s Lair – Omaha

Next on the tour was Dragon’s Lair. Dragon’s Lair is the oldest comic shop in Omaha. It’s been around since 1975! There are always a lot of folks there and they have a good selection of new and older RPG materials, comics, and lots of Warhammer stuff. My one issue with Dragon’s Lair is that they don’t do enough for gamers who want to play there. They have a small back room for gaming and the staff isn’t very knowledgable about RPG products. I know; I’ve called in the past and been frustrated when they had no idea what book I was referring to. It’s a cool store with good product but the atmosphere is not as “gamer friendly” as the others on the tour.

Krypton Comics

Next up was Krypton Comics. It’s a large store, nicely lit, and very clean. But, as you would guess, it is much more geared toward comics and toys than it is toward RPGs. I found it odd that in the small four table gaming area there were four Warhammer games being played but the store didn’t sell a single Warhammer item. Very strange. So, if you’re in the market for comics and comic related material, this is the place for you. RPGs, though? Not so much.

Dragon’s Lair – Millard

Dragon’s Lair has a branch in Millard (which is really a part of Omaha but is still refered to by its old name). It’s very small and has a couple of tables in the back. But they still carry much of the same items as their main store, so it’s a good place to go out west of Omaha.

Coliseum Gaming

Our last store, Coliseum Gaming, is in La Vista, NE. It’s a small store, the smallest out of all the stores we visited, and didn’t have as large of a selection. However, it did have a very large gaming area in the back, which is a great sign for a gaming store. If they could get rid of the gamer funk (the only store that had it) I would probably consider gaming there.

Conclusion

So that’s it. Three hours of driving around and we were able to hit seven gaming stores. And I’m sure we missed some of the smaller stores in the area. In fact, I know there was at least one place we didn’t go to as they only sold Anime. I was really happy to walk away from this loving the fact there were seven FLGS’s in my area. Considering that FLGS’s are closing throughout the country, it looks like Omaha, and the Omaha area, still have plenty of places for gamers to hang out.