There Will Be Games Epilogue: Where Are Your Friends Tonight? Hot

Cool. I'm glad you came out of the experience with a positive outlook on life. You can't live with regrets.

That is exactly how I felt about designed my one published game, and how I feel about gaming in general. Well said.

It's been interesting reading this whole story about AGF. Over the course of the last four months, the small company that I work for has gone through incredible turmoil. Both of the founders were forced out by the majority shareholder, and the company is now being run by a smart guy who is pretty reckless when spending money. Half of our employees left or got fired, for a variety of reasons. But it has all happened in a very low-key manner compared to the rollercoaster ride that you had at AGF.

Cool. I'm glad you came out of the experience with a positive outlook on life. You can't live with regrets.

Yeah, but I also came out of it with a totally negative outlook on:

- Lawyers
- A majority of board gamers
- Doing business with Games Workshop
- WizKids in general
- The endless MUNCHKIN product line
- That guy who pulled the door off the hinges
- Pizza K (two doors down from the stoor)
- Selling MAGIC singles
- Shoplifters
- The ability of young adult males to dress and bathe themselves
- Cleaning public bathrooms

And more...but hey, let's accentuate the postive...

AGF definitely had a stronger sense of community than any store I've been into. Easily the equal of those unloved private game conventions.

My question, however, is what happens next?

I'm more firmly convinced that the FLGS store as we know it is dead, dead, dead. But could the two ideas be combined to be an island that is open for one day each week?

I actually gave that very concept some thought but the problem is that then you don't get the regular in-and-out, day-to-day business that really makes that kind of community possible. At one point, Dollar Bill and I talked about doing exactly that at his other business, basically setting up a one or two day a week all game "bazaar" with a limited inventory of games for sale and tables for play.

But there again, part of what made the community what it is was having all these students coming in after class, people like Pacer and PJ coming in almost every day after work, folks meeting up at the store for a few games before going to the movies or out to eat, and having extended hours so that folks could come in pretty much whenever they want to hang out, goof off, or game. A "clubhouse" kind of vibe would be a lot harder to maintain one day a week.

Another factor was that everybody there was pretty much willing to play everything, which is outrageously rare. There was more crossover between gaming types there than I've ever seen. The only crowd that didn't fit in were the nebbish, quiet Eurogamer types who would still come in and buy games and leave.

An FLGS with limited store hours might work as an interesting part-time job. Logistically, it might be a problem receiving shipments. But I'm not convinced that the FLGS is dead, because we have a great one near where I live.

Our FLGS is The Source, named after the mysterious oracle wall from Jack Kirby's Fourth World mythos. They have a nice large store that was originally split 50/50 between comics and games. They have since added on a small room for just miniatures, a larger room for just anime, manga and trade paperbacks, and an even larger room for events and regular gaming.

I first found out about the Source in late 1994, when one of the guys in my Call of Cthulhu rpg campaign told me that I could get into a regular Jyhad CCG group on Sunday afternoons there. At the time, Magic: the Gathering was hugely popular, but skewed towards a younger group than Jyhad. Out of respect for our longer games and bigger-spending players, the Source let us hold down one table all afternoon, while forcing the Magic players to play in two 3-hour shifts so that they would all get a chance to play.

Over the last 14 years, I have become a regular at the Source. When I moved in 1995, it was no coincidence that I chose an apartment just 3 miles from the Source. I got into other CCGs there, did some RPGs there, and when I started buying comics again in 2000, I bought them from the Source.

So what makes the Source so great, besides square footage? Damn good customer service, plus staff who really know their stuff. If they don't have something in stock, they will special-order it for no extra charge. They are constantly hosting tournaments, play leagues and events. Two or three times a year, they hold a big storewide sale that literally attracts several hundred people, with door prizes, plus free hot dogs and pop. They also sell a 10% discount card that is good for a year.

What have they done for me? Three of their long-term employees know me by name, as did some of their former employees. When they noticed that I was spending big on CCGs in the mid-'90s and got a bunch of people hooked on Shadowfist, they gave me 20% on Heresy in hopes that I could help them attract fans to that game. Even though I don't do a pull list, they sometimes can get me an otherwise soldout comic anyway. When I have playtested game designs, they not only hosted my group, but sometimes their store employees have joined a playtest game to fill out the numbers. And when one of my games got published, they let me demo the game three weeks in a row during their popular Friday Night Boardgames group.

I saw someone trying to make a case for one other model...a private club.

It is something now that only exists for Masons and Golf, but that kind of social club might have some relevance. It means that it wouldn't be open to the public, but only to members paying dues to support the space and their guests.

I could see it working--the big problem is that leases and business licenses require one person to be responsible for them. Which makes it not all that much different than starting up a game store.

I'm strangely disapointed to see There Will Be Games end. I don't have a penchant for drawn-out tragedies or anything, but it was a fascinating and well-told story. Thanks for sharing it.

So Michael, did you find the process of writing out all these articles cathartic, or do you feel as strongly about the negative experiences as you did a few months ago?

[q]Yeah, but I also came out of it with a totally negative outlook on:
-Lawyers -normal
-A majority of board gammers -normal
-Doing business with Games Workshop -I've have heard this is normal
-Wizkids in general -don't know on this one
-The endless MUNCHKIN product line -normal
-That guy who pulled the door off the hinges -normal
-Pizza K (two doors down from the store) -don't know here either, why?
-Selling MAGIC singles -normal
-Shoplifters -normal
-The ability of young males to dress and bathe themselves -normal
-Cleaning public bathrooms -normal

I don't see anything wrong with this outlook. Maybe I'm just too cynical.

Glad you came out with something special. That's what really counts in the end.

Thanks for the series, Michael. This was one of the best things I've read on-line about anything, let alone about gaming. Your article made me wish I had a store half as good as AGF in my city. But it also made me realize that it would be a bit crazy to try to start one!

So Michael, did you find the process of writing out all these articles cathartic, or do you feel as strongly about the negative experiences as you did a few months ago?

Eh, it's mixed...I mean, sharing all of it made me realize how vast and epic all this really was and what a profound effect it all had on my life. It helped me contextualize the experience a lot more completely.

But the negative stuff...The Barrister and whatnot...I still feel pretty much the same. But it's a passive kind of negativity- unhealed but still there, surrounding every memory of it all. That's probably unavoidable any time you have such a deep emotional investment in something like AGF.

Pizza K was the pizza delivery joint two doors down from the store. People talk about cardboard box-crusted pizza but this place REALLY tasted like cardboard. All of their food had this strange lack of any flavor whatsoever- imagine mozzarella cheese, pizza sauce, onions, olives, etc. tasting like literally _nothing_ in your mouth. It was horrible. And of course, every night I was throwing away (recycling, at least) 10-15 Pizza K boxes out of the store. They were the table protector of choice for the miniatures painters. There was another pizza joint a block away, Rocky Mountain Pizza, that was much better but it was one of those pizza places that's strangely two or three times the price of most other pizza places.

But the WORST food around was probably City Cafe, down at the end of the shopping center...oh god...it was a 24 hour diner, and I found myself eating chips and candy for dinner rather than getting one of their veggie burgers. The place was _disgusting_. It probably didn't help that I saw their trash on a daily basis.

Bittersweet ending to an awesome story.

Pizza K was around when I went to Tech ('85-'91), and they only survived then because they were so very cheap---like 2 large pizzas for $5. We always considered them a step down from Little Caesar's. That's saying something.

City Cafes varied. That one was pretty terrifying, and they once served me an order of burned scrambled eggs. First they burned them, then they actually tried to serve them. The chain collapsed a couple of months back.

A step down for Little Caesars? That's ridiculous. Little Caesars at least had Crazy Bread. I'd consider a definite step down from Pizza Hut, which speaks volumes since I would otherwise consider Pizza Hut to be the worst pizza ever crafted by the hands of man- including any industrial food concoction like a "Mr. P's" or "Totino" frozen pizza. Pizza Hut pizza is like an oily cake floating on a puddle of oily oil topped with oily cheese and oily sauce. It's disgusting. And I'd still eat it over Pizza K, if only because at least the oil gives it a flavor beyond paper products.

There were decent City Cafes elsewhere...but that one...good god.

Thank you for the story. I don't think the FLGS is dead but I do think the FLGS that just sells games is probably no more. It would have to branch out into other forms of hobbies.

Thank you Barnes for an epic journey.

*cue cheesy Journey music*
"Don't stop
Belieeeeving..."

Very well-written story: I agree with the reader who said this was one of the best things about anything they'd read on the net.

So there's not the slightest chance you'll open a new store?

If his rich, eccentric inventor grand-uncle who lives in Sweden croaks and leaves him a fortune, I think he just might...

Oh, I'd absolutely be willing to do a new store...but it'd have to:

1) Be a solid, sustainable business concept that would go beyond a standard FLGS- as we've already talked about here, the FLGS concept of the past is dying a hideous death. The comics games model has kept a lot of stores open, but I'm not particularly interested in going that route. And I don't think the games cafe idea that works in Korea and Germany would pan out here. So I'm not sure what the solid, sustainable business concept would be.

2) It would have to be a side hustle. I would _not_ want to be in a position where doing the store was my primary source of income. I just don't think that any hobby retail model out there can sustain a decent living. In my gig writing for one of those Gigantical Supercorporation and Holdings, Inc. like you see on TV I probably make- literally- twice what a typical retail store owner brings in yearly after taxes and overhead.

3) It would have to be me and me alone. No partnerships.

I actually seriously thought about a co-op business model...but then I realized that most gamers are probably too lazy to come in and work a couple of hours a week to keep their store open.

Thanks for sharing your experience, Michael. That was a great, epic read. I really liked this sentiment:

"It is, and should always be, about making the most of our time with friends and family as well as connecting with those who share our enthusiasm for creating tiny, temporary worlds in which we can let our imaginations have full reign to interact, grow, and play."

"Tiny, temporary worlds" is just an awesome way to describe board games.

This is absolutely none of my business-- but I'm too damn nosey not to ask: exactly how many writing gigs do you have? Do any of them involve any technical writing or are they all on the creative/marketing/review side.

It kinda sucks that you and Dollar Bill grew apart because of money- it's funny how becoming independantly wealthy thouroughly convinces some people that, through some arcane alchemical process, their shit no longer stinks.

Mike, it was a helluva series. I'm actually sad to see it end; you don't see well written articles about the games industry like TWBG very often.

Your pizza place sounded like Emergency Pizza when I was back at UD (late 80's-early 90's). You could get a large and a medium for something like $6, but man did it give you heartburn.

There are times when I think I could run a FLGS, but the logical side of me kicks in and says that you'd only better think of it if you win the lottery. It's kind of like the old saw about the wine industry: if you want to make a small fortune in the wine industry, start with a large fortune...

--Mike L.

well written story and compelling to the end

it seems two years at the AGF compressed 20 years of my experience as a member of my games club. It has gained me many friends, made me travel all over Europe and taught me a lot about people. Thank [insert deity of choice], though, I never had to make a living out of it.

Most traders of games and miniatures I've met are extremely friendly, helpful and interested. There's a bunch of assholes among them, but perhaps interacting with gamers on a professional basis helps. Few of them seem to be well off, but indeed it seems that they enjoy what they do. Traveling on weekends to game conventions, handling orders during the week (if not in the evenings after a days work in the office) and answering questions about delayed or missing parts. For those that create something new, like miniature designers, there is personal satisfaction in seeing it sell well, but for the others, who are 'merely pushing boxes', I can't see what other reward they get than working with stuff they like and meeting like minded people. Hats off to all of them!

But if you can get the same experience from joining a club, why bother? Mike, what do you think is the real extra in being a trader as opposed to somebody who plays in a club (or several)?

Thank you for such an engaging story! Given you are Atlanta, I would suggest that you have a listen to the Black Crowes latest album Warpaint. Track 10 is a lovely song called "There's Gold in Them Hills" which I believe to be EXACTLY what you have hit upon here with this tale. Gorgeous song...awesome album really...much like what has happened with this tale. Thanks again for such an excellent effort!

I'll re-echo: this was one of the best stories I've read recently, pixel or print; fiction or otherwise. Thank you.

Have you sold the movie rights to this? Seriously. I think this could translate nicely to the indie screen. It could work in a "Best in Show"(ish) style. Or even as straight drama. I think it is that good a story.

Casting ideas anyone?

You guys are too kind, seriously...it's me who needs to be thank y'all for reading. When I started this series, I wasn't sure if people would really give a damn about it, but it seems people did. I thought it was a story that was interesting, dramatic, and needed telling and I'm glad folks agreed.

Mike, what do you think is the real extra in being a trader as opposed to somebody who plays in a club (or several)?

That's a great question Jur. And it's something I've sort of asked myself a lot over the years. The real extra is that you get to not only be a part of the mechanism that enables the hobby by getting games and gaming product into the hands of gamers, but you also get into a unique position where you are very much at the epicenter of what's happening in the hobby- locally and globally. On a local scale, you get to set up events, promote great games, and encourage the hobby which is all very rewarding when you get responses. Looking around your store and seeing fifty people having a great time on your account is quite fulfilling. On a larger scale, you involve yourself with distributors, manufacturers, publishers, designers, and so on and you get to contribute to the industry, and if you really care about it you try to make it better. And that's very fulfilling.

In sum, working in the trade you get to contribute a lot more on several levels than if you're just gaming with the club. But that being said, there's a lot of people in the hobby at that level that do more than retailers, and a lot of retailers who do less.

A TWBG movie? A friend of mine and I talked about it a couple of years ago, doing a film set in a game store drawing on our experiences at AGF...I think it's just a touch too arcane for mainstream audiences, in order to connect with them you'd have to harp on what they know about hobby gaming- which is pretty much D&D, D&D, and D&D. And D&D is a comedic whipping boy as it is...

I think it's just a touch too arcane for mainstream audiences

Oh, I completely, emphatically, utterly, and wholeheartedly disagree!

If it is only the subject matter of your story that worries you, then maybe you're too close because it is all too real to you. It is gripping, engaging, and plays out like a Greek tragedy. It's gold I tell you, gold! (Both the naked story itself and the narrative you created to tell the story.)

I think that your hook is that it revolves around and in the realms of the arcane AND still works. It is a universal story of good v. evil; The passionate, idealist underdog's struggle against the Man; The desire and struggle to take control of our own lives; The ephemeral nature of friendship. This will come through.

At the VERY LEAST...please, please, please submit this to This American Life!

I guess that's where the difference lies, the intensity of the contacts and the broadnes. The guys I know who organise game conventions (eg Salute in London, Crisis in Antwerp) have the same broad contacts with all kinds of traders and clubs, organising demo games etc and spreading the word to thousands of potential visitors. But for them it's a once a year activity.

Even those who organise large club events or competitions or campaigns are very important to keeping people playing, are still only doing this two days in a week (and a maybe few evenings preparing).

In the end, as a game store owner, you do it 6 days a week and it's your balls on the line. It may be even more difficult, because you still want to make money on a product line that proves to be a costly mistake. Maybe also because it is such a thin line between survival and failure it becomes this Big Thing. You build your hopes around that store. In retrospect, that episode might be the most telling.

I finally found some time to read this at home, and I gotta say thanks for the great story. If the store was still around, I'd have already been there a few times and it would soon become my store of choice. My wife and I are moving into Tech's married housing a few blocks away from there.

Thanks for the amazing story. It was an emotional roller coaster; your writing is very engaging.

People were asking for photos earlier in the series. If you Google-Map this address:
558 10th St Nw, Atlanta, GA
You can clearly see the store in the "street view"

Also, a photo the library from act I of TWBG is in my image gallery here. (I was actually at that library earlier today, returning a book and checking another one out)

Michael, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your series. Great writing! Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

BillN

I just want to congratulate you as well, you're a gifted writer, the story had a aggravating "tension curve" whicht culminated in a worthy showdown, although it is a pity that in the end everything just disappeared just like that. It is interesting that you find snippets and pieces of information all over the Internet, which confirm the story and fleshes it out even more. Who would have thought that a story about the rise and fall of a game shop could be that epic?

For a movie I'd cast (just forget how old they are in real life :P ):
Michael Barnes - Billy Bob Thornton
Barrister - Tom Cruise (he should definitely get more sleazeball roles)
Dollar Bill - Christian Bale (perfect to play "I-don't-give-a-shit" asshole)
The Kid - Ralph Macchio (or whoever nowadays gets the equivalent parts in these kind of movies, i.e. Karate Kid)

Two things: It's a pity that game cafés would in your opinion not pan out in the US, it really seems like the perfect blend for what you are looking for. You could sell games and you could make the profit on food and drinks. I wonder though how the (caution! stereotype ahead) "unwashed" roleplaying and miniature gamers would be eager to go there. It would be a totally different crowd, but I have no idea how much money the Warhammer-Kiddies bring in?
2nd thing: You should really try to find out what ever happened to The Kid. i sure hope he married The Girl and has his own game shop in New Mexico or someplace else. :)

P.S.: Too bad the Barrister or Dollar Bill can't be interviewed in the Ultimate Podcast, that would be something...

TheShadowKnight, I can almost guarrantee that if Mike did submit this to This American Life or tried to get a movie made of TWBG, The Barrister would suddenly reappear out of nowhere and demand money. Once a prick, always a prick.

--Mike L.

And what the hell.... The Chicas Project? Why are ads like that popping up on TWBG?

--Mike L.

Holy shit, you really can see the store from that address Aaron posted. Blue sign, next to the nail place that wasn't there when we were.

Ralph Macchio is _perfect_ casting for The Kid. As for marrying The Girl...not likely. It's much more likely that he found a sugar daddy. If he's not in a group home, which is what I suspect.

But if you want to know what The Barrister really looks like, he looks EXACTLY like an older version of Jay Hernandez, the douchebag from HOSTEL.

It's funny that you slated Christian Bale for Dollar Bill...some of his friends noted an uncanny resemblance to Bale after seeing...AMERICAN PSYCHO.

TheShadowKnight, I can almost guarrantee that if Mike did submit this to This American Life or tried to get a movie made of TWBG, The Barrister would suddenly reappear out of nowhere and demand money. Once a prick, always a prick.

LOL!!

Unless there is a defamatory statement i.e., MB slanders him, would he be due any money? The ironic thing would be if Barrister reads all of this and gets the idea to contact someone and then sells his version of the story.

I agree with you though, Mike L., that there might be a legal battle to fight or production might be shut down. Not so much for This American Life but rather for an independent movie production. If MB could get this on This American Life I would hope that he would be covered under NPR's umbrella.

NPR? I dunno...all that polite discussion and soft chuckling...

NPR? I dunno...all that polite discussion and soft chuckling...

Think David Sedaris, not Terry Gross.
This could be your SantaLand Diaries.