I live in a town that has no local FGS. We normally play at somebody's house, but when I go to tournaments, I assess the store to see how well I think it supports gameplay in order to help me decide if I will be back. Some just stick a spot in the back of the store with folding tables and others are really good with tables made for miniatures and spaced out as a dedicated shop for games.
What are your experiences?
What is the worst and best places you've played at?
It's nice to have a clean well-lighted space.
I'll play this game anywhere I can fit a mat and a cup of coffee.
But my favorite so far has been a couple local bars that have been very welcoming to a few games.
I've never played a game in a store. I play in my basement, or at a friend's house.
There's always good beer and good company. +1, would recommend.
So far, I play at home far more often than not. I've taken mats and minis to a couple of other houses to play with friends/family, and I have played at one tournament as part of a gaming con. I'm in the process of assessing a few stores to decide if I want to start hauling minis with me out of town, since I'm starting to make road trips to Denver more often. Might as well have something fun to do while I'm there instead of just sitting around in a hotel when I'm not busy.
My thinking is to look and see if the gaming area looks spacious enough to avoid tripping over other gamers, and to feel secure that materials brought along to the store will be safe while I'm distracted with the game. It'll help if I can get some feel for the people that play in the stores' X-wing events, so I know if its a group of dedicated meta tourney players or somewhat more casual, friendly gamers. (I suspect that season may play into that part; players will probably be more laid back and experimental when they aren't prepping for store championships or regionals....)
In my area there is a game store with a basement area with tables dedicated for gaming and decent group of folks to play with. Plus they stock the product for sale. So, I've been fortunate to have somewhere to go and game.
I run tournaments at my FLGS - I started doing it because I wanted more people to play with.
The guys at the Dice Saloon were incredibly accommodating when I first approached them. We've worked together to create a space that can now fit 32 player with a decent amount of room, and given the floor space premium you pay in the UK, it's impressive)
When I wanted to start streaming games, they stepped up again, helping with the infrastructure to make it happen. It's not perfect, but we've started streaming our weekly games nights, usually fitting in at least 2 matches a session, and covering tournaments as well.
Compare that to when I first started playing this game in a pub where the tables weren't wide enough, and the lighting was rubbish, well, I think we've got a winner on our hands!
The best (only) local option is a large stock room for a comic book shop which doubles as a game room. The bathroom is always out of order, there are puddles indoor when it rains, and it smells of primates and mold. It's actually pretty much like what I imagine a Rebel base would be like.
I try to make up for the low quality of the space by organizing fun events and a friendly attitude.
I mostly play at my local gaming club, the Regional Peterborough Gaming Society, or at home. The RPGS has a lot of space, which is currently under used. The bi-monthly tabletop nights usually have two to four tables of X-Wing in the hall of the community centre we hire, but we could easily fit a lot more in. I recently attended a small store tournament at the Hobbit Hole in Chatteris. Lovely bunch of people and I had a great time, but the shop is in an old building and is rather cramped. There's a very nice cafe just down the road though.
Once of the nicest gaming stores I have been to is Meeple Madness in Braselton, GA.
As you can see, it is well lit, plenty of gaming space, and had many (300?) demo games to pick from and more than adequate space. They were well supplied with items like sleeves for the cards and snacks were reasonably priced. Staff was very accommodating. It is close to my daughter's school, so I didn't mind the drive for the tournament.
Board game stores with table top spaces allowing you to play games you just bought tends to have the best set up. Even if they don't sell the product if they have the space you can set it up and if the owner/manager thinks he can make a profit off of X-wing he will still continue to put them in stock. However you will have to make do with all of the MTG players. Say what you wan't about MTG, Wizards of the Coast has made that a lifeline for most table-top hobby shops. Without MTG, many would have gone under.
Now if only we can make X-wing the nah never-mind, I don't want to deal with type 2 and a
new
rereleased ship every 2 months for X-wing. Let Star Wars Destiny do that with level up cards and what not.