Build your perfect FLGS

I am going to repost this thread at a better hour than 3AM and see if it gets more traction.

So Veeky Forums, tell me about your ideal FLGS. Both realistic and unrealistic expectations are welcome - I just want to hear what the ideal experience is for traditional gamers.

>What does the store look like? Simple, minimalist, and modern, or more themed? Would a store designed to look more medieval be cool, or just obscenely tacky and annoying?

>What kinds of games/items does it sell? Most game stores pair their wares up with comics, board games, trading cards, model train stuff, or children's toys is order to generate enough traffic to stay afloat. Which of these are best, or none at all? What if it were more normie-targeted merch like geek-lite books, t-shirts, Dr. Who / Star Wars stuff, etc.? What if it had LARP or Ren fair type stuff?

>What types of events does it host, if any? The usual Magic drafts are a given, but what are some things you'd like to see but don't? Someone who comes in one week to teach calligraphy? Local comic artists?

>Normie traffic ok, or would that be bad? Most game stores are looking to target a niche crowd and don't really succeed in converting new people to the hobbies. Would the presence of more bookstore-type normie traffic be welcome or unwelcome?

>Why would you go there to game / hang out / RP instead of using the internet or your friend's house? Under what conditions would you pay for a membership, and how much would you be willing to pay per month for it?

The store should look modern but have a slightly tacky and whimsical look on the outside (maybe have the area around the sign mocked up to look like castle battlements and have a playful dragon on it). This will catch people attention but the interior will show we are business.

>What kinds of games/items does it sell? Most game stores pair their wares up with comics, board games, trading cards, model train stuff, or children's toys is order to generate enough traffic to stay afloat. Which of these are best, or none at all? What if it were more normie-targeted merch like geek-lite books, t-shirts, Dr. Who / Star Wars stuff, etc.? What if it had LARP or Ren fair type stuff?

Merchandise like shirts and posters near the front, card games are behind the counter. Books and magazines will be on the wall near the general merch and leads into the board game section. From the boardgame section there will be the RPGs section with the expensive wargames material on the wall nearby. Looping around and back towards the register will be the minis and terrain stuff as before reaching the end of the counter where the dice is sold as well. All the way in the back near the bathroom is the Capcom D&D machine. Behind the counter is a large play area with 4 private rentable rooms.

Magic the Gathering tournaments, D&D and Pathfinder nights, Boardgame Sundays and wargame nights as well. Beyond that people can rent a table to present anything related to the hobby/industry in general.

Normie traffic is perfect! It helps make sure that I can rotate out old merchandise with new stuff since the "moms" and such will want fun games for their kids.

The place is well furnished, has a reward system (Every $20 spent, you $1 dollar credit, max $50 credit), plus membership is only $5/month and they get reduced rates for renting the play areas. Free Wi-Fi (with membership) and a jury-rigged game machine in the back to entertain as well as tournaments and general game nights to make it cozy and fun.

>Appearance
Probably moderately sized and relatively bookstore-ish. A little bit of theming here and there, especially near the front desk, but not something pervasive and set throughout the entire store. A little here and there is less tacky and more prideful.

>Merchandise
Various card games (yes, MtG can exist peacefully with others; although personally I'd keep YGO to a minimum), board games designed for multiple players, minis, and the ubiquitous RPG books. I'd say the majority of attention should go to cards and board games, while minis and RPG books are in smaller stock- the kind of thing that could be ordered on a personal basis if you're looking for something less standard. The reason I say go heavy on the board games is because I fully support the idea of normie merch- just try not to play to any one fandom or you'll get a shitfest, and unless you're willing to deal with children keep minecraft the fuck out. Shirts, those idiotic vinyl chibi whatevers, anything that's selling. LARP or Ren fair type stuff if there's a market for it there, I guess.

>Events
FNM is always going to be FNM. If the store has multiple rooms, you can have concurrent events. I'd suggest having one day a week for MtG that isn't Draft or Standard (EDH, Cube, Modern, whatever), a day for your next most popular card game/games, a day where people can come in and play board games either they own or run as trials by the store to generate interest (perfect for normies), and the rest of your days can be split up with either no special events, alternating special events (say, Cube draft, then something non-MtG, alternating each week), etcetera. Keeps things fresh. Days that are kept open for random things like comic artists and such, and are otherwise just "come in and play", is a great way to handle it.

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>Normie traffic
Normie traffic is fine, but normies will be normies. Have a sign out front that explicitly states that children are to be supervised at all times, and disruptive children will be removed from the store along with their parents if need be. Selling games does not mean you're a store for kids, and god knows you aren't a fucking day-care. Obviously some games and events will be more kid-friendly, but the parents should still be parents.

>Why would I go
MtG events, and probably the board game nights. I'm a poorfag atm and probably will be for a good while yet, so cheap drafts, cube drafts, EDH events, and a free shot at games I've always wanted to try would be a big draw.

If I was to purchase a membership, I'd expect it to be no more than 5 bucks a month, less if there aren't any discounts/store perks/points programs/whatever. Members should be able to reserve a space or, preferrably, a seperate room for whatever they want (mini games, RP, private MtG stuff, whatever) freely. (As long as no one's reserved it, it's fine to use, but members should still give at least a few hour's notice to the store, due to other members possibly wanting the room).

A points program would be enough incentive to make that 5 bucks a month. The membership itself wouldn't add that many points for discounts and free stuff, but each purchase should go towards discounts and raffles and the like. Membership obviously isn't mandatory to go to any of the events or anything, it's just an extra perk for those who want to do more than the events and buy product at a reasonable level.

I'd purchase one so long as the price is low enough- and if the store is close enough to be worth wanting to "rent" time for the room, that would add to the value greatly.

I'd also keep a few drink/snack machines around, wifi (make it free, for the normies), and a schedule showing events two weeks to a month in advance at the front desk/on a display.

Thanks for this input, guys. Let me float a couple more ideas and see what you think of them:

Excessively-themed stores seem to be looked down upon, as it could make the place a bit too "Medieval Times" or Disneyland instead of a business. What if, however, the lower level of the building were modeled into a sort of medieval-style tavern?

A store needs empty space for gaming, which is part of the problem for them. Space not filled with merch but still paid for by rent is a problem, so it has to generate traffic even if it's empty. Usually this means a bunch of card table or game tables and chairs pushed into the back or in the center of the room. If it was themed more for the Ren fair and LARP crowd, though, it could be used both for gaming and RPGs as well as for the LARPing types. Would that cross the line and make the place too tacky? I'm thinking wooden furniture, stone floors, stuff on the walls, that kind of stuff.

Another plus might be the ability to host things like BBQ catering - you hire a guy to BBQ meat during events and charge admission.

Reading these lists makes me realize just how good I have it living close to Fantasy Flight's own HQ and game center. So much game space with a massive collection of demo games. They even have a kitchen. Between that and all the people gaming there, it's pretty close to perfect outside of the fact that they sell at retail value almost 100% of the time with no rewards system or anything.

The most important to me is play area and demo games. This is stuff online retailers cannot offer, it is the number one reason to me why game stores should exist.

Other stuff includes:
Store should have a clean clear look. Decoration can be great and posters of games can advertise while adding atmosphere, but don't go crazy on it. People (especially larger people) need clear walk ways and people need to not get lost.

Professional staff is a huge plus. When we requested mats for our fan made Armada nights, the staff immediately went and got several. Fire assholes, and anyone who is wasting time on the clock when there's something they could be doing should be fired. I have worked many minimum wage jobs and understand this quite well.

I'm sure there's horror stories of it, but I actually don't find children that big of a problem and normies in general are often the least of your concerns. It's THAT GUYS who more often than not need moderating. Children are more often than not accompanied by adults, and any adults going to a gamestore, especially to play boardgames with their kids, are generally responsible adults with pretty tame kids. It's when you start advertising yourself as a toystore that it gets crazy, and I don't find that much of an overlap necessary with what you need to stock.

I could see themeing work, but keep practicality in mind. Keep the area players can and can't use very clear, with a large emphasis on "can use". This means nothing cluttering the floor that a person might ask the question "can I move this?" Keep tables and chairs light and square to encourage people to move them around should a game require a large space. They need to modularly fit together to suit any kind of game. The main reason people look down on themeing is that no one wants a giant piece of decoration on the floor that makes people awkwardly walk around it or leave them wishing there was a table where that decoration is.

Those Guys are definitely worse, but in general a store owner has a lot more power in dealing with them. It really depends solely on where you're located and what you sell (YGO and Pokemon draw a lot of children, who can be just as bad as Those Guys unless their parent is also into games, responsible, or whatever. If you're close to, say, a grocery store, the temptation is there to just leave an obnoxious kid there for an hour or two. Used to happen a lot at my own FLGS.)

If we're talking about multiple floors, having a heavily themed area and a less-themed area sounds like a good idea, but remember that space is your number one concern. Cluttering up valuable space with props won't go well even if you DO have a LARP crowd. As long as you focus more on filling wall space than floor and table space with atmospherics, though, you should be fine.

Food catering is a pretty huge thing. I know an LGS that I used to live near would have their board game event once every other week at a local restraunt (was less cringey than it sounds), so bringing food in could be hugely popular.

This is pretty true. Functionality comes before theming, but it's okay to have heavy theming if you're functional.

Themeing is not inherently bad, it's just hard while keeping in mind. Keep your decorations as either functional furniture or wall decorations that are out of peoples way, and for the love of god don't let this sacrifice lighting. Players need light. DnD taverns are often associated with dim lighting, and you can have like old timey looking lanterns on the ceiling and walls, but have some good primary light sources in addition to that so no one feels uncomfortable or is struggling to read anything.

>game cafe pricing model without a table fee
>serves beer
>18+ nights/events
>two divided gaming areas, one for quiet gaming only
>staff that aren't dejected teenagers/manchildren
>an atmosphere and clean bathroom that women guests don't immediately reject
>prize-supported BattleCON/LCG tourneys

They don't even have to sell any games honestly, I'm just there for the table-space and the occasional quiet beer with friends