I visited the local Books a Million and Barnes & Noble locations this week, and I witnessed a shrinkage to half the volume of RPG bookshelf space i witnessed in past years; and an exclusive focus upon D&D 5E and Pathfinder. Most of the Pathfinder books were for 2E, with a few pocket editions for 1E.
No shelf space given to alternative RPGs.
The only FLGS I can think of, is pretty much the same way now. There was another FLGS, but they closed their doors this year.
No in person exposure to other RPGs.
It's an unfortunate effect of having a physical store. You only got so much room for inventory so you have to order what you think will sell. Like it or not, D&D 5e and PF2 are the titles that move off the shelves. I guess the only way we can make them change their minds is going in to inquire about other game systems to let them know there is an interest.
I've never seen a chain bookstore carry more than D&D and, maybe, PF.
There are some independent stores that only carry popular stuff, mostly D&D and PF but perhaps a few other systems. Often these stores carry MtG and board games and maybe comics.
But real FLGS that carry a wide variety or RPGs are rare and should be treasured and supported. Luckily, my local FLGS carries loads of different RPGs as well as military board games, the kind with the cardboard tokens and 100-page rule books. I buy from them whenever possible and it would suck to lose them.
In the glory days of the 80s and 90s, when most RPG companies went through distributors, you could find all sorts of stuff popping up in chain bookstores. I saw Star Wars, Star Trek, Call of Cthulhu, Champions, Runequest, Warhammer, and other things that I can't recall outside of the 'big names' like TSR and White Wolf.
Alas, those days have passed as the sun goes down into shadow. The last time I checked B&N, it was D&D/PF, with some Mutants & Masterminds and Zweihander. (Zweihander is being published and pushed by Andrews McNeel, one of the big publishers, so it punches above its weight class in that regard.)
Quote from: Jam The MF on July 27, 2022, 02:12:17 PM
I visited the local Books a Million and Barnes & Noble locations this week, and I witnessed a shrinkage to half the volume of RPG bookshelf space i witnessed in past years; and an exclusive focus upon D&D 5E and Pathfinder. Most of the Pathfinder books were for 2E, with a few pocket editions for 1E.
No shelf space given to alternative RPGs.
The only FLGS I can think of, is pretty much the same way now. There was another FLGS, but they closed their doors this year.
No in person exposure to other RPGs.
My BaM has both of those, some Vampire 5e, some Green Ronin Expanse books, Zweihander and Flames of Freedom, a Dark Eye book, and some Modiphous Star Trek books. Considering it's a small section, that's not too bad.
LAst was in a Barnes & Noble they were carrying a spread of games. A few had never heard of even. Mostly D&D and a few pathfinder and the rest was pretty random.
I went to a local game store in Lincoln, NE. I had to ask them to order a copy of Savage Worlds Adventure Edition. They didn't carry it
Not a book store. An actual gaming store.
Hardly anybody offers oddball stuff. Only the top selling stuff exists.
But, online sales means I can get weird stuff like Warbirds RPG, Dungeons and Delvers Dice Pool, Mini-6 Bare Bones, and Basic Fantasy with Equipment Emporium and Field Guide. Those last few are stupidly cheap to buy as well.
Quote from: weirdguy564 on July 27, 2022, 06:21:55 PM
I went to a local game store in Lincoln, NE. I had to ask them to order a copy of Savage Worlds Adventure Edition. They didn't carry it
Not a book store. An actual gaming store.
Hardly anybody offers oddball stuff. Only the top selling stuff exists.
But, online sales means I can get weird stuff like Warbirds RPG, Dungeons and Delvers Dice Pool, Mini-6 Bare Bones, and Basic Fantasy with Equipment Emporium and Field Guide. Those last few are stupidly cheap to buy as well.
The store that was Sci-fi City (and Enterprise 1701 before that) is rapidly paring down its RPG section to D&D with a bit of Traveller and Pathfinder. Everything else is stuffed into a dying aisle where it grows sun-faded and the covers are left to warp. They used to have a large Savage Worlds section, but separation from Sci-fi City doomed that. Now they have some remnants (ETU and Rifts mostly) but nothing new will be coming in.
The new emphasis is on CCGs and Warhammer...where the real money comes in.
If large bookstores have RPG material at all here, it'll be just DnD 5e and PF. It's been that way for a long time.
Before DnD 5e, they didn't even bother with DnD much.
Still, after saying that, we have lots of dedicated gaming stores that have a huge range of RPGs, card games, boardgames etc.
Many of them provide free or paid gaming space too.
Given how bad Pathfinder 2 is, I don't know why they'd stock it at all.
Quote from: Zelen on July 27, 2022, 09:06:17 PM
Given how bad Pathfinder 2 is, I don't know why they'd stock it at all.
Seems to be selling fine.
If you want to shop for non 5e/pathfinder game books you have to go online. Unless you can get to those one-in-a million game thores with a large selection.
I was in the Compleat Strategist in New York City last month and snagged some Lamentations Of The Flame Princess adventures as well as a book by Goodman Games.
They do a lot of online sales so you can check out what they have in stock.
Quote from: Mistwell on July 27, 2022, 09:36:08 PM
Quote from: Zelen on July 27, 2022, 09:06:17 PM
Given how bad Pathfinder 2 is, I don't know why they'd stock it at all.
Seems to be selling fine.
So are quarter pounders from McDonalds. Doesn't make em good.
If the bookstore doesn't carry Traveller, then it's not worth going there.
I noticed this at my FLGS too. They had maybe one or two small shelves dedicated to rpgs, mostly D&D5 and a tiny smattering of other fantasy and scifi rpgs that I don't recall. Everything else was board games and comics. They had more LGBT books than RPG books.
A couple friends of mine have been noticing Battletech sets and mini packs popping up at some Barnes and Nobles.
This does not disprove the OP's comment, though.
Quote from: Ghostmaker on July 28, 2022, 09:35:02 AM
A couple friends of mine have been noticing Battletech sets and mini packs popping up at some Barnes and Nobles.
This does not disprove the OP's comment, though.
I've seen the BattleTech stuff there, but it's shelved with the board games, not with the RPGs.
Mine was forced to close because of the unknown virus of unknown origin and it went broke.
Back in the early 90s I worked in a book store and whatever employee was assigned to a section had a lot of control over what was put there and what was spine out. I suspect Barnes & Noble keeps tighter control, but you might want to ask the manager why they stopped carrying other Games.
Quote from: GeekyBugle on July 28, 2022, 11:06:20 AM
Mine was forced to close because of the unknown virus of unknown origin and it went broke.
I'm still astonished our FLGS survived, though I had heard they basically did whatever they had to, to make ends meet. Deliver groceries, etc.
I'm glad they did, though.
Quote from: Svenhelgrim on July 27, 2022, 09:44:42 PM
If you want to shop for non 5e/pathfinder game books you have to go online. Unless you can get to those one-in-a million game thores with a large selection.
I was in the Compleat Strategist in New York City last month and snagged some Lamentations Of The Flame Princess adventures as well as a book by Goodman Games.
They do a lot of online sales so you can check out what they have in stock.
Thanks for mentioning them. I browsed their entire online inventory last night. I was curious what an FLGS in New York, might carry. They should certainly have a volume of customers there.
Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on July 28, 2022, 09:24:08 AM
They had more LGBT books than RPG books.
That seems a little bit odd, but I guess they know their customers.
Quote from: Ghostmaker on July 28, 2022, 12:38:59 PM
Quote from: GeekyBugle on July 28, 2022, 11:06:20 AM
Mine was forced to close because of the unknown virus of unknown origin and it went broke.
I'm still astonished our FLGS survived, though I had heard they basically did whatever they had to, to make ends meet. Deliver groceries, etc.
I'm glad they did, though.
You have to remember the difference in the market size too. RPGs are a niche hobby, even in México city this is so, now add to that the fact that here the hobby is way smaller than there.
If a FLGS has game tables for RPG play (and a Meetup group organizing events), those FLGS tend to have more RPGs.
AKA, if you want to see more RPGs on the shelf of your FLGS, then help them organize RPG events inside their store. Most FLGS have very little business / marketing sense and need an active gamer community around them to help them survive.
We have no bookstores in my town. Hastings moved in, drove them all out of business, then went bankrupt. And even if I want to buy a book off Amazon I still have to pay sales tax to my f—ing city government.
One of the two local game stores is a mile away from my house, but all they play is Magic cards and occasionally 5E. Basically they host the games that they sell.
Quote from: Mistwell on July 27, 2022, 09:36:08 PM
Quote from: Zelen on July 27, 2022, 09:06:17 PM
Given how bad Pathfinder 2 is, I don't know why they'd stock it at all.
Seems to be selling fine.
Pathfinder 2 is one of the biggest ironies in TTRPG games, since Pathfinder came about as a response to D&D 4th edition, but Pathfinder 2 is essentially a less interesting version of D&D 4th edition.
I'll grant that if what you want is a "mathematically balanced" game system, where it's impossible to break the underlying game math, then Pathfinder 2 is great.
If you want a roleplaying game where characters can differentiate themselves through unique mechanics, then another system might be better.
When Waldenbooks was the big store alternative to the local hobby shops their RPG section was tiny.
Quote from: Timothe on July 28, 2022, 08:57:20 PM
When Waldenbooks was the big store alternative to the local hobby shops their RPG section was tiny.
I remember Waldenbooks, from my childhood. I never had any money, and I didn't know anyone who played RPGs. I think i remember seeing some fantasy book covers in Waldenbooks, but I have no idea what they were?
Part of the problem may be that some B&N are smaller now in general. Last time I was at one they had phased out the upper level of the store totally.
Quote from: HappyDaze on July 28, 2022, 10:22:11 AM
I've seen the BattleTech stuff there, but it's shelved with the board games, not with the RPGs.
At mine it switches locations from time to time. Sometimes I see it in the RPG section but usually over with the board games.
Haven't seen a beginner box or AGOAC box there in a fair amount of time. Wolf's Dragoons lance and sometimes some blind boxes.
Stopped by the local B&N today, and it was lots of D&D, some Pathfinder and Starfinder and Zweihander, and that's it.
Lots of copies of Strixhaven. I wonder if it wound up not being the hit other D&D books have been.
Quote from: Jam The MF on July 27, 2022, 02:12:17 PM
I visited the local Books a Million and Barnes & Noble locations this week, and I witnessed a shrinkage to half the volume of RPG bookshelf space i witnessed in past years; and an exclusive focus upon D&D 5E and Pathfinder. Most of the Pathfinder books were for 2E, with a few pocket editions for 1E.
Yes.
Quote from: Shawn Driscoll on July 30, 2022, 05:05:47 PM
Quote from: Jam The MF on July 27, 2022, 02:12:17 PM
I visited the local Books a Million and Barnes & Noble locations this week, and I witnessed a shrinkage to half the volume of RPG bookshelf space i witnessed in past years; and an exclusive focus upon D&D 5E and Pathfinder. Most of the Pathfinder books were for 2E, with a few pocket editions for 1E.
Yes.
I heard that spoken in a Vorlon accent.
Quote from: Jam The MF on July 27, 2022, 02:12:17 PM
I visited the local Books a Million and Barnes & Noble locations this week, and I witnessed a shrinkage to half the volume of RPG bookshelf space i witnessed in past years; and an exclusive focus upon D&D 5E and Pathfinder. Most of the Pathfinder books were for 2E, with a few pocket editions for 1E.
No shelf space given to alternative RPGs.
The only FLGS I can think of, is pretty much the same way now. There was another FLGS, but they closed their doors this year.
No in person exposure to other RPGs.
That's a shame. My FLGS here in Orlando is open to all sorts of gaming, their shelves are fairly bursting with S&W, Pathfinder, 5e, and they get used 1e, 2e, and 3e stuff in from time to time as well. They recently found a haul of Holmes Basic D&D sets in shrinkwrap at a warehouse that was sold to them! Those went for $500 apiece!!! But for us mere mortals yeah they get some 1e and even OD&D oddities in from time to time. It's very cool.
As to the local Barnes & Noble I haven't been in a while, however, I have seen Black Blade OSRIC on the shelf (how odd it is to see my name in a book on a shelf in a major bookstore...), as well as their in house "version" of the Art & Arcana book (and the large boxed set). I think while it was a hot property they had the Stranger Things D&D adventure game but that hardly counts. By all accounts it's garbage. It may be different now, though.
EDIT:
Target sells some TTRPG stuff although it's just 5e, dice the starter set, and curiously some WH40k boardgame that has 5 different colored marines, the bad guy "miniatures" are flat counters.
Greetings!
I have one game store that is about 30 minutes from me, and is good about offering paints, miniatures, dice, game groups and gaming tables and events, though most of their actual RPG books are, of course, entirely dominated by D&D 5E. They have maybe one or two small shelves that offer other game books.
Another game store, about an hour away, I also dominated by D&D 5E, though they provide a few more shelves of other game books and systems.
As I play D&D 5E much of the time, such dynamics aren't really a problem for me. I have largely given up on expecting much from local game stores anymore. I can hop online, and look through an endless variety of game books, miniatures, paint, and dice--far more varied, thorough, and complete than any game store is going to provide. I have spent huge amounts of money buying game books, game dice, miniatures, paints, brushes, and other accessories from online shops and stores.
I don't expect much at all from a bookstore like Barnes & Noble, for example.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
I have five gamestores in my area. most of what is stocked is D&D 5e and Pathfinder 2e and Warhammer 40K with a small selection of other games. I run other games for them and people seem to enjoy my games but the stores must stock what sells.