I actually devoted an entire post or two a while back to this.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2010/09/reflecting-on-d-sometimes-you-cant-go.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2011/04/o-is-for-otherworlds-club.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2011/07/alas-borders.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2011/12/in-praise-of-your-flgs.html
My first game store was Waldenbooks in the Mall over in Springfield. Later Belobrajdic's Book Store closer to home also carried D&D books.
All these places have closed.
When I was in college I was privileged to be around when Castle Perilous first opened their doors. Bought most of my Ravenloft stuff there. Now I spend most of my time at Games Plus.
I started off at Waldenbooks, too--I wonder how many other gamers had only the book store in the mall to rely on?
ReplyDeleteGames Plus is a great store. But since I lived in Iowa, it was just too far away. But after I friend of mine took me to it while on a trip to Chicago in the mid-2000s, I'd make an annual "pilgrimage" there--often while coming back from the Medieval Congress in Kalamazoo.