There is a “hobby” store not far from my house that I wanted to check out and see what kind of stuff they had…I expected models and art supplies, maybe some collectable stuff. I had never heard of Warhammer, but it took up about half the store. And there were multiple tables set up in the back with people playing who-knows-what. I was definitely a fish out of water, so I did the exact same thing as PSXer…look around, feign interest, bolt for the door.
In Las Vegas, and probably other cities where gambling is legal, “gaming” means “gambling”. So gaming supplies, in Las Vegas, means poker chips and cards and dice, but only six siders.
And I don’t really use “gamer” to describe someone who plays video games, either. And I DO play video games as well as tabletop games.
True enough. It all depends on your personal context.
A few years ago, a store opened up near me called “Specialty Game”. Odd name, but I thought maybe it carried RPGs, wargames, etc. Nope. They supply unusual meats (pheasant, venison, etc.) to restaurants. 
Unfortunately, no–it would be awfully convenient for me to have a local LARP supply store, as I’m the props master for my local organization. I’ve never seen a brick-and-mortar store dedicated to such things, although there are some online businesses that focus on it to one degree or another. Mostly, though, we have to make (or improvise) our own stuff.
The staff at my favorite local game store (which is also the Friendly Local Comic Shop) is mostly female. They seem to get along just fine. They’re definitely not posers, though–they can match trivia and rules-lawyering with any other nerd I know.
As to the store name in the OP–I would expect a tabletop gaming store, with the primary focus on wargaming and minis, and a secondary focus on RPGs and CCGs. I don’t find it misleading at all. That doesn’t mean the OP is a fool, just that he lacked context.
PSXer, I look forward to your thread “what shall I do with my life now that I’m approaching graduation”.
Fantastic! I eagerly await your next exciting adventure!
“They’re definitely not posers, though” is a pretty good example of why I posted what I did. Girls/women/chicks are often (silently at best, or flat out told at worst) basically assumed to be a poser (or just there because of their boyfriend/husband) until they “prove” otherwise. This doesn’t happen nearly as often with any guy who goes into a gaming shop.
And I know that there are girl gamers; I am one. 
I also game with a majority-female group, all of whom kick ass and know a hell of a lot. And all have had to deal with attitudes and preconceptions about female gamers.
I don’t have any other exciting adventures. But this is the rest of my shopping day: I found the mall after driving around lost for 10 minutes, and I went to this collectible store, which, according to a friend, sold Laserdiscs. So I went there to look for Laserdiscs, but they only had a few, like 10 in a box. They had some I would have liked to have bought, like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Back to the Future 2/3 (I already have 1), but they were too expensive. I’m not gonna pay $15 for Raiders, even though I like it, as I already own it on VHS, and I have never paid that much for a laserdisc. Next weekend or sometime I will go to the flea market to hunt for more laserdiscs. The store also had a lot of CED movies and a lot of movie soundtrack albums, which look deceptively like Laserdiscs to the untrained eye, so maybe that’s what my friend was talking about. But besides that the store was pretty cool. They had a lot of action figures and old stuff. They had stacks of old Life Magazines and stuff. I bought the Life Magazine from 1964 in which they reprinted Lee Harvey Oswald’s diary and I paid $18 for it. I now am beginning to regret that decision, for that is a lot of money for me to spend at once, and looking on eBay now, I see some for less than that. But also I don’t like dealing with the hassle of eBay and shipping and everything. I am impatient and like to have things now. And I have been looking for any of the Oswald Life magazine issues for a while now, and, never having found any yet, I was very excited to see one and bought it eagerly. And I have no idea how much something like that is worth. I have bought laserdiscs for cheaper before, and so I was hesitant to pay that much, but I had no idea how much I should pay for the magazine. Also I got home and read the magazine, and was disappointed when I read it because it was just the diary, which I had already read, reprinted with no extra article or anything, although it did have a couple pictures I hadn’t seen before. I had more fun looking at the old ads and stuff. Every other ad is liqour or cigarrettes it seems. Then as I was leaving the mall I bought some peanut butter girl scout cookies. Maybe next week when I go to the flea market I will have more exciting stories.
but the point is, did I pay too much for that magazine?
What about theater supply stores? Wouldn’t they have at least some of the things you need? Of course I’ve never been in one, but LARP is really just improvised acting, within a setting.
Because I like you, I went ahead and found this auction for a Raiders of the Lost Ark laserdisc for only $2.50 at the Buy It Now price on eBay! No need to thank me, just the thought of you enjoying a fine laserdisc movie instead of VHS is thanks enough.
And yes, you paid way too much for that magazine. If you go to a grocery store or gas station, you can get a variety of brand new magazines for only a few dollars which will have topical ads and articles. I like the ones about cars and trucks, because they often have pictures of cars and trucks in them.
I am not gonna buy anything on eBay because it is a hassle and I have to deal with shipping and everything. I don’t like waiting for things to ship, for I am impatient. Also I don’t have it set up to buy things on eBay, only Mom can do it. I can’t ask her to buy things for me, for she will just tell me to get a job. Digigng through old boxes at the flea market to find laserdiscs is funner than finding them on eBay anywayy.
Problems with that auction: it is the full screen version, and the shipping is $5.25 too much for one movie, which is another reason I avoid buying laserdiscs on eBay, unless I’m buying a lot of like 10 or something, because then shipping is more reasonable
We get some things from places like that, but mostly makeup and/or bits and pieces to make our own stuff. We’re a combat LARP, so a lot of our gear has to handle rough treatment, and our weapons have to be safe. Theatrical gear tends to be too flimsy and/or too expensive for our purposes. (Though I did do rather well picking up props at a theater’s moving sale once.)
Guilty. Worse, I dress for work, and look like the suburban soccer mom I am (well, neither of my kids play soccer, and I don’t drive a minivan - but I do tend to look the part). I am SO “one of these things is not like the others” if I step into a gaming store.
I only saw one girl and like 20 guys at Gamer’s Armory
I’d expect dice of varying shapes, miniatures, D&D books and modules, Magic cards, maybe some Dragonlance-type novels or comic books…you know, all the basic nerdboy accessories.
That’s a good point, I had just assumed it was free shipping because once when I bought something on the Internet it had free shipping so why wouldn’t other sites follow suit? I guess they don’t want my business.
Plus flea markets are a great place to meet girls as long as you aren’t an ageist bigot.
PSXer, I think you might have had my high school English teacher, for she taught me that it was perfectly fine to use “for” as a conjunction. She was right, but you rarely see it.
We have the gaming “casinos” here in S FLA, too. Every once in a while, you see several old folk come into the local game store and start looking for the slots or poker machines. We let them know it’s not that kind of gaming.
I’ve been to this particular store, and, as my user name indicates, I knew exactly what was in there. The owners are very nice folks, and if you’re interested in board games, and live near the Raleigh, NC area, you’d do far worse than driving over to check the store out.
I always use “for” to translate “gar” in Greek and now it has crept into my English. The same reason why I say “lest” and “whom”.
I don’t doubt that the owners are nice folks, I just have no interest in these types of games.