In this Game Corner I would like to talk about something that is very important to me as a consumer of board games: How a LGS displays their games. Some shops do a superb job of organizing and keeping everything in a logical order. These shops are awesome and I will spend lots of money at them. Some other shops do things that are … questionable at best. Let’s go over the main things I find important about displaying board games at a shop.
It is like a candy store full of delicious cardboard and plastic!!
General Organization: Whether this be by publisher, genre, or weight (whatever that means) I like to see a shop that has their merchandise in order. When I am helping a customer at my FLGS it makes it easier to show games off of the same type. “Oh, you like Agricola? Let me show you all the other Euro’s we have by Uwe Rosenburg.” When I am visiting a store I like to be able to see what games of each type they have quickly and concisely. Having a section for new games and old classics is also helpful. People like being able to find things quickly it makes them feel smart to be able to locate something they are looking for. Also having your games organized can reduce your time searching for product as an employee.
While these categories are seemingly random they are actually in a very proper order! Horror comes from playing Catan and then you can move to better Eruos!
Physical Location: I prefer the board game section of a store ( if the store is not entirely devoted to board games) to all be in the same location. This plays into the first aspect and makes me feel like the shop has general organization. This is something that can be a problem for some shops (my FLGS included). Size and layout of a shop can easily affect a business’ ability to organize physically. I believe it makes it easier to immerse a board gamer in your shops selection if they are all in the same place and do not feel like they have to search your entire shop for more stuff they like. While there is merit to having your shop set up like a bargain store or thrift shop…if you are one of those stores, but a real hobby shop selling new games should take some pride in making sure everything is easy to see (and thus easy to sell)
I like this place because I know where I can go to try and find Dead of Winter (which I hope I can buy before it becomes irrelevant)!
Space Utilization: This is one of the aspects of display that I think uses the most common sense. The main thing that gets me here is shops that have huge front windows. DO NOT put out games to SELL in a display at the front of your shop if that very same window is pelted by the sun for hours during the day. It truly frustrates me to see games with faded boxes that shops are selling for full price. You cannot sell damaged COLLECTIBLE product for full price, it is asinine. If you have a large open window use it to show off the lay out of your store, use it to show product that you can still sell for full price if it sits in the sun all day (nothing I can really think of in this category), or use it for something creative and new. If you have wall space at the back of the shop perhaps you should move you board games back there. I just very much dislike seeing sun-stained board games.
The box on the left is the original color. The box on the right is the what the color looks like after you let a box sit in a store window for a few months. BAD
Miscellaneous Other Stuff: I personally also like seeing board games presented as a library (bookshelves from left to right , as if you were looking at the bindings) it makes me feel like I am a scholar looking for the correct tome to perform a spell of entertainment, but I digress. There is something to be said about the “As Seen on Tabletop” section of a store. These usually help stores seem relevant. Since Tabletop is a show that is widely watched and people tend to like to buy/see/partake in the pop culture like that. Even if they do not buy the games they will think your shop is staying connected to the gaming world.
That is all I have today folks. Like every time, make sure to tell me how wrong I am or mention anything I forgot and thanks again for reading!
EDIT: Some People asked about what stores these were, below is a list:
Image One: Millennium Games Rochester, NY (http://www.millenniumgames.com/board-games/)
Image Two: Meeples Games Seattle, WA (http://meeplesgames.com/)
Image Three: Great Escape Games Sacramento, CA (www.greatescapegames.com)
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