With its lively crowd and good selection, Total Escape Games is so close to being a great game store.
I’ll start with the positives: they have a wide selection of merchandise. For RPGs, this includes a lot of the standard trad stuff and some trindie fare, but an apparently rotating selection of indie RPGs as well. (I picked up a copy of Luka Rejec’s Longwinter, and I recall debating whether to finally shell out for a physical copy of The Quiet Year.) Unfortunately, the vibe at the shop seems a bit less welcoming and inclusive than the selection. The times I’ve been in, the crowd seems to be a lot of (male) gamers who know each other and staff who mostly talk amongst themselves. Folks seem like they’re having a good time– which is good!– but it doesn’t seem like the sort of place that folks who aren’t regulars are actively cultivated. (And, unfortunately, I’ve heard from locals that the shop might not be terribly welcoming to women, either.) Maybe I’m wrong, but it reminded me of the game shops that I– a delicate, budding story gamer– always felt out of place in as a kid.