Surviving the Crazy Times: Exploring Gaming in Denver
2009 February 12
This past weekend was a great weekend for Dante & I, as we finally got back into playing a game that doesn’t involve computers and actually involved roleplaying.
Friday night saw us huddled around someone else’s dinner table, rolling up new characters and getting our feet wet in a new campaign. Dante & I have had very minimal exposure to 4E, and our two new gamers (one of Dante’s co-workers and his wife) had not played the new edition but both had lots of RPG experience. It took awhile to get through the character creation, and our combat took awhile as everyone got used to their new characters and their abilities. But we didn’t let the delays hamper our good time. It was so much fun; there is nothing quite like sitting around, rolling some dice and discussing how best to get rid of those pesky kobolds.
On Saturday, still floating on our gaming high from Friday night, Dante & I made the 45 minute trip to Englewood to visit a gaming shop. I had heard good things about Bonnie Brae Hobby Shop through the Gamer Girls surveys, and needing a FLGS, I decided I would at least decide if it was worth the long-ish drive.
It’s a great store. We came in the back door (there being no open parking spots out front, we opted for the spacious parking lot in the back) and were immediately welcomed by the sounds of a couple of guys playing a CCG (not sure which one, but that doesn’t matter). I told Dante that at that moment, it felt like coming home.
They had a lot of new stuff and a lot of good, used stuff. I was very excited just to see one entire wall of bookshelves full of games, including many, many classics. In addition to all the other RPG-related items, they had hobby supplies (model kits, etc). It was a wonderful experience, and while I might not make the trip every week, it will definitely be on my list of places to revisit.
This weekend (Thurs through Sun) is GenghisCon XXX here in Denver. Given that it’s also Valentine’s Day this weekend, we’re not planning on spending the weekend at the convention, but I’m going to drive down on Friday and see what’s what.
If any of our readers out there have a FLGS on the northern/northwestern side of Denver, we are still looking for someplace closer that doesn’t involve fighting our way through the traffic (ie. people) at the FlatIron mall.
Valhalla’s Game Center in Wheatridge is the most NW store I know of – though I haven’t been in the last year or so since I moved to the SE corner of town.
Stupid Ranger, you happen to be only about 20 blocks away from the best store for RPG materials in all of Colorado. It's called Black & Read, and is at 80th and Wadsworth, on the southwest corner. They're also a great used book store and used record store. But best of all, they have RPG books from current and classic RPGs dating back 3 decades. They don't have any room for in-house gaming, because their inventory overflows the extensive shelves onto the floors.
http://www.blackandread.net
In that same strip mall is also La Patisserie Francaise, which is a great place to pick up pastries for the gaming group:
http://www.lapatbakery.com
And it's also close to Vitamin Cottage (the best locally owned health-oriented grocery around) and Novo Coffee (locally owned coffee shop with occasional live music and seated massage, plus free wifi).
Oh, and I wanted to thank you for pointing out that Bonnie Brae Hobbies still exists. When it disappeared from its age-old location in the Bonnie Brae neighborhood (hence the name) on University Blvd, I assumed the worst – that they’d gone under. I’m glad to hear they just moved to Broadway.
Thanks for the info! I now have some options to investigate! 🙂
I’d also like to hear of one. Valhalla’s is good, as is Black and Read. Attactix is even further south but is also excellent. But the north end of Denver metro needs some game love.