Good Games NYc (photo courtesy of Kevin An)
March 15, 2019 By Meghan Sackman
A new tabletop game store has opened on Broadway, replacing a similar game store that closed last month.
Good Games NYC opened at 42-11 Broadway last weekend under new management, replacing The Geekery. The establishment is now owned by Astoria resident and lifelong gamer Kevin An, along with two business partners.
The store will sell many of the same items that The Geekery offered, including collectible card games, board games, and role-playing games. The establishment, unlike The Geekery, will offer more games for children and for less-experienced gamers. It does not sell video games.
One of the store’s more popular games, according to An, is Magic: The Gathering, a strategy card game that involves battles between wizards that use spells or artifacts, found on cards, to defeat their opponents.
Other popular games include Pandemic, a cooperative game where cards inform players of diseases that have wiped out certain regions and players have to work together to eradicate them; and Egricola, a European board game where players are farmers and work to expand their farms and feed their families.
The shop, which has weekly gaming tournaments scheduled on its website’s calendar, sells its games in the front of the store and has an ‘open play’ section in the back where there is space for up to 50 gamers at a time.
“We want to make sure that all players still have somewhere to play; a space they can feel comfortable,” An said.
Employees are also available to teach customers how to play a game prior to purchase, as a way to encourage new gamers to get interested.
“We offer help for people who don’t necessarily know where to begin,” An said of his gaming shop.
The store, just like the Geekery, wants its focus to be tabletop games.
“Video games are great too, but when you’re playing a board game you have to interact with people and use strategy to work together,” An said. “Even if you’re playing a video game online and speaking to people, you’re usually still solitary. These games encourage critical thinking.”
The new shop will also be participating in the Shop Small Astoria Spring Retail Crawl, a Spring sale promotion with 17 participating businesses that will take place from March 22 to the 24.
Customers receive a “passport” that gets signed by each participating store they buy items from. Customers with signatures from five or more stores are entered into a chance to win gift cards from all participating stores ($400 in value).
Customers with eight or more stores win a “swag bag” with goodies and coupons to participating stores and other local Astoria bars and restaurants. Good Games NYC has contributed a $30 gift card and logo pins and other merchandise to the prize.
Good Games NYC is open seven days a week: 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. on from Monday to Friday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays; and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.
(Photo courtesy of Kevin An)
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6 Comments
What ever happened to that cute little Asian girl that worked there?
She is pretty cute.
I think the age of game stores is just about over. I see this business closing in about a year.
I hope you’re wrong about that!
Board and card games are as popular as ever. Whether or not this business survives isn’t an indication of the health of the genre as a whole.
There are plenty of thriving game stores around the country. The Geekery HQ itself was around for three years before this change of ownership, and the place was always packed for events.
The Compleat Strategist has been open for 40 years.