"Game store update from Denver" Topic

I made a little tour this weekend and found out some interesting news (at least to me).

As some of you know the Denver area has lost two major games stores in the last year Attactics and Valhalla's.

I stopped in a Bonnie Brae in Englewood and they have reorganized and have also opened the lower level for gaming.

Colpar Hobbies East has moved to a new location and both East and West have join in the Hobby Town family for purchasing support. I was in Colpar West and they have no plans to consolidate the two shops.

Finally, Myth Placed Treasures has some on-site gaming and a very up to date stock.

All in all I think the FLGS in Denver are doing well.

Vince

I used to love Bonnie Brae, but I went there primarily to find old, OOP stuff. They didn't carry much in the way of new games (this was back int he late '90s). I'm glad to hear they're still around and showing signs of rejuvenation!

Colpar was a great place to get modelline supplies, as I'm sure it still is.

Glad to hear game stores aren't a vanished breed in the Mile High City!

- Shawn.

Unfortunately there is a huge hole in Aurora because of Attactix closing many gaming groups have really struggled to find a new place to call home.

Bonnie Brae was an incredibly retro always found a deal shop even when I was going there in the 80's! Glad to hear it's still kicking.

Shame to hear about Attactix.. only made it there once but it was a helluva nice shop for wargamers.

There no doubt that Attactix was a major loss, however, they were in decline for years.

From my experience this weekend, I would say that Bonnie Brea is positioning themselves to fill the gap.

Vince

I think joining the Hobby Town franchise has more to do with getting product knowledge into other hobby categories that a store may not be familiar with. I am not sure there is extra buying power there? My experience from talking to gaming store s is that Hobby Town is great for getting set up but not necessarily the best choice when buying your initial stock fill for a store. More than one Hobby Town store has sold off miniatures, as an example, because they didn't buy what sells. Heck, I remember a Dallas area store selling off its FoW items at 40% off because of little area interest. It might have to do with lack of gaming space at the store too…

Hobby Towns have been great with remote control, train, models and toys (for lack of a better term) They have not been as great in the miniature gaming arena IMO. But this may have more to do with only seeing stores based in Texas, Mid-Atlantic and Gulf South areas.

I used to travel a whole lot and I would stop at the local FLGS every change I could and Attactix was amoung the top stores I'd ever seen. Too bad it's gone.

The Hobby Towns in Denver and Colorado Springs (especially) have always been very miniature gaming friendly. The shops in the Springs had so many hardcore gamers working there that you were bound to find what you were looking for and, better than that, someone who could point you to cool new stuff.

Haven't been there in a decade or so, though, so things may have changed.

- Shawn.

Thanbk you all for the positive comments on Attactix. Bill and I tried hard to listen to what our customers wanted, and get it for them. Sadly, since I have been stationed in Germany, the economy and many other factors finally saw us have to close the doors.

Bonnie Brea is run by a group of great folks. So is Colpar. Bonnie Brea was owned by a distributor, Four Aces (or in the phonebook, their listing was "AAAAces", and used the store to sell off old stock of dead lines. Since they sold to locals, they were very careful not to sell anything that was not offered to the other stores first. Doug and his sister were really great to work with.

I was in Colpar in May and could have spent a small fortune in plastics! (Despite being a wargamer, I started out being a plastic modeller. The hobbiests in Denver are really blessed. With Caboose Hobbies for train stuff, you can find products from all around the world in Denver.

I am sorry to hear that Valhalla's are gone too. Even though a competitor, it's sad to see another shop have to close.

As I reach the end of my tour (in Feb next year), we now have a great start of a great gaming group here in Stuttgart. We are beginning to do things with local German gamers and planning to make a few cons in Germany, soon.

Best wishes to all our old customers and friends! Its nice to be remembered and recognized for our efforts to know so many great folks and try to make them happy.

v/r
Tom Dye