Nostalgia Hit...

[Actionjick]

The worst part was you didn't even realize it...

Or possibly it was a good thing you didn't realize it.

 

[pwashington]

Moved around a bit growing up. I think I saw my first AH games at the local Toys R Us back in the mid-70's. In high school in the late 70's I used to drive over to Davenport, IA, with my lawn mowing and chores money and go to The Thinker's Emporium which carried Chess, D&D, and wargames. Bought the SL series there and played with my friends as schedules allowed. Played SL occasionally in college in the early 80's, and bought the ASL RB and modules as they came out. When living in Fayetteville, NC, in the 80's/early 90's, I used to go to The Hobbit hobby store for plastic models and ASL modules (I think I bought Paratrooper! there). Took a break from playing in the late 80's in to the 2000's but kept up on official modules. Ended up in northern VA in 2000. There was a Wizards of the Coast store in the Springfield, VA, mall (now Springfield Towne Center) which still had ASL modules in stock, and bought Gung Ho there. Eventually found out about a local store called Game Parlor (locations in Chantilly and Woodbridge) around 2008. The Chantilly location was where I got back in to the game via the DC Conscripts, although opponents were not always available. Also got hooked up with the Fredericksburg Fire Eaters (FFE) club which had more consistent monthly meetings (the DC Conscripts have since been reconstituted and now also meet monthly). I believe all of the brick and mortar stores noted above are out of business except for The Hobbit (and they no longer carry MMP products), so on-line retailers are (sadly) the only realistic option at this point. There are a couple of local game and comics stores in the area which have gaming table areas to host ASL get togethers, but I don't know that they have many, if any, ASL modules/components in stock. If I get a chance to travel to a larger city I'll always check to see if there are any local stores that would be worth a visit (any trips to the Raleigh area definitely include a trip to The Gamer's Armory). It was always fun to visit a store and see what was new, and get a chance to hold the box and read the description in person, but I guess now having things mostly on-line is a sign of the times. Fond memories.

 

[gorkowskij]

I pulled Squad Leader off the shelf at Toys R Us in Springfield, VA circa 1982 (age 11) and the kid beside me said, "That's a great game." I know he's still out there somewhere. Anyway, back home I struggled with the rules, but my precocious friend understood them so we played through every scenario of SL, Cross of Iron, Crescendo of Doom, and GI Anvil of Victory over the next four years or so. Took a while because we alternated several weeks of D&D and then several of SL, back and forth. We bought most of our wargames at a game store in Springfield Mall, and most of our RPG stuff at Craft Corner in Dale City, VA. I found the ASL rulebook and Beyond Valor in 1989. My friend and I only had time for a few ASL scenarios before we went off to separate colleges. After my freshman year, and too much gritty ROTC action, I recoiled at the sight of the Red Barricades map when I realized how much knee and elbow pain would follow from crawling through all that debris. So, I put ASL away for five years! It wasn't until my Navy shore tour in VA Beach that I returned to the hobby circa 1996 via the Campaign Headquarters in Norfolk where a fellow ASLer answered my add for opponents wanted. Lynnhaven (sp?) Mall in VA Beach also had a few hobby stores. I returned to Northern Virginia as a civilian in 1998 and quickly fell into a monthly game with the DC Conscripts. Springfield Mall had changed. Old style games stores were few and far between, War Hammer and minis were taking over everything.

 

[Kijug]

My older brother played several AH games with his friends. In '79 we were stationed on an Army Post and, after he left for college, I wanted one of those "hex war games". So I went to the PX and grabbed SL. Other AH games had markings on only one side of the chit--I was impressed SL had markings on both sides. Now I can't stand games that don't have something on both sides of a chit. I think that was a fairly new concept introduced with SL back then [not sure] but regardless, it's tainted how I look at games. COI, COD, GI, ASLRB, BV...the rest is history. (Plus a lot of D&D and Traveller!)

 

[fenyan]

The worst part was you didn't even realize it...

KInd weird, the dissolution of my eurogame and general boardgaming groups led me to ASL in the recent years.....but yeah good friends in those old days to play games with, those were the days. And these are the days!

 

[PresterJohn]

When I was in short pants, the first place I went to that sold "wargames" was set up in the basement of a hardware store. Way back then only a hardware store could have a "lead license" which allowed them to import lead figurines. A low ceilinged Aladdin's cave. Once the laws changed they split off the business and became a military bookshop.

 

[fanatic+1]

Trying to find the names of two wargaming/hobby stores that have closed their doors... Don't ask me why this question came up, but now it is haunting me.

1. Store in downtown Walnut Creek, CA in the 1978-1983 range, (Time period was when I was at Naval Hospital Oakland-Oak Knoll)


Thanks for any input you can provide.

Went there as a kid. Was it The Depot?

 

[Hutch]

Doesn’t ring a bell…Maybe renamed after 1983?

 

[GeorgeBates]

I started with Little Tin Soldier Shop, on West Lake St. in Minneapolis. That was early 70s. Best game store name ever. They changed their name to Phoenix Games (gag) in the 80s. How do you go from the best name ever, to the worst?

My Dad called this place a, "den of iniquity."

Sorry, Dad.

 

[Actionjick]

My Dad called this place a, "den of iniquity."

Sorry, Dad.

Was he wrong?

 

[GeorgeBates]

Was he wrong?

Depends. Was Houlie there?

 

[fanatic+1]

Doesn’t ring a bell…Maybe renamed after 1983?

Sadly, I can't remember the name either. I remember it was one of the few stores to carry dungeons and dragons in the early eighties when I was in middle school in Danville.

 

[Old Noob]

Back in the 1970s, you went to Eugene Toy and Hobby for wargames. For D&D, you went to Gandalf's Den.
The Toy and Hobby is still around (4th generation owners), but Gandalf's Den has moved to the distant past.

 

[volgaG68]

Started my ASL journey at Hobbytown USA in Springfield, MO in 89/90. Just SE of Battlefield and Glenstone. Wow, did they have it all! Modules, Annuals, separate hardboards.

Also, I was very much into punk/Oi! music back then. RAD Records on National near the SMSU campus concentrated heavily on that type of music as well as other non-mainstream genres. He had a small back alcove I ignored for the longest time. One day when I asked, he said he just had a few games back there; odd for his type of store. I went back and there were a couple stacks of D&D type stuff (no interest), but I quickly spotted copies of Streets Of Fire and Hedgerow Hell. Hobbytown USA didn't have them, but I recognized the ASL-system verbiage and snatched them up. Mind you, I LOVE DASL. I might have eventually found the DASL connection through the Annuals, but I considered the find to be providential at the time.

 

[Chris Drake]

Started my ASL journey at Hobbytown USA in Springfield, MO in 89/90. Just SE of Battlefield and Glenstone. Wow, did they have it all! Modules, Annuals, separate hardboards.

Also, I was very much into punk/Oi! music back then. RAD Records on National near the SMSU campus concentrated heavily on that type of music as well as other non-mainstream genres. He had a small back alcove I ignored for the longest time. One day when I asked, he said he just had a few games back there; odd for his type of store. I went back and there were a couple stacks of D&D type stuff (no interest), but I quickly spotted copies of Streets Of Fire and Hedgerow Hell. Hobbytown USA didn't have them, but I recognized the ASL-system verbiage and snatched them up. Mind you, I LOVE DASL. I might have eventually found the DASL connection through the Annuals, but I considered the find to be providential at the time.

I remember that Hobbytown, my adventure started at the Hobbydashery when it was on St Louis street in Springfield. Squad Leader, COI, COD were all purchased there. A buddy sent me GI as a Christmas gift from a hobby shop in Elizabethtown Kentucky. The ASL rule book and Beyond Valor were purchased at the Hobbydashery after it moved onto Battlefield road. I didn't play for years after that then started purchasing everything off the internet in the early 2000's as none of the game stores carried wargames anymore or very few.

 

[Cpl Uhl]

1972, the family moved to Woodbridge/Dale City in VA. We schlepped up to some store on the MD side of beltway. My brother had a coupon for some models. He ended up getting Midway and I bought Panzer Leader. Later we found a toy store in Springfield Mall and I started collecting games with my paper route money. Ended up with circa 80 games, have not counted but I still have them. The only one that I never played was Struggle of Nations. I can't remember the names of the stores.

The store on the "MD side of the beltway" might have been Dream Wizards in Rockville? Mostly D&D, miniatures, but that's where I got SL and the ASLRB.

 

[Actionjick]

In '79 there was a small comic book and magazine store on Water Street in downtown Kent. At that time I was playing Panzer Leader and would go there to buy The General. They had a few games on the shelves, SL among them. I had looked at it but didn't buy it. I was having trouble finding opponents for PL much less a game I knew nothing about.

In an issue of The General the Opponents Wanted column had a guy from Kent who was looking to play AH games including PL. I contacted him and he said he was willing to play PL but really wanted to try out this game called Squad Leader and would bring me the rules.

That was Doctor Marc and my SL journey started there. In February of '82 Doctor Marc was contacted by this gamer from Youngstown who had seen Marc's ad in The General and was looking to play SL. Marc was working on his Doctorate at that point and had very little time to play so he gave the guy my number. His name was Bill Conner and he got In Contact with me and as Fish said we started playing like crazy.

I have no clue what that little store was called and probably couldn't recall even if someone knew.

 

[Larry]

The store on the "MD side of the beltway" might have been Dream Wizards in Rockville? Mostly D&D, miniatures, but that's where I got SL and the ASLRB.

This was a store that had a lot of models. This was also 1972. I don't think D&D was out yet, much less AD&D.

 

[Wayne]

Per Wikipedia, D&D was first published in 1974.

 

[Old Noob]

Got introduced to D & D circa 1975, would play at the high school cafeteria. Lunch ladies didn't like that , as we would write our stats directly on the tables.