Top tips on supporting your local gaming stores, plus how you can win a prize supporting yours

Here are a couple of great tips on how to support your local game stores, plus info on our FLGS recognition award with 3 stores winning a prize of up to $250 worth of Alley Cat Games and promos, plus if you vote you are entered into a prize draw to win up to $100 of Alley Cat Games too!

This entry in our blog series is written by Jess Hancock our sales and operations manager.

This is a subject close to my heart. Before working at Alley Cat Games, I used to own a board game café in Bournemouth. There’s more information on this in our August Blog ‘Breaking into the board game industry’. We sadly had to close our doors in January 2019, so I keenly understand the struggles of running a board game store. I cannot imagine the additional pressure COVID-19 has added to the usual pressures of managing an FLGS (friendly local gaming store).

Carry on reading for some great ways you can help your own local stores and details on our FLGS recognition award too!

Meeple Perk - https://www.facebook.com/MeeplePerk/

Buy games from your FLGS

We all know the best way to support FLGS is buying our games from them, but we understand that everyone isn’t necessarily in a place where they can do that right now.

If you are in a position where you can still buy games, we would encourage you to spend money at your FLGS. It may be a few bucks more than it would be online, but you’ll know you’re supporting a person in your community, helping them through a tough time and keeping a hub for the games scene active in your area.

Many FLGS can also take pre-orders for games and back Kickstarter campaigns as a retailer to get you exclusive rewards. If you’ve got a game you’d like, consider sending your FLGS a message asking them to get it in stock for you.

Mox Boarding House - https://www.moxboardinghouse.com/

Review your FLGS online

If you’re not in a position where you have the disposable income to buy games there are other ways to support your FLGS. Leaving a review online can be really helpful to promote their business.

Leaving a review can help new potential customers discover how great your FLGS is. Due to how online algorithms work, the more engagement pages online have, the more people will be able to see them.

When leaving a review online, it is much more useful to leave a few short words than just rating 5 stars. Just a short simple comment saying “good customer service, a wide selection of games” can go a long way. Pictures you have taken are also a great addition to a review on social media or Google.

D20 Board Game Cafe - https://www.d20cafe.co.uk

Share them on social media

Tagging your FLGS in social media posts when playing games can also help boost their visibility and be great publicity for them.

This could be something like a Twitter or Facebook shout out: “Playing Dice Hospital this weekend which I picked up @myFLGS!” or a photo of the game tagging the store on Instagram.

Also, if you vote for your FLGS in the ACG recognition awards below be sure to share the graphic at the end of this article and tag your FLGS so your social network can vote for them too!