New Game Store Opens
I received an email from my community buddies – The Madison Dorks, informing me of a new game store that opened up in Middleton, WI. Whoa, stop everything, I’ll have to get on over there. Yesterday was the 2nd day they were opened and I found it easily.
I’m Board! is located in Middleton, Wisconsin. If you’re in the Madison area it’s a 10-30 minute trip to the west end of University Ave. It’s in a mini mall with other different businesses.
Upon entering you were quickly aware of new game store smell. Yes, this is not bad, it’s similar to new car smell. New carpet, new paint. Very nice. The store is somewhat narrow, but certainly good for wondering and perusing the inventory of the variety of board games. There is shelving along the walls as well as island displays. Everything is presented well, in a professional manner. The second thing you’ll notice is the super friendly guy behind the counter. I failed to get his name. He was quick to greet and you could tell he’s thankful to see folks come into the store. He mentioned he was still getting things in order, especially the Euro style board game section. Frankly, I didn’t notice anything out of place. I think he was just a bit over conscious of his setup.
The store is definitely a board game store. Yes, there were core Pathfinder RPG products as well as popular D&D 4th Edition materials and Green Ronin’s Dragon Age box sets, but don’t go there expecting the vast line of rpg books. There is also a decent amount of Games Workshop product – Warhammer 40k and Fantasy. So board games, yeah, it’s not your parents board game store, right?! This has all the cool games. There’s no Parker Brothers/Milton Bradley favorites, forget Clue, Monopoly, etc. I’m Board has many of the popular, more modern, games from Rio Grande, Mayfair, Fantasy Flight, Wizards of the Coast and Days of Wonder to name just a few. Don’t take the inventory too serious. There are still popular games from Out of the Box Games like Apples to Apples and other family-oriented titles.
It’s not too long before you realize the store goes further back and you walk into an open game room. The room is as wide as the store and has chairs that all match. Tables are painted white and are solid, no marks, no dings, ready for some fun playing. Some tables are sized for two players while combining a couple leaves more of a square for some larger playing boards and more participants. It was clean, well presented, and a welcome from stores that leave bins full of trash, hand written paper flyers taped up for 2 years, and game areas that are simply in a state of disarray. This latter part may just be because the store is so new and has not had the attendance of the rude, unkempt, gamer. If this is not you, good. If you fit the bill, quit being a dick and clean up after yourself. /end public service announcement.
The store’s hours are ok, closed Monday, open till 7pm during the week and 9pm Fri & Sat nights. Sundays until 5p. Solid retail hours, but if they want to take advantage of in-store gaming, it would be worth staying open later during the week.
The website mentions an experience point system, similar to a loyalty card programs. Accumulate xp to get in-store discounts. There is also talks of events and tournaments.
I think the store has great potential and I’m proud that we have the choices we do in the Madison area. What other market can tout 5 solid game stores? Misty Mountain for CCG’s, Pegasus Games for RPG’s, The Last Square for Miniatures, Netherworld Games for mostly CCG’s with some RPG’s, and I’m Board for board games. Not bad for a midwestern city.
