Went to the old mall game store and the board game section is just gone

Honestly, I swung by the Game Haven in the Riverside Mall last weekend, looking for a new worker placement game. Tbh, the whole back wall where they used to have shelves of boxes is now just Funko Pops and video game merch. I asked the guy at the counter and he said they cleared them out about six months ago because 'nobody bought them'. Ngl, it made me a bit sad remembering how packed that spot was during the Catan boom. Has anyone found a decent local shop that still carries a good selection?

4 comments

4 Comments

umar494mo ago

You mentioned the Catan boom, but honestly, I think that was just the tip of the iceberg. My local shop says the real space eater now is all the big-box games with huge expansions. Stuff like Gloomhaven or the 7th Continent reprint just take up a whole shelf by themselves. It's hard for a store to keep a wide selection when one game needs that much room.

claire8724mo ago

Honestly, the big box shelf hog problem is so real.

emery2904mo ago

My buddy's shop had to move their whole RPG section because one box set took over a wall.

riverh491mo ago

Came here to say the same thing. My local shop's back wall used to be a mix of RPGs and indie zines, now it's basically just the Gloomhaven section and a few other big box games. They literally had to move the whole Pathfinder section to the other side of the store to make room. It's wild how one game can eat up as much shelf space as ten smaller ones combined. And you know the worst part is those big boxes are half empty inside, just thick cardboard and a tiny rulebook.