(Review) The Gamer's Edge - Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania - REVISTED

My cousin passed away a few weeks ago, and I drove solo to attend the funeral in New Jersey.  

On the way back, I tried to circumvent some traffic disasters on I-80, and ended up meandering the back roads and into Stroudsburg in the first time in quite some time.  

Desiring a break and perhaps a few moments out of the sun, I stopped by Gamer's Edge on Main St.  I had last visited them in their early days at a smaller location further down the street in 2014.  An update was certainly was in order.  

The "new" location is now 580 Main St in Stroudsburg, right square in the middle of the downtown business district.

DISCLAIMER: I do know that another business on Main St had a fire and that The Gamer's Edge did take some smoke damage.  That might explain the lack of ceiling tiles when I entered the store, when the tiles do appear in pictures on their website.

The store layout is quite long with boardgames in the front before the sales counter, the gaming area in the back, and a number or retail "cages" covering comics, RPGs, and wargaming.

Open Gaming Area

Board Games:  A nice variety of games, luckily there were some gaps on the shelves to accommodate the narrow aisles.

Comics: Hiding in the first "cage" was the new comics section, all bagged up with a sign essentially stating "Ask for assistance if you want to look at any comics."  Since I haven't been interested in comics in over a decade, I won't waste my time with much more, other than the color palette the artists are using for cover art is atrocious!

Video Games: A fairly large section of used systems, games, and accessories.  Unlike many store with video games section, this one look clean and organized.  Kudos!

Minis: Minis and Paints were looking a little sparse, although two display cases bordering the gaming area were for customers selling their GW minis.  Pretty neat!

RPGs: I breathed a sigh of relief and hidden joy when I rolled into the RPG "cage"  Current product, used product, even vintage product proudly filled.  I had to giggle when I found some older product with the Dreamscape Comics pricetags still on them.  Purchases were not on my schedule, but I am interested in a few items.  

This might be the actual copy of Masterbook I owned many moons ago.  

As a drawback, I always remember the store's location between the Metro NY/NJ and the start of the Poconos.  With rent on Main Street and not some back alley, I also anticipate a little less clutter here and there and less hand written signs promoting sales.  The prices in the customer's GW display case were better written. 

The biggest negative about the store were the loud gamer bros narrating their life stories in the back while I perused the shelves. 

On the Gaming with the Gnomies 5-Gnome scale, I give Gamer's Edge three and one half gnomes.

There's plenty of stuff, plenty of tables for in-store play, and a good calendar of events.  Knowing the volume of previous stores and the wild New York Metro traffic, I sort of expect more.  Perhaps it was the smoke damage forcing the ceiling tiles to be removed, perhaps it was the random obnoxious outbursts by some of the gamers in the back, but if I was a mundane parent walking in for my kid, I might decide to search Amazon for the next item my kid wanted, rather the make this a regular stop.

Gamer's Edge is located at 580 Main St in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.