I actually had a relaxing weekend for once. I donate plasma on most Saturday mornings. It's worth a hanging out for an hour for a couple of bucks, plus the plasma for my blood type is apparently rare.... Four years after my hospital stay for COVID, I've realized I never got my plasma transfusion that they promised... possibly because they didn't have any to give.
After grabbing breakfast (poached eggs and crab cakes? It was divine... and oddly affordable) I went off to see Millie's volleyball team play phenomenally well, and with my mother cancelling yard work due to weather, wandered down to check out the two FLGS in my area.
Sword in the Stone Games in the Wyoming Valley Mall has really grown into its space. There are plenty of people bemoaning the continued death of malls, but I counted 40 people coming into the storefront in the half-hour I was there, and most of the retail fronts in the mall looked full of customers.
It was fun to reconnect with James, the MEPACON board game guy, who actually got a weekend job there (and is paid for Monday night board game night to boot!), and it was even better to run into my old co-worker Tom (David Kavida from my Call of Cthulhu campaign) and his son.
Sword in the Stone has somehow expanded its board game selection and continued to stock some peripheral product lines, like gimmicky coffee/teas, plushies, and even a true railroad hobby shop Woodland Scenics display.
They have a great variety of dice, multiple manufacturers, and varying price points. Regular reader know I bemoan the disappearance of polyhedral sets under ten bucks, and honestly, the overpriced sets that I saw three months ago? They're either 100% restocked or they're all sitting sitting on the shelf. Mind you the high-end stone sets have rotated different types, but that's why their in the case.
The dice that have sold are individual dice strewn across a sand table at 50-cents a pop, and a few of their more classic sets.
The newest arrival that warmed my grumpy cheap-dice loving heart was a whole display of polyhedral sets from Misty Mountain Gaming. Ten dollar sets and their in innovative packing that's great for a display like this? I love it!
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| Even with cameras, there is a significant shrinkage problem with this facing away from the counter. |
Their product line runs the gamut from cheap polyhedrals, to fancy dice, to even high quality leather gaming bags. The item that fascinated me the most were their Commander spindown dice
The original Spindown die was a d20 with all the numbers in order, so a Magic player didn't have to search for the right number after they lost (or gained) life. It was a hand improvement, a nice impulse buy, and even a freebie in some of the Magic releases.
The Commander format (essentially 100-card decks with no more than one of any card other than basic lands) is wildy popular, but games start at 40 life.
Enter a very uneven, but still geometrically pleasing d40. Make it metal and $40, and I can see even the imaginary store in my brain putting them in an obvious spot in the display, with an inventory stored nearby. And yes, they still have metal d20 spindowns for $30, although the grognard in me somewhat considers THAT a bit pricey.
After looking around, and grabbing a free remaining freebies leftover from their Free RPG Day, I headed over to the other FLGS, Dragon Knight Games.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with Dragon Knight, outside of a grievous lack of pricing on their paint. It's the gaming store for the side of the river I live on. It's has plenty of inventory, plenty of events, but by golly, there was nothing I wanted to buy (especially since I didn't want sticker shock from the paints... I had already gagged at the price of a single figure for Warhammer Old World) .
After all that, I grabbed some groceries and relaxed the rest of the day, organizing my gaming world, and putting paint to figures.
I don't get many of those days anymore.
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