The Best Third Place

Shortly after being disappointed by Legion Traders, we arrived at Trotta's Hobbies, and we were relieved to find an LGS with active players, all wearing masks.  Address: 323 U.S. 9, Barnegat Township, NJ 08005 Website: www.trottashobbiesnj.com Selection Trotta's is a typical LGS - it has a selection of sealed Warhammer, MTG, Pokemon, and board game products. Board games and RPG systems align the front and wrap around to the TCG products and registrar, finishing out on the far side of the store with Warhammer miniatures. Cleanliness The store was small but clean - the tables were in use but looked freshly wiped and the floors were also well maintained. There was an extra room in the back absolutely packed with excess stock - it looked messy but it must have kept the main store from being a cluttered nightmare itself. The shelving with the Warhammer stock was relatively dirty and unorganized, but it was the only such issue in the main store. Friendliness The person at the counter...

Well, I wish I could write a comprehensive review of Trader's Legion Games in Forked River NJ, but unfortunately I only have one thing to say: Almost no one was wearing a mask.  Address:  118 N Main St Unit #1, Forked River, NJ 08731 Website: traderlegion.net We wanted to visit Trader's Legion as our 5th stop as we visited LGS' on our way to Cape May. After coaxing Google to navigate us to the right place, we walked up at around 8:00PM on a Friday. We saw perhaps a dozen or more patrons playing games, along with staff in the store through the glass, however I counted 1, maybe 2 masks among them total.  We turned around and left before entering. We can go into details of the cleanliness, the value, and the friendliness of stores we visit, but an important prerequisite is that you value my health and safety as your patron, and the health and safety of your community.  Trader's Legion have stellar reviews on Google, and they seem like they may be an otherwise great plac...

Our 4th stop was to East Coast Gamers in Toms River, NJ.  Address:  43 Main St, Toms River, NJ 08753 Website:  eastcoastgamersnj.com Selection East Coast Gamers has a full selection of MTG singles, TCG sealed product, miniatures products, board games, and older video games and paraphernalia. Though its stock has been depleted a bit due to COVID supply line issues, they carry everything new in MTG/Pokemon/Warhammer (40k, very limited AoS support) and have a robust selection of singles in their glass cases. Cleanliness The owner was actively cleaning the store and rearranging where shelving / stock was, so we did not get a good indication of the general cleanliness of the store. What was finished, however, was neat and tidy, and the tables for TCG/wargaming events were clean beyond the terrain pieces used for wargaming. Friendliness The owner was the one running the store when we visited, and though he seemed a bit disillusioned (who isn't right now?) he was extremely frien...

Our 3rd stop on our LGS jaunt was to Peninsula Games in Fair Haven, NJ. It was getting to be dark outside by this time, so we knew we may not be visiting these stores at the most lively times.  Address:  775 River Rd, Fair Haven, NJ 07704 Website: peninsulagamesnj.com Selection Peninsula Games has a decent selection of Magic sets, Magic Secret Lairs, and board games. Their selection of Magic singles was robust with several well-organized binders with staples and cards of interest.  "Their Warhammer selection seems somewhat eclectic and random. There wasn't a clear focus on newer or older figures, but not enough of either to cover the full gamut completely. Their Warhammer products are heavily focused on 40k with a lack of AoS." -Hskae Cleanliness Peninsula is a small store, and opposed to other newer stores, you can feel the history of the 4 years they've been there. I certainly wouldn't say the store is dirty per se, but its far from immaculate either. Peninsula...

Our second stop on our trip to Cape May lead us to the Warhammer store in Matawan, NJ. We've visited the Warhammer store in Concord, DE before, but I wanted to see how this one compares. Address: Colonial Drive 1121, NJ-34 Suite 1121-N, Matawan, NJ 07747 Website:  https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Warhammer-Holmdel Selection Let me be clear - a Warhammer store is exactly what it is supposed to be: a Games Workshop proxy for Americans to buy and peruse their models. Are these stores still LGS'? Yes. Do they get a pass on not having MTG products et all? Yes. If your hobby of choice is Warhammer (40k or AoS, Blood Bowl, Warcry/Kill Team, or anything else GW related), the Warhammer stores provide a lot of services other LGS' simply can't. If you want something AoS or 40k related, this store has it or can acquire it easily. Other Games Workshop product is sort of random, with more KT/Warcry than any sort of Blood Bowl support. They also keep a healthy amount of codexes an...