A Visit to the Gaming Goat in Oak Park

Rejoice, gamers! A new shop has opened up in Oak Park, a suburb just west of Chicago. It is The Gaming Goat, part of a group of game stores that already operate in a few other Chicago suburbs.

I went out to their grand opening yesterday to scope out the scene. I'm particularly excited for the Goat because I work a mere four (4!!) blocks away from the shop in Oak Park. For the last year I've been making a pretty epic trek to the Dice Dojo to play Magic, so it would be just fantastic to have a shop that supports Magic located nearby. I live just a short 15-minute drive from this Goat location, so it's a win-win all around for me.

I can report that the Goat is deeeeep into Magic, both selling and buying. They've got plans to support draft, Standard and EDH/Commander (my format of choice).

But you didn't come here to read about Magic! Let's get to the action! The other reason for my visit was to scope out the minis gaming potential at the Goat. As you can see in the background of these photos, the store is planning to support Warmachine in a big way. Staff mentioned that they were stocking the entire line of both Warmachine and Hordes. That's a big investment, so it makes sense that they'll be looking to attract a regular group of players for these games each week.

They had a Privateer Press Ganger running Warmachine demos at their grand opening event.

The Goat also seems keen on Heroclix, a game I played many years ago but don't currently play (except for once or twice a year, as a beer-and-pretzels game, with my high school buddies).

And there's a decent stock of popular board games on their shelves, as well as a small area with opened games that you can pull off the shelf and play. Game space is divided among three distinct areas. The first, located near the big windows overlooking Ridgeland Avenue in Oak Park, has one table and seems ideal for "premier" games that might attract passers-by. Another area is just past the main retail room and has room for 4-6 tables.

Quick sidenote: One of the highlights of the day for me was a visit by Jim Pavelec, a fantasy illustrator who has done work for a bunch of Magic cards! I picked up a few artist proofs (preview cards provided to Jim before a Magic card is sent to the printer) which are super cool and very collectible. Here he is working on a sketch.

The third and perhaps most exciting gaming area is located in the basement. Yes, I said basement! Every gamer probably has memories of gaming in someone's basement. Now you can recreate those memories at the Goat! First, light a torch and venture down these steps....

Then you'll find yourself in the Temple of Elemental Evil -- er, I mean, the basement. When I visited the basement was clean, but fairly spartan...just a bunch of tables, chairs and some overhead lighting. Get some posters on those walls, gents! Here's a peek at the main room -- BEFORE it filled up with gamers.

I didn't see a whole lot of available terrain for wargaming, so I'm betting game groups will need to bring their own terrain and table coverings, at least initially. And while the Privateer Press games don't hold a ton of appeal for CSW members (except Josh, the newest Cygnar recruit), I got the distinct feeling that we'd have a warm welcome if we wanted to play some of our non-commercial, PDF-rules-only games.

When I left Saturday afternoon, after hanging out, gaming and shopping for a couple hours, the basement had filled up with gamers of all varieties. One group had a game of EDH going...another group was puzzling through a board game...and another group of younger kids were having a fun-filled game of multiplayer Magic. Overall it seems like the Goat seemed poised to attract a diverse group of clientele: younger kids from Oak Park's neighborhoods (did I mention there is a middle school located one block away?), casual gamers who might dabble in board games like Settlers of Catan, and adult gamers (like me) who appreciate a clean, friendly game store setting to shop and play.

It was great to meet co-franchisers Ross and Charlie. They have a nice location and seem very dedicated to gaming in general. By the time I left, they knew me by name -- that's the sign of a superb game shop! And Jeff, the company owner, also plans to play an active role in developing the gaming community in Oak Park. Jeff's done great things out in Elgin and Schaumburg, so I'm looking forward to watching the Oak Park Goat grow and prosper.

-- Patrick, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member


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