Gatehouse Games — Attraction in Altoona

Stopped by this shop while in Altoona on other business.

The good: Owner seems like a nice person. Decor, though in process of remodeling, shows genuine enthusiasm for his business. Nice selection of Games Workshop products. Ample parking. This is clearly a serious gamers hangout with plenty of tables set up for in house gaming. If I lived here I’d probably game here regularly.

The bad: Limited D&D selection. Had only one set of dice in stock. Was looking to buy some dice. Limited board game selection. No used/classic products in stock. The place was dark in its many game group alcoves, which I assume has to do with the ongoing remodel. Many other product lines appeared to have limited stock.

Ended up buying nothing, which is a first for me entering a serious game shop like this. I’ll write the limited stock levels off to COVID-19 making purchasing stock difficult at this time, and some of the awkwardness of the store sections to the ongoing renovation.

It’s on my list to swing back and give this place another shot in a few months when I’m...

Tim the owner was great, the shop is above and beyond the quality of this town despite what the owner says.

I came to it since I rarely go to large game shops. And this one was huge. Six warhammer tables, things sitting almost everywhere. A huge selection of books, cards of at least five games, tons of board games, at least one commander game going. The place seems to prioritize playing warhammer and painting minis. But there wasn’t any large games going on while I was there.

They have a bathroom, no drinks but I was told that would change, sheets across the street. Friendly people (Jessie and her husband comes to mind).

The only issue was that this was a 10/10 shop in a 6/10 town. Few players but I’m sure that would be different for a pre release. Every single thing you could want was there and I had a blast knowing that there was at least one vampire group going in town. But there weren’t many players, but the ones that were there were...

I have known this business owner and have been to this business for over a decade. Life catches up with you and you don’t get to enjoy your passions as much, but I make it a point to pick something up periodically. Today I was in the shop for the first time in easily over 12 months. I brought my son with me. The shop owner, Tim, took time out of the day and work that he was in the middle of to greet us. He answered my son’s questions about games and he had a source book that I had been searching high and low to find. I was grateful that Tim was able to get it for me.

I’m a “grown up” now but there’s just something super cool about going to a store that’s a flipping castle. I’ll never be too old for that fun.

Tim is a class act and I’m always glad to stop into this shop. Thanks for taking the time to help...