The War Zone — Local services in Mattoon

If you're even somewhat ignorant to card games and the like don't bother with this place. I went in not long ago with my SO to shop for the recent Disney TCG release. We were offered to pay an appropriate price with weird phrasing and clearly didn't understand the question. We paid extra because some other people are scalping a product, but we were clearly in to buy and play the product. If the man running the shop wasn't money hungry he would have clarified and we could (and would) have bought an additional deck.

Unfortunately the above is more of a 2-2.5 star situation, the reason for 1 star is the poor representation of the tabletop gaming hobby as a whole. People were talking poorly behind other player's backs loudly and with more curse words than you would hear on the Queen Anne's Revenge. I heard the f bomb dropped every other sentence at one point. The gosh darned Disney TCG JUST CAME OUT! I'd hope they would tone it down if a child was brought in, but I'm not convinced since the man running this shop was in the conversation. The toxicity almost reached a comical point and it felt like a parody of an LGS.

Ultimately this is not a welcoming store and dare I say it is a wolf in sheeps clothing. They likely make a bulk of their money online so they can continue to run it however they want, but it sure does make a person want for more. I can tell you that if you want a Friendly LGS, you'll be better off going 50+ miles any other direction. I will never be back, and I know the owner is probably thinking, "Good riddance!", and that says everything you need to know.

Edit to respond: we stayed in store and opened the packs. It should have been clear that there was confusion. If not, you're being willfully ignorant. Let me give you the playbook:

Sales Person: "Hey, a lot of people are buying this and marking it up excessively online! Let me tear this tab and you will get the manufacturer's suggested retail price!"

Us: "Oh, thanks! We are excited about disney in games, go ahead and give us a head start and rip that bad boy open! It is a shame about those dirty scalping rats."

It really should have been that simple. Instead, it was presented to us as if the person selling the product (presumably you, the owner) intended to crack the packs in a first draft scenario. We understood it to mean that we would get a $20 "discount" if we let this person take a gander and get a money card out of it. I've heard of these sleezy practices in the realm of card sales and we wanted to get the most out of the experience. Next time be more clear and you may demonstrate that you care about more than the bottom line. As it stands, I will just go elsewhere. I expect no reimbursement since it is just $20, but I think people should know that this is a clubhouse first, an online retailer second, and if you're looking for a mediocre game shop... you're better off going to a place that treats all customers with the same level of care and...

I love this place. Everyone is super friendly and it is a great open place to be. I always come to the Friday and Saturday pathfinder society events (if you don’t know what that is it is like DnD). They are hosted Friday 4:30 pm – 9:00 pm; Saturday 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm. It is a load of fun and I recommend anyone who is interested to come on by. Both newcomers and old-timers to pen & paper RPGs are welcome there! There are also all sorts of other events you can join! For instance, like different tournaments for different card games like Yu-Gi-Oh and magic. You can buy cards too! If there is anything not in-store that you want, like a card or a RPG Rule-book, then they can just order it online. There are also a bunch of Warhammer players there too. I don’t really play all that much, but I see people playing the game all the time, so if you like that then this Is a good place to come. Though past all this I think that the main reason that all of us come back here is the scene of community that is here. If you find your niche then there is most likely going to be someone who happy to have you and welcome you aboard. In short, I would highly recommend this place to anyone who has even a passing interest in...

I don't recommend. I was treated horribly over the years by other customers and sometimes by staff. If I wanted to be bullied I would just go to high school.

I doubt that is how you really feel. You and others didn't even want other people to know I wanted to play in a tabletop RPG. You refused to mention my interest in pathfinder or DnD to anyone at the shop and for what reason you had I don't even know.

On top of that the club even had advertisements for RPGs and I was told I couldn't play because of a lack of experience. I wish people like you would at least have the courage to say you just didn't want me at that table or anyone else's rather than giving me an excuse.

You and that club have turned me off of rpgs and tabletop games for life. Didn't feel welcome there at all. I get a lot of that in life and I didn't need it from a group of people who probably better understood being bullied and treated like I have in life. People who...