Critical Hit Games — Local services in Saint Petersburg

My wife and I have been frequenting this store for a couple of months now. We have visited upwards of 90% of FLGS within 30 miles of New Port Richey to play a variety of popular games including MTG, D&D, and board games. We travel about an hour to visit this store and we happily do it multiple times a week.

Critical Hit Games (CHG) stands out to us in a big way. The staff is extremely kind. They are very knowledgeable about the products they offer and I frequently see them going out of their way to make sure that people who are new to this side of gaming are not lost. Many times when people wander into a FLGS for the first time they are overwhelmed and sometimes intimidated. There are hundreds of products and tons of groups of people who all seem to know each other engaged in activities that you want to know about but aren't sure whether it is okay to jump in and make your presence know. The staff at CHG recognize this and do an excellent job of guiding these potential gamers through the product selections and more importantly guiding them toward welcoming group of players who are happy to have fresh faces around.

I know this because before we came to CHG my wife and I were those potential players. While we more experience than many in the MTG community and some in the D&D community, we were complete virgins to the board game community and found ourselves back to square one feeling lost. Since then we have made over a dozen friendships (not bad for someone as reclusive as me) and are now familiar with tons of board games, happily learning new ones almost every visit, and building play groups for our favorite ones so we always have someone ready to jump in.

They have a fairly large selection of games that anyone is welcome to come in and play free of charge. The staff is happy to teach players not only how to play board games but also how to play other popular games like MTG, Warhammer and Horde.

They are in a brand new store right now. It is bright, tons of game space, a decent retail space. They have two private rooms available for rent. Their bathrooms are typically clean and most of the players respect them (if you do not know, this is not universally true is game shops) Bathrooms are very important to us because my wife can not stand a dirty bathroom. She would rather drive back home than use something even remotely unclean.

Finally, it is owned by a lovely couple that takes their business very seriously. Some owners in this industry treat their business a bit too much like their own personal club. This leads to biases toward certain groups and general feelings of exclusion. I have also seen it become the downfall of multiple such stores who have permanently shut their doors. That is not the case here and these two eat sleep and drink their business. It is their passion and it shows from the moment you walk in to the moment you leave and you can see their values extended directly through their staff. Many employees can't wait to get out of their workplace at the end of their shift but I have seen their staff members come in on their off days to decompress with a little bit of their favorite games.

I rarely take the time to write a review about any experience than isn't negative but this is a case where I feel the business truely...

Contained within the hallowed walls of Critical Hit Games is perhaps the single greatest experience a tabletop gamer could ask for. For all intents and purposes a mecca for those invested in all things plastic, paint, and cardboard. The staff are each incredible in their own ways and always willing to help out or just obsess about whatever might be happening in the world of hobby gaming. My friends and I try to come every week for Monday commander night but they've got themes for every night of the week. From Warhammer to regular old board games, they host something for everyone. Beyond that, there's almost always some special event happening like Warhammer tournaments or even a shop wide white elephant around the holidays. Snacks and drinks, spacious gaming tables, upwards of 100 board games available to play in store, private rooms for rent... I cannot stress enough how this is the greatest LGS I have ever had the pleasure to patronize.

For the Magic players, their tcgplayerpro inventory and ordering system is SO useful. They don't have a value singles inventory available to peruse in store (although there is a Wonderful bulk box to look through) but if you need specific cards of value you can order them online and pick up in store. I've had days where I forgot to place the order on time, placed in store and it was slow enough that they just pulled the cards right then and there. Seriously, these people are the best and always willing to go above and beyond for their customers.

They'll say they're just doing their job but you can tell it's more than that. Their passion for these games and their communities shines through in every inch of the store. Thanks...

You guys are still enforcing masks??? I showed up yesterday when the store was basically empty just to browse the inventory of paint (not wearing a mask). At first I was well received. The clerk welcomed me and asked if I needed help finding anything. Being a frequent customer I knew my way around so I kindly responded that I was just browsing. The clerk then informed me that their mask policy was still in place. I told him that I was fully vaccinated. He responded by saying but they would still require me to wear a mask. So I left. Now by all accounts we’re on the tail end of this pandemic. In so much that many businesses are loosening their mask restrictions significantly And adopting an honor system with their customers where if a customer says they’ve been vaccinated they are taken at their word. Now I’m nobody to tell anyone how to run their business however I have no reason to lie about being vaccinated and I told the truth. If your business wants to enforce a rule on your customers needlessly that’s your prerogative but I won’t be shopping somewhere that 1. Apparently doesn’t trust me enough to consider that I’ve done my part to ensure the safety of those around me and 2. Enforces a rule simply for the sake of having a rule. I reiterate, many officials have relayed information to the public that COVID-19 is dying down. We’re seeing more and more reports that support this. It’s time to get back to the way things were. To some sense of normalcy. You guys can conduct your business however you please but if see a reduction in clientele you may want to reconsider what rules you...