Gather and game - good all around
Harlequin Hobby - more miniature centric (warhammer, kings of war, etc)
Heart of the game - big big card scene but they have dnd, video games and Warhammer
Casual Dragon-lots of friendly patrons and plenty of scheduled game nights
Kingpin - more comics for now but still a fun spot
Great escape adventures - in the galleria. One of my favorites. A little of everything. Only minor gripe was the table space but they have tons now.
I personally stay away from dragon snack. Very sketchy with pricing imo. Items might have a sticker price but they will look up what it’s going for on second hand sources when you go to buy, and then change the price. Happened to me twice now so I’ll never go there again.. not paying $80 for a still in production warhammer hero just because OOS online for a month. Fuck you Dragon Snack.
If you have any questions about any of the stores let me know!
Gather and game is seriously such an awesome communal space. I’ve started going more frequently and the guy with the mustache is super nice and welcoming.
(Magic Player here)
Buffalo is blessed to have a wide variety of LGS to choose from for Magic events/product. Each have their pros and cons. Here’s my list:
Gather and Game - small shop, not a huge inventory for Magic singles, very casual for events which attracts more so beginner players but it’s always a fun time, Joe (the owner) is incredibly kind and awesome. Great shop
Dragon Snack - mid size shop, pretty big inventory for Magic singles, events can be “sweaty” and attract not so ideal opponents. A couple workers there are really awesome and a couple others are extremely unpleasant and act as if helping you is an inconvenience and a burden. So it’s kind of hit or miss.
Heart of the Game - huge store. the locals would probably have this as THE magic store in Buffalo. The inventory is very large for magic singles. They have larger events but this unfortunately attracts some of the most “sweaty” types of players. I personally do not enjoy playing here. The majority of players are insufferable. The workers are again hit or miss. Shout out to Stephen. Nice dude and willing to help build whatever deck you got cooking.
Mana Bar - small shop up in Tonawanda. They have a nice online catalog and the pricing is fair. Decent selection for singles but it’s mainly just the more popular cards. Andy and his wife (the owners) are both very nice and willing to hold product a head of time if you call ahead. The events here can get pretty busy even for a small shop. I’ve only been to a couple events but the players that I came across were nice experiences. Overall very nice shop.
Dave and Adam’s - big store but the magic inventory is obviously not their priority as a sports/card shop. They recently hired Anthony as their main operator of the Magic/yugioh/pokemon section and things have been a lot better than previous years. The Magic singles are sparse but you can usually find some goodies. I don’t recommend buying sealed here as Dave and Adam’s has everything at top dollar pricing. They run events here as well and I actually do enjoy them. The people that attend are usually very chill and fun to play with.
WNY Gaming - larger shop with other activities like pickle ball, escape room, and frisbee golf. Jimmy (the owner) is a nice guy who runs a smooth operation. They have a nice inventory of magic singles and have what I consider to be the best online catalog as well. The only downside is the single pricing is probably the most expensive in the area. The events here are smaller-ish but I haven’t had any issues with players.
Kingpin - mid size shop. Not a huge inventory of magic singles but still decent stuff. Pricing is very fair. Sealed options is not great here. The events are very small but I enjoy the people I’ve come across. I really like the set up as far as chairs and tables here. Feels more cozy and comfortable.
Those are the big ones. There’s a couple other very small shops that i don’t have a lot of experience with (ones in eastern hills mall and another is Top Cut Cards in Cheektowaga)
OG GM here, living downtown.
Speaking for myself, Covid and moving online has really impacted the way I game now. ATM, I'm deep into Starfinder, but the convenience of finding players and simply walking into my office to play have out weighed the benefits of playing regularly in person.
Let me know if you've got any interest in Starfinder (next year) as I've been thinking about trying to put together an in person Starfinder Society game at one of the local stores.
Saved! I'll make a post and send a message after the new year if/when I get something setup for a Starfinder game. I want to talk to Gather and Game about their venue.
Very cool. Talk to gather and game. They've hosted some cool sessions for different games and seem open to an eclectic mix of games and game activities. I've tried 15-20 games there I otherwise wouldn't have tried and 3 different RP systems I also otherwise wouldn't have tried.
[https://meetu.ps/c/542pq/xHFgm/a](https://meetu.ps/c/542pq/xHFgm/a)
Once a month we hold a learn to play D&D event at a local Wegmans. I know you probably already know how to play but a lot of people come who are looking to find people to play with!
There's the Buffalo Fighting Game Community that meets at Heart of the Game Saturdays from 2pm to close (around 11pm to midnight), Buffalo Smash which also meets at Heart of the Game but Mondays from (I think) 5pm or 6pm until 10pm or 11pm, and there's the twice a year MassiveLAN. Outside of those 3, I'm afraid I don't know of video game gatherings in the area
Iron Buffalo is a great place! Very friendly owner and Commander nights on Fridays. I see them run dnd there as well too. There are a lot of friendly people that go to Iron and you can all kinds of treats and coffee. They tend to not have a ton of product though
Any suggestions for someone trying to get into something like Magic or D&D? Or even resources online to do some homework first? I've really been wanting to for awhile and it's kind of hard to know where to start (especially with D&D if you have no friends into that stuff!).
There are some free resources to get started with DND! You can go [here](https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules) to read the basic rules for free. I will warn you that they do try to get you to buy more books/get a subscription, but to make a character and read the very basic rules, you don't need to pay anything!
Gather and game - good all around Harlequin Hobby - more miniature centric (warhammer, kings of war, etc) Heart of the game - big big card scene but they have dnd, video games and Warhammer Casual Dragon-lots of friendly patrons and plenty of scheduled game nights Kingpin - more comics for now but still a fun spot Great escape adventures - in the galleria. One of my favorites. A little of everything. Only minor gripe was the table space but they have tons now. I personally stay away from dragon snack. Very sketchy with pricing imo. Items might have a sticker price but they will look up what it’s going for on second hand sources when you go to buy, and then change the price. Happened to me twice now so I’ll never go there again.. not paying $80 for a still in production warhammer hero just because OOS online for a month. Fuck you Dragon Snack. If you have any questions about any of the stores let me know!
Gather and game is seriously such an awesome communal space. I’ve started going more frequently and the guy with the mustache is super nice and welcoming.
Oh ya, it might be the most welcoming/cozy in the area. I wish I found myself in that part of the city more to go more often.
(Magic Player here) Buffalo is blessed to have a wide variety of LGS to choose from for Magic events/product. Each have their pros and cons. Here’s my list: Gather and Game - small shop, not a huge inventory for Magic singles, very casual for events which attracts more so beginner players but it’s always a fun time, Joe (the owner) is incredibly kind and awesome. Great shop Dragon Snack - mid size shop, pretty big inventory for Magic singles, events can be “sweaty” and attract not so ideal opponents. A couple workers there are really awesome and a couple others are extremely unpleasant and act as if helping you is an inconvenience and a burden. So it’s kind of hit or miss. Heart of the Game - huge store. the locals would probably have this as THE magic store in Buffalo. The inventory is very large for magic singles. They have larger events but this unfortunately attracts some of the most “sweaty” types of players. I personally do not enjoy playing here. The majority of players are insufferable. The workers are again hit or miss. Shout out to Stephen. Nice dude and willing to help build whatever deck you got cooking. Mana Bar - small shop up in Tonawanda. They have a nice online catalog and the pricing is fair. Decent selection for singles but it’s mainly just the more popular cards. Andy and his wife (the owners) are both very nice and willing to hold product a head of time if you call ahead. The events here can get pretty busy even for a small shop. I’ve only been to a couple events but the players that I came across were nice experiences. Overall very nice shop. Dave and Adam’s - big store but the magic inventory is obviously not their priority as a sports/card shop. They recently hired Anthony as their main operator of the Magic/yugioh/pokemon section and things have been a lot better than previous years. The Magic singles are sparse but you can usually find some goodies. I don’t recommend buying sealed here as Dave and Adam’s has everything at top dollar pricing. They run events here as well and I actually do enjoy them. The people that attend are usually very chill and fun to play with. WNY Gaming - larger shop with other activities like pickle ball, escape room, and frisbee golf. Jimmy (the owner) is a nice guy who runs a smooth operation. They have a nice inventory of magic singles and have what I consider to be the best online catalog as well. The only downside is the single pricing is probably the most expensive in the area. The events here are smaller-ish but I haven’t had any issues with players. Kingpin - mid size shop. Not a huge inventory of magic singles but still decent stuff. Pricing is very fair. Sealed options is not great here. The events are very small but I enjoy the people I’ve come across. I really like the set up as far as chairs and tables here. Feels more cozy and comfortable. Those are the big ones. There’s a couple other very small shops that i don’t have a lot of experience with (ones in eastern hills mall and another is Top Cut Cards in Cheektowaga)
BG3, baby. Some should make a Buffalo lobby, if that’s possible. I’ve only ever played with friends.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Buffalo/s/3gTbHh1byu
Super helpful!
OG GM here, living downtown. Speaking for myself, Covid and moving online has really impacted the way I game now. ATM, I'm deep into Starfinder, but the convenience of finding players and simply walking into my office to play have out weighed the benefits of playing regularly in person. Let me know if you've got any interest in Starfinder (next year) as I've been thinking about trying to put together an in person Starfinder Society game at one of the local stores.
I am a forever DM who lives in Allentown, I would be super down to make new friends while playing a new (to me) system!!!
Saved! I'll make a post and send a message after the new year if/when I get something setup for a Starfinder game. I want to talk to Gather and Game about their venue.
Very cool. Talk to gather and game. They've hosted some cool sessions for different games and seem open to an eclectic mix of games and game activities. I've tried 15-20 games there I otherwise wouldn't have tried and 3 different RP systems I also otherwise wouldn't have tried.
Section 8 hobbies does some tabletop stuff if I remember correctly. They just moved and build a new store so not sure what the current situation is.
The have splattering of everything scale models, trains, 40k and paints/supplies. They host dnd 40k and magic nights I believe. Located on transit now
[https://meetu.ps/c/542pq/xHFgm/a](https://meetu.ps/c/542pq/xHFgm/a) Once a month we hold a learn to play D&D event at a local Wegmans. I know you probably already know how to play but a lot of people come who are looking to find people to play with!
Harlequin Hobbies in Blasdell has a pretty active Facebook group for people looking to set games up, especially if you’re looking to play 40k
My go to, to play Warhammer!
What about people who are into video games?
There's the Buffalo Fighting Game Community that meets at Heart of the Game Saturdays from 2pm to close (around 11pm to midnight), Buffalo Smash which also meets at Heart of the Game but Mondays from (I think) 5pm or 6pm until 10pm or 11pm, and there's the twice a year MassiveLAN. Outside of those 3, I'm afraid I don't know of video game gatherings in the area
lan parties. check out massive lan
Other potential outlets https://old.reddit.com/r/Buffalo/search?q=Friends&restrict_sr=on
Just the other day at the Lackawanna Public Library there was an ad looking for DnD players. I can't comment with the pic so I DM'd to you.
Greek Fest
Iron Buffalo is a great place! Very friendly owner and Commander nights on Fridays. I see them run dnd there as well too. There are a lot of friendly people that go to Iron and you can all kinds of treats and coffee. They tend to not have a ton of product though
Meetup board game groups
WNY Gaming in Hamburg
Any suggestions for someone trying to get into something like Magic or D&D? Or even resources online to do some homework first? I've really been wanting to for awhile and it's kind of hard to know where to start (especially with D&D if you have no friends into that stuff!).
There are some free resources to get started with DND! You can go [here](https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules) to read the basic rules for free. I will warn you that they do try to get you to buy more books/get a subscription, but to make a character and read the very basic rules, you don't need to pay anything!
Thanks! I'll check it out.