Five Point Friday - March 11, 2022

Welcome to this week's Five Point Friday. I haven't been keeping up because so many things are happening around here. Today marks 50 days until we go home. In just 2 weeks, we got new floors, windows, kitchen cabinets and a lot of other stuff. 

50 days is going to go fast. My main issue is all of the changes at home. I might have to skip restoring my basement office. That's ok. 

My daughter has plans for a rabbit hutch and a reading area. My wife wants the PS4 down there, too. My son Paul's room will be down there. 

In the kitchen area, we have a nice table picked out which will be great for homework and blogging. Additionally, we'll have a nice passthrough area between the kitchen and dining room with room to write and draw. We already have the stools picked out.  

For point one, on the gaming side, I jumped into the Old School Essentials Kickstarter. It seems very popular. At the moment, with 14 days to go, they crossed the $650,000 range. They are deep into the stretch goals but shy of the $800,000 point to do physical dice. They are projecting that the Kickstarter won't make it to that. 

Ah, well. Can't have everything. But by sharing their campaign, maybe we can have everything. :) 

Just what I need, more dice. 

For point 2, I stopped off at Iron Buffalo Gaming for a book and some excellent coffee. I really enjoy this place and they have a great thing going there. 

I spoke with the owner and listened as he did an interview with a local news crew. I haven't seen him on the news, I suspect I missed it.

 

But anyway, I did manage to snap a picture or two of their D&D e5 setup.

 

I want my shelves to look like this. We'll see. 

Point 3 is I discovered that Hulu has the Firefly TV show. For some reason the film, Serenity is elsewhere in the streaming universe. Over the next couple of weeks, I plan on watching an episode per evening. 

Four. More sci-fi. 

I picked up the Serenity RPG from 2005. It looks impressive, I've been reading through it and building characters to work out the rules. I really enjoy reliving Firefly. 

My last point is on ads, media, and swag. 

I lost my Amazon ads a week or so ago. I'm not sure why. Anyway, that is why you won't see ads for them here anymore. I am still heavily into the Amazon ecosphere, so don't think that just because I don't run their ads that they have bad products. 

As a replacement, I have been including Abe Book ads with each book review. Additionally, I have some swag links available. Over on Redbubble, you can grab some great coffee mugs created by me. I am trialing putting ordering information in posts, but I'm not sure that is the way to go. I need to figure out how to present them nicely on the blog. 

Another simplification is I have eliminated my Facebook and Twitter share campaign. Redbubble is kind of pressuring me into using Instagram, but I don't use it much. The data doesn't support using Facebook, so flipping to a new platform seems... well... bad. Facebook was good for a while, but it wasn't giving me the returns I was expecting. What I found was, 38% of my readers are coming directly to the blog either by typing the name or using a bookmark. Also, only 4% of my readers came from Facebook and that number is falling. 

But... Wow! 38%. That is awesome. If I knew how to get that higher, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But 38% is amazing name recognition for a website with a wacky name. 

I am looking at all of my social media accounts and trying to decide what else can go. No matter what, I plan on keeping my MeWe and Dice.Camp accounts running. 

Anyway, thank you for reading. 

Iron Buffalo Coffee Review and a Swag Plug

I had a chance to stop into Iron Buffalo Gaming yesterday and picked up a bag of fresh ground coffee. The place was rockin' at 4 in the afternoon. 

Anyway, Iron Buffalo Gaming has a coffee "problem". Well, not a real problem, but a strong sense of good coffee. They had the coffee bar open and it smelled wonderful. They are also able to do many other styles of drinks, such as an oatmeal latte.

They have a slot on their website for ordering coffee, but right now they are not in stock. I'll update when it becomes available. 

I was in a hurry, so I didn't have time to hang out and have a cup. That and they have a mask policy in place, so I had to take mine home. William, the owner ground it on the spot so it was totally fresh. Not that it would be old or stale being made over at Tipico Coffee on Elmwood Avenue here in Buffalo, NY. You can't get fresher coffee than that. 

This brew is a light roast. 

My son and I had a cup after dinner and it was great. While advertised as a light roast, it is full-bodied with a delicate persimmon overtone. I love saying "PERSIMMON", I've always wanted to say that. 

As promised, I have some swag to share, too.

A few months ago, I started offering some small items on Red Bubble, including these great coffee mugs. They are typical mugs that are perfect for relaxing with a good coffee. They are 11 ounces or 325 ml. which is just the right size for quality coffee. None of the wacky, "Venti® Americano, Starbucks Coffee" crap. 

You don't need 20 oz. of good coffee to be satisfied. I have this hysterical Starbucks monolog about "a venti what?" that I do when I go to Starbucks. It hinges on venti is Italian for 20 but Italians have been on the metric system for ages, so I want "venti litri di caffè americano". 

Enough joking, on to the commercials! 

These two mugs are available for a little over $16 on Redbubble.com, but if you order two the price drops to a smidgen over $13 each. I have both white and black available. The design is called "Rockets into Adventure". You are probably familiar with this design from my Pandemic Disaster posts. 

The black cup is pictured to the left, with the bag of coffee and a small hint to my next review. 

Review - Iron Buffalo Gaming. A game store with a coffee problem.

Name: Iron Buffalo Gaming (and Coffee!) 
Location: 656 Millersport Highway, Amherst, NY 14226
Phone: (716) 541-0336
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ironbuffalogaming
Website: https://www.ironbuffalogaming.com/

Coffee and games are two of my favorite things and Iron Buffalo has them both. I love this shop and not for the excellent coffee smell that permeates everything. We have some great gaming shops in the area but this one is my favorite for the coffee connection. 

Iron Buffalo has a great assortment of games, D&D, OSE, X-Wing plus paints, dice, and other gaming supplies. The last time I was in there, it was the height of COVID and there was no coffee. Local places have been taking a pounding from this crap. 

I somehow managed to not take any pictures when I last visited, which I really regret. The inside of the building is wonderfully laid out, with everything having its place. It is so easy to find what you need. I am planning a trip tomorrow or the next day, so maybe I'll not forget myself and take a picture or two. 

I hear scheduled events will return Friday, March 18th, so check them out on the web or their Facebook page. As I understand it, Iron Buffalo still has a facemask policy, so be prepared. If you follow them on Facebook, you'll get status updates which include event scheduling, new products, and other fun stuff happening there. 

One of the things that blew me away was they had an actual copy of Old School Essentials' Rules Tome. My wife gifted it to me for Christmas. This is one of the reasons you need to shop locally for things, whether it's a shop like Iron Buffalo or your local shop. It keeps the chain intact. A little shop investing in a tiny book floats at least two different companies and keeps the industry going. And it's more than "going" if a non-gamer like my wife can pick out a great game at a local shop, sight unseen from my dinner time blatherings.  

If you are in the Western New York Area, you have to check this shop out. 

Gather & Game Review

I have no idea why it took me so long to get to this shop. Gather & Game is a real gamers' shop. I took my son, Nathan, and my daughter, Catherine. Nathan was more impressed with the shop than Catherine. She had been playing guitar while my wife was at an online class, which is less than optimal. 

Name: Gather & Game
Location: 205 Grant St., Buffalo, New York 14213
Phone: 716-342-2823
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gatherandgame
Website: https://www.gatherandgame.com/

Gather & Game is located on Grant Street, a historic neighborhood with charm. Many of the shops have been there for decades and the game shop is no exception. The storefront is painted in vivid hues of purple and pink. From the outside, you'd have no idea that they crammed that much product into such a tiny space and left room for tables and gaming. 

There is no missing this place from the street, even when surrounded by equally colorful shops. 

Inside is cramped but comfortable. Shelves, displace cases, and gaming tables occupy most of the space. If you want to stroll along, you'll need to walk down Grant Street, which is always an adventure. 

I had to contain myself walking through the shelves. They have so many games. Everything from board games to Traveller5. I also had to remind myself that I had a budget to stick to, otherwise, I would have walked out with an armload of Warhammer, Battletech, and e5 products plus half a dozen board games that caught my eye. They had a few featured products but the shelves are crammed with perhaps 100 different types of games. 

They have something for everyone. 

Even better, the staff and owners are so knowledgeable about the wide array of products they have on hand. And it's not that salesman sort of knowledge, it's that warm and friendly passion about play and enjoyment that shines through. Even my heavy metal daughter smiled a bit when talking about products. 

They are already back to hosting game nights and I can't wait to go back. If you get a chance to visit Buffalo, make time to stop at our local shops for your gaming fix. 

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Review - Dragon Snack Games

2024 Edit - Dragon Snack has closed. You can check out their Facebook page for details. I hear they are going to reopen under new ownership. 

The goal is to have a review a week. My idea was to do a review of books, movies, and games every week for 2021. This is week two and I have 3 already and a list of 52 on deck to go. 

This is a bonus post because I didn't set out to review stores. This post is without remuneration, I have no affiliation with Dragon Snack games but I am purchasing a lot of material from them to fuel this thing. I have a shortlist of stores I need to visit in the near future, so expect to see more store reviews in the future. 

Name: Dragon Snack Games
Location: 3908 Maple Rd, Buffalo, NY 14226
Phone: (716) 833-0740
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dragonsnackgames/

January 1st, 2021 I needed something to do. I had the chance to stop into Dragon Snack Games to make some game purchases. I had never been there before and had no idea what to expect. 

Normally, I'd call this "a trip to The Shop", but Dragon Snack is much more than a "shop". It's huge. I was the only shopper probably because of the holiday and that wide open space threw me for a loop. 

On entry, there is a closeout section in front of the register loaded with stuff I want. I bumbled my way past it and onto the dozen or more racks that line the center of the store. They have a bit of everything from books to figures. I was so Woww'ed by what I saw, I am unable to process everything I saw. The outer walls are lined with shelves loaded with books, games, and puzzles. Maybe some models, too.

They have a small selection of paints and figure supplies, but this is a highly qualified statement. It was several shelves and racks, easily enough to fill a 10 by 10 room. 

Unlike other "game shops" Dragon Snack Games is open, airy, and brightly lit. I was easily able to make up a list of 50 things I wanted on entry and ticked off a list of 50 more items I saw that I now wanted after browsing the shelves. To say their selection is ample is an understatement. Prices are on par with other outlets or websites. If they are more expensive than online retailers, it's tiny and worth the experience.  

The back of the store is dedicated to either in-store gameplay or some sort of DIY activities, I was not able to tell as it was not in use due to Covid. I can't wait to go back after this mess is over. 

Quirks: In addition to being brightly lit and spacious, they play Sisters of Mercy and have a large glass screen between the cashier and the customer. It is completely touchless. I was surprised when the cashier asked me to turn the boxes around so she could read the price. Real, really touchless. It was one of the best touchless shopping experiences I have ever had. Probably on par with something you'd see at a massive company like Disney. 

Yeah, that feels about right. It's the Disney World of Game shops in my mind. 

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