Board Games

Board Games occupy 87% of the retail square footage at Green Lake Games. OK, I made that number up, but it's a big part of the store. This page is just the start of our repository of board game knowledge.

The most important information:
 * We have an extremely liberal return policy. Opened or unopened games in nearly any reasonable condition can be returned for a full cash refund without a receipt or justification.
 * We encourage board game play. We maintain a library of more than three hundred games that customers may open and play in the store or borrow to return at a later date. Yes, they can take the game with them to a nearby restaurant like Beth's or St. Andrews. We're gotten them used to the weird.
 * Wednesday Boardgame Night starts at 6:00PM, and meets basically every Wednesday of the year.
 * Boardgame Geek has a database of more than 55,000 board and card games, and features amateur and professional reviews, pictures, session reports, rulebooks, FAQ's and trivia about games. It is probably the largest store of table-top game information on the planet, and we recommend it to our staff and customers.
 * Can we order that game? Search for a game by typing the name in the "Title:" blank on the Alliance Games online catalog. If a game appears here with a dollar-amount price, we can order it and we will usually receive it within a week. Do not quote Alliance's prices to customers.
 * Games to get list, or what to do if you've said we can order that game: If someone requests a game, do not write the name of the game and/or their contact information on a post-it note. Go to the excel icon, drag it down, and click on Games to Get. Put the name of the game, the person's name, and phone number and/or email address. Failure to do this means we can't contact them when their order comes in, or when we realize the game is out of print or currently only being sold in Brazil.
 * Schilling the store: We are not the largest board game store in Washington state. We *are* the store with the largest selection of board games in Washington state.

Recommending games to a customer: Links:
 * If they are wandering, a great opening line is "What kinds of games do you like to play?"
 * Analyze what they say, and ask follow up questions. "Do you enjoy Euro style games?" "Do you enjoy deck building games?" "Do you like co-op games?" (and if the last one throws them, explain what a co-op game is/entails. Many people just don't know) "Do you like longer games..." "Are you looking for a good 2 player game?"
 * Make suggestions based on what they respond.
 * Suggestions to follow...
 * Fantasy Flight Games: Publishers of Arkham Horror and Battlestar Galactica
 * Mayfair Games: Publishers of Settlers of Catan, and 18XX
 * Rio Grande Games: Publishers of Dominion
 * Z-Man Games: Publishers of Agricola