Whose Move is it now?

So, way back in 1994, shortly after I left that note on my dorm room door, I discovered a little game store in Davis Square (gateway to the Red Line) called Your Move Games. It was less creepy than the other store on the block that sold Magic cards (Davis Square Collectibles), and upstairs from Yee's Village, a Chinese restaurant my friends fondly remember for the scorpion bowls. Right across the street from Osco.

I remember, after being a "regular customer" for awhile, I tried to introduce myself to Rob, and he said something about not being good with names; so I continued as a semi-anonymous customer, occasionally participating in Magic tournaments, buying stuff, and with some distinct memories of people (probably Dave Z and Ben P long before we would meet) in the back room getting overly excited about cheap "Jyhad" cards, whatever that was.

So when I started playing VTES a few years later and asking questions, and Prescott answered my newsgroup post with a message about the Your Move Games weekly playgroup, I was more than willing to start playing there.

That was in early 2001.

About 75% of my weeks since then, at least one evening has been spent in that store. And many whole Saturdays and Sundays. Through two locations, 3 drugstores across the street/next door, and never a non-scary bathroom, it has been another "home" for me. A default location that I could count on.

Will I miss it?

Ironically, not really.

Pardon me if I cheese up for a minute, but it is and always has been about the people and the friendships I have made. I surely won't miss the stinky crowded basement, although I will accidentally end up driving in that direction on my way to whereever we start playing VTES again a few times. And I won't miss their selection of products; let's be honest here, in my 15 years as a customer I haven't exactly pulled my own weight in keeping them around.

But it's still a notable loss. And there are stories there.

It's worth saying goodbye.

Goodbye, Your Move Games.

I leave you with my favorite Your Move Games story, funniest because I found it through a completely unrelated blog: http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/2008/01/01/your-move-officer/