LGS on the Road - Snakes and Lattes

By: Dozer

I've always believed that our hobby needs the Local Game Shops (LGS) to keep our games healthy. We need to support the LGS to keep our games on the shelf. We need our games on the shelf to keep the games alive.

Canada has a healthy relationship with their game shop and I want to post about my experience about the many shops that dot Canada.

This year I am travelling all across Canada  for my day job. When I stop at a new city, I will be visiting and playing at as many LGS as I can. 

If you're into the tabletop scene and you live in the Greater Toronto Area you know of Snakes and Lattes. If you're passing by please go ahead and stop by this neighborhood game shop and play area. Now they have more than one location. The College location is the original spot and where I was last night. It's where I played my first board game with Shonty. It was introduced by her oldest friends, Britsky and J-Rex, to a first edition of Pandemic which we played two back to back games. It was the first weekend of the College location's expansion and they were sorting out a liquor licence.

When you walk into the current version of the place you'll find a warm space of a non-corporate coffee joint where you're asked to wait to be seated. The entrance is littered with Ikea book shelves with copies of new games ready for sale. I was very happy with the selection of board games and I was tempted more than once to pick up a new game. The charge last night was six dollars (CND) for each person and we were walked into the game area to out table. There we ordered a selection of coffee, milkshake, and tea with a gummy bucket to snack on.

Tables were a mix of bench tables that can sit six easy with plenty of table space. While other smaller tables and round table were available for players to use for groups small and large.

Introducing my friends to Forbidden Desert

Candy is at 2 full buckets

- We lost, it was close, so a normal game

I was sent out to find a game. JRex was hungry for a experience similar to Pandemic. A coperative game where you as a group try to beat the game. So I left the large table and hit the game shelves and snagged a copy of Forbidden Desert. Each staff I ran into ask if I needed help with the game. This will be the norm since every staffer is familiar with most of the games they have for you to play. If a staffer is unfamiliar someone else knows the game. Also each of the parts of the games are organized and cards are normally sleeved.

Since JRex and Britsky introduced me to Pandemic I introduced them to another game by Matt Leacock. We played a very novice game, with no new sand for the first round. Eventually JRex had 3 of the parts, I passed on the last one and on my sand turn we died. I was screaming "get to tha choppah!". It was close... so all in all a normal game.

Introducing my friends to Love Letter

With some juice still in the tank they wanted to play another game. So I went and found another easy game with Love Letter. We played the basic 4 player version and after a round or two JRex caught up to Britsky's lead of three points. I was stuck at 1 point of affection when they knocked me out and the loving couple fought for that final fourth point of affection... in the end the princess won.

While we played the staff approached us twice. Once when a staff offered an alternative in a new game about animals. The second time a staffer chatted with us about the mechanics and asked how we liked it. These folks are awesome and friendly.

So a night out with friends while away from home turned into a brilliant evening after a few games at Snakes and Lattes. Come on in, grab a game, grab a coffee and some food. Sit down and enjoy your time with some folks  you like.

- Cheers

Dozer