by Armchair Dragoons PAO, 20 October 2024
Continuing our spotlight series on the Friendly Local (War)Game Stores around the US & Canada
Atomic Empire is located in Durham, NC
In our key ratings for the FLGS directory, Atomic Empire scores
- 3 – Wargame Friendliness
- 2 – Wargame Inventory On-Hand
- 5 – Wargaming Event Frequency
This is a 1-7 scale, where higher numbers are better; see bottom of article for details
And Yes, they do offer online ordering; you can find them at their homepage
What makes this store awesome?
Huge boardgame selection, including wargames from non-wargame publishers (Undaunted, M’44) in the general boardgame shelves. Small, dedicated display for wargames, almost all from GMT, but with other wargames and consims mixed into the general boardgames.
Very large selection of minis for fantasy/sci-fi wargaming. Extensive selections of comics, graphic novels, geek toys, etc.
Dedicated aisle for NSFW/adult-themed games, and the only time we’ve seen a dedicated CCG-booster-wrapper-only recycling bin.
Atomic Empire has Eurogames as their main product inventory, and also carries board wargames, minis wargames, big-box “ameritrash” games, tabletop RPGs, non-wargame minis (fantasy and/or space), collectible card games, general game accessories (dice, game mats, markers, etc), minis accessories (terrain, paint, etc), and non-game hobby merchandise (RC vehicles, crafts, puzzles, etc).
On the shelves, it’s new games only
For in-store gaming, you’ve got a bunch of tables in the back
Snacks for sale? yes
Take a look at the store!
click images to enlarge
(photos submitted by Brant)
Don’t forget to check out our overall FLGS directory, which will keep growing as you folks submit your own nominations for inclusion!
Ranking scale for the stores
- Wargame Friendliness: 1 (What’s a Wargame?) through 7 (Wargaming Nirvana)
- Wargame Inventory On-Hand: 1 (A stray lonely copy of one game) through 7 (Inventory is at least least 90% wargames)
- Wargaming Event Frequency: 1 (Monthly or less) through 7 (Nightly)
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