Compleat Strategist

I’ve been back a few times since I wrote a scathing review about their poor service, and I have to say that it has improved dramatically. That’s all I wanted! Thanks for listening!

Just moved to the area looking for a FLGS and I think I found it!
They had a pretty extensive selection and variety of pen and paper RPG source books in the back. The extent of how many they have is insane. They even had the source book for the 1995 movie Species, which I did not even know existed.
The manager talked with me for 10 – 15 minutes and was super friendly and then left me to browse in case. The store was a little cluttered but I would say due to the large inventory compared to the space they have to work with.

It’s interesting to read the reviews here, they’re such a broad mix and the old ones are quite dated, so I have no idea if they’ve cleaned up their store or what. It did not strike me as messy or musty, at least today.
I was going to a camera store today and hadn’t considered hitting any game stores while in town as I can’t afford to infringe on luggage space too much when I noticed the sign while stopped at the light in front of the store. I couldn’t see inside as the glass was painted over for Halloween, which I’m fine with. I decided to take the risk that it wasn’t just another Warhammer 40K store, and it wasn’t!
This is a game store that I like, and I’ve been to a lot all over the country. It is smallish and almost all of the inventory is piled against the wall to make more room for gaming tables in the middle of the room. I was there in the middle of the day when there was no gaming going on, just me and the employee, who was having lunch. We spoke quite a bit and I eventually settled on two small games that will easily fit in my luggage.
Overall, good selection. There were newer things, and older things. Some obscure games that I’d never seen before, and lots of old friends like Flash Point, Zombies!!!, Fluxx, Munchkin, etc. I think they fairly well cover the gamut of the game industry. I would definitely be a regular if I lived in the area, and if I find myself back here again I shall certainly stop in for a visit.

The selection is probably the best in the area, but I agree with the other Unilocalers that the store needs improvement. I can’t say that I’ve had a problem getting help from the staff; I’m always greeted when I enter the store, and I’ve never had to wait to get checked out. The store itself is kind of junky. The games are alphabetized, but otherwise everything is thrown onto the shelves in random stacks. Prices are MSRP, so nothing to get excited about. Most damning is that the whole store has the lingering smell of the unwashed. If they’d just air it out a bit, browsing for more than a minute might be tolerable.

I’ve been on the hunt for good game stores and while the location isn’t my favorite I was surprised by their selection. It doesn’t look like much but the walls are packed corner to corner, ceiling to floor with games. Small games, party games, big games, strategy games, Euro games, pocket games. I was in heaven. Prices are average for what game stores «think» they can charge but overpriced to what they «should» charge. Their selection is the only reason I’m giving them 3 stars.
Staff was non-​existent, well that’s not entirely true, he was there he just choose to ignore us while he painted figurines and chatted with loiters.
So if you don’t mind browsing the shelves alone and being treated like Casper The Unwanted Customer Ghost then check out Complete Strategist.

I’m an RPG nerd and jump at the chance to support any retail store that specializes in them, but this place suffers from many of the stereotypes which drive away mainstream customers.
First off, it’s incredibly messy and dirty. The floor looks like it has never been vacuumed which is probably the reason for the musty smell in the back of the store. The organization of the items is haphazard at best. Are the books ordered by publisher, title, alphabetical? A little bit of everything with vary degrees of consistency. Slapdash at best.
Second, the people playing in the middle of the store have their stuff strewn about the place like it was their own living room. I had to step over book bags, jackets, and other assorted crap just to peruse the shelves.
Third, they seem to have random hours of operation. I’ve been in the area several times and have only seen them open once.
And finally, I left the best (or worst) for last… customer service. It was utterly lacking in every single facet. Upon walking in I was given a recited little speech which I could barely hear over the traffic behind me. Trying to engage the employee in conversation was pointless since he was engrossed in a game of Magic the Gathering. I spent 20 minutes looking through their RPG books and not once was I asked if I needed any help or if I was looking for something in particular. I was equally ignored when I finally left the store.
There are no compelling reasons for me to purchase an item from this store instead of the Internet. How they’re still open is beyond me. I’d rather go to Victory Comics where they’re much friendlier or really just about anywhere else.

I started frequenting this store a few months ago. The selection of board games is the best I have found in the area. The manager always greets me when I walk in, and always has a big smile on his face. The store is small, and does suffer from «Clubhouse syndrome» as a previous reviewer put it. However, the manager is always quick to leave his game when I am ready to check out, or have a question. All of my experiences at the Compleat Strategist have been good.

Being a textbook misanthrope and someone that researches my game purchases a lot before I buy them, (otherwise I would own even more games that I rarely play than I do now) I don’t really need a lot of help when walking around to pick up games. What I really like, is a huge selection with clearly marked prices, so I don’t have to talk to anyone if I don’t need to.
Bingo.
TONS of boardgames, and probably one of the biggest selection of boardgames that I have seen in a store of this size. There is a very sizable pen-​and-​paper section, also; lots of stuff that I had never even heard of. If you are into miniature gaming, the selection is a little sparse compared to some of the others that I have seen, but it doesn’t seem like it’s too little.
Piecewise, is pretty reasonable; game stores can be atrocious with gouging you when you pick something up (manufacturers don’t help) but I found this place pretty close to some of the Internet pricing that I look for. And when it’s time to buy, I just say «I’m ready» and then I buy. No need for a lengthy conversation with the staff.
I go frequently, and recommend it to others.

This store easily has the largest stock of wargames in the area. The staff is not overeager to help, but I have never had a problem if I have a question to ask. The interior is pretty shabby and quite frankly I am surprised they are still in business as it was me and the store clerk for the entire 30 minutes I was browsing. The place leans more to the RPG crowd where I think Game Parlor gaming space is more diverse and active. Still this place reminds me of the old school game shops of some 20 – 30 years ago– dirty and shabby, but chocked full of games of every stripe. If you like boardgames and wargames, head down there as there are fewer an fewer of these places anymore.

This game store suffers from the worst affliction a game shop can face: Clubhouse syndrome.
As far as I can tell, the store primarily exists so that someone (manager, owner?) can have gaming space and a place to hang out with gaming buddies. The board game selection is the best I’ve ever seen, but the staff is a pain and the hours are awful. 95% of the time when I’ve tried to go here, they’ve locked the doors, eight? staff? are inside and they’re playing D&D or something. The store just makes no effort to be available to people actually trying to shop.

I have no idea what this store used to be, nor do I care. My experience was one of the best I’ve had at any store in a long time. My fiancé and I just moved to town a few months ago and were on the bus when, while at a stop light we saw Compleat Stategist out of the corner of our eyes. After a couple seconds we come to the same conclusion that we had to go check it out and got off the bus immediately. The whole place screamed Maiden Games, a store that just recently closed down in my own home town, and I felt excited and at home in that instant.
We were immediately welcomed with that geeky smile I have come to know and love from all gamers and Eric stood from what he was doing to greet us. They were preparing to start a game, Gamma Worlds, and because neither of us had played, Eric explained it and his character to us. My fiancé and I, after being invited enthusiastically, decided to stay and make our own characters.
The night continued with many laughs, pizza that we didn’t pay for but were welcome to partake in, and new found friendships. My fiancé, after debating with himself because he hasn’t played in so long, bought a bunch of Magic cards and dice. We were invited back so they can teach me to play as well and so my fiancé can play with others who know what they’re doing.
This store is a great find and I know that at least myself and my fiancé will continue to return again and again. We plan to purchase Dungeon and Dragons books next, another game I have never played. They seemed to have a great selection.

My friends and I regularly play RPGs and visit this particular store often because of its convenient location. For the most part it has been a good experience, but some aspects of the store reduce my enjoyment of their business.
Whereas the store used to be well layed out and have humongous stock of mostly tabletop roleplaying supplies, comics, etc., it has shifted to cater to the more casual gamers (i.e. strategy and board games). There are no longer aisles and the space in the center that used to be home to large gaming tables — which also gave the store a sense of life and excitement — is now often just empty space, emphasizing the somewhat shabby décor. The Compleat Strategist’s method of completing transactions, a holdover from the pre-​digital age, could easily and (relatively) cheaply be recitfied by way of a stock database and computer terminal with a point-​of-​sales program to give the business a more modern and professional air.
I realize the majority of this review has been critical. However, I remember being really impressed with this store and think it could be even better if the owners reprioritized and reorganized. Kudos to them for their survival in a difficult field of business and exposing Northern Virginia to a wealth of interesting and entertaining pastimes!

Like one of my fellow reviewers, I too have been visiting this shop off-​and-​on since it was called «Strategy and Fantasy World» back in the 80s. I live about a mile away from it now, and stop in every few months.
Pros:
1. Most of the things you find for sale here you would have to drive a good distance or buy over the Internet. Diverse stock.
2. Survivor in a tough genre, and has survived for years in an area where real estate’s not exactly cheap.
Cons:
1. Diversity cuts both ways. Tries to cover too many genres in a small shop, so it doesn’t really do any of them too well. Miniatures (mostly Warhammer 40K and the like, not historical miniatures), collectible card games, wargames, quasi-​wargames (e.g. Axis & Allies), role playing games, parlor games, plus a few books and other random stuff.
2. Customer service is mostly — but not always — disinterested, unhelpful, and sometimes ignorant about their own stock. Too many of the staff seem to view the job mostly as a chance to get paid to play the games they would be playing anyway. Let’s face it: staff playing games only brings in revenue if it brings new players to the game the staff are playing, or inspires current players to spend money. It should never come at the expense of helping potential customers. I have asked about a game (RPG) that I had been looking at in the shop a few weeks earlier, and that I couldn’t find now). The clerk tried some ineffective looking for it, but obviously had no idea where it was. The shop is not that big — there’s no excuse for not knowing your own stock. That said, I have had a few clerks who asked if they could help me or if I was looking for anything specific without being prompted.
3. Shabby looking, dirty, and badly lit. The shop looks messy, and having an unobstructed view into the store room makes it look even messier.
4. I don’t like the latest reorganization. It’s obviously designed to expand the space available for playing, but I don’t see how they could have the same stock (though they say they do). Another problem is, the gaming that goes on in the store focuses on only a small portion of the store’s stock, so it’s hard to see how it could move product outside of those areas.
It’s hard to know what a game store should focus on now. Wargamers like me are an aging bunch who are more likely to be selling our games than buying new ones. RPGs seem lifeless, CCGs not dead but not what they were, expensive European games a la Settlers of Catan have their fans, but don’t seem they would bring in a steady revenue stream. I have to give Compleat Strategist credit just for surviving, and I do buy from them when they have something I want. But even with their constraints, they could do a better job.

The selection of games is actually quite good, with a lot of board games and a nicely browseable collection of RPGs, including a great deal of more obscure stuff. But if you’re looking for a place to play or good services, this isn’t it.
The store is smaller than my one bedroom apartment and what open gaming area there is is usually taken up by teenage kids playing Warhammer 40k. As many of these kids are staff members (at least they man the cash register), the store is effectively using its gaming area for the enjoyment of its employees, which isn’t a terribly customer-​centric model.
What customer service there is smacks of gamers running a store because they like games, but not because they’re interested in selling them. The teenagers seem put out by having to leave their games to sell products.
The only reason I still go here is because it’s the only gaming store close. But I’ll probably just stick to the Internet from now on.

Today my wife and I went to a place that held a lot of fond memories for me as a young gamer-​geek. The Compleat Strategist… There was one in Hollywood, Florida way back in the 80s… a source of many fond memories. It was a sad day about 18 years ago when it burned down… even when some supposedly smoke-​damaged merchandise appeared at the new Dragon’s Lair a few months later. I sometimes wonder if the «Dragon» reference was an inside joke about the fire. Rumors abounded at the time, though I don’t know of any actual validity to the same.
We landed at the Strategist in Falls Church, Virginia… and… well, I’ve been spoiled by Aardvark, I think. I was fairly underwhelmed, even though they have a huge amount of stock… probably four or five times that of Little Aardvark’s.
Nice thing about the Virginia place was that it was mostly clean — no dust on any of the good in the front, and the books were well-​organized by game and title. If I’d been there looking for RPG stuff or Wargaming stuff, I’d have been set.
Unfortunately, I was looking for parlor games. The little corner in the back reminded me of the «XXX» section of old video stores. The light bulb overhead was a dim, rattling fluorescent, the packages heavily manhandled with cellophane and cardboard torn. The games were in semi-​alpha order… but not quite. Some stuff was on pegs, some on shelves, some boxes lay half open. I might’ve wept openly for the poor pente tube in the corner without a visible lid or board inside.
I can’t find anything that I wanted. BHK spots Treehouse and Ice Towers on the wall… I get excited, and ask about some other games, almost sure that he’ll know something about one or more of these… almost all are major award winners, and have a pretty large following.
Do you have
* Classic Illuminati? Nuh, don’t think so.
* Brawl any two decks? What’s that?
* Cosmic Encounter?
* Playing with Pyramids?
* any Cheapass Games ?
Nope, nope and nope. We had money for a game or three more burning a hole in our pocket, and finally asked…
«OK, then… based on what we mentioned… what do you recommend? We like fun, fast-​paced games with a mix of strategy and random chance. What do you have that’s cute with a deck of cards and a die in it?»
The proprietor was too busy playing mechwarrior and eating pizza with another regular at the store to give us any more answer than «if it’s not on the shelf, we don’t have it…» and a wave of the hand.
Not a very talkative fellow, unless he was reciting how many bonuses he had to hit the other toy robot on the board. So much for me pumping him for info regarding the old Florida store or reminiscing… I suspect that the Florida CS burned down when he was maybe three years old.
That sort of disappointed us… BHK asked him about a high school clique game, and he said he’d never played it, but a guy friend did, and didn’t much like it. That was the most extensive review we got from him… heck, those were the most words spoken to us at one time.
Still no other advice, so we browsed for about a half hour or so, found a few games, and noted to purchase them elsewhere. Chez Goth, Treehouse with Martian Coasters, Puerto Rico. That’s like $ 100 or so worth of games, I’d guess. He lost the only sale it looked like he might make that day.
The best aspect of going was that we got some freebie Star Wars constructible ship-​combat game as throwaway swag.
Pros — Good for RPG manuals and Wargaming stuff, items with high turnaround very well maintained.
Cons — Parlor games minimal — dusty, torn items, out of order. customer service horrid. People in the store were more interested in playing with each other than helping a customer find merchandise.