What we ask of our game stores depends on how we need them. Noble Knight Games doesn’t have the luxury of being a monolith – it is an online games emporium, it is a community center for Fitchburg and the larger Madison area, and it is a growing sponsor of creators (like yours truly) in the hobby we all love. In this piece, we’re going to take a look at how Noble Knight’s changed in the last year across these three pillars (with a smattering of games included, because of course) – it’s both a celebration of how Noble Knight’s continued to evolve to meet and exceed your needs, and a look at the nuts and bolts put in place to give you the great games you’re looking for.
Cardboard Boxes By The Thousands
Swing by the Noble Knight store and you’ll see a giant warehouse sprawling off the back. Roll well enough to convince an employee to give you a tour and you’ll see enough shelves, boxes, and cavernous paths to bring Raiders of the Lost Ark’s ending to mind. Yet, all that space is being put to good use storing, fixing up, and offering games past and present to all of you with the click of a button. Sometimes, a game like this year’s Star Wars: Battle of Hoth will dominate an aisle with
hundreds of copies in the few days before they disappear off to waiting players. Staples like Ticket to Ride and Azul are joined, increasingly, by heavier constants Spirit Island and Dune Imperium. Mixed into the best sellers, usually, are a couple of war games – lately it’s Burning Banners and Battles in the East Vol. 2.
Surfing through all those opportunities, you’ll notice, is easier now thanks to Noble Knight’s search modifications. You still have your staple categories and collections, which we’ve showcased throughout the year, but you’ll also find the Helpful Squire serving up recommendations, providing more details on a product, and helping find similar titles. I’ve found this exceptionally useful when trying to remember what publisher made that Stalingrad game I was curious about, or which expansion had the killer crows. No longer do I need to have several tabs open just to find the edition I’m looking for, which means more time playing, less time scrutinizing product details.
That bigger warehouse, too, means more of those games to enjoy. Pre-orders, pre-owned, and crowdfunded collections abound. The new stuff is great, but Noble Knight’s continuing to double down on its strength: namely, the ability to find those long lost gems, or memories worth revisiting. Sure, you can grab 10000 ASL counters for Christmas, or you could challenge your stamina and die rolling skills by playing every version of TALISMAN to ever release. These little ludicrous delights set Noble Knight apart, coupled with their excellent staff that ensure you won’t ever receive some uncooked pasta instead of the game you ordered.
The staff, those meticulous masterminds of cardboard knowledge, turn pre-owned games into your next obsession. Board games and tabletop RPGs aren’t (generally) expendable, letting one group enjoy before passing a game on to another. Noble Knight takes in those games, judges quality and confirms components exist, and helps both the seller and future buyer get what they’re looking for. What’s more – incomplete games aren’t tossed, they’re scavenged. If your new acquisition or a favorite game is missing a piece, drop them a line. They just might have the meeple you’re looking for.
A Game Store Worthy of the Name
To get that meeple, maybe you’ll drop by Noble Knight’s physical store. While the growing warehouse certainly adds a dimension to the space, you won’t have to wander its labyrinthine halls to find a great time. Give the Dark Knight and, er, a more medieval one a nod on your way through the doors and you’ll find shelves stuffed with titles new and old, RPGs, miniatures, and supplies. It’s a full-fledged browser-friendly experience enhanced by a few computers here and there, so you can scan the bigger supply. More than once, I’ve found myself intrigued by a title and then snapped up an expansion or a related game (can you ever have too many OCS titles? My shelves suggest no) through the in-store web portal.
But I’d argue the biggest reason to swing by is, well, the games themselves. See, Noble Knight has a stuffed event calendar and the space to hold it. We’re talking big 
tables with aisle space to walk between them, big windows in a large area so you won’t feel like you’re in a literal dungeon as you take on some dragons in a hosted RPG session. Sponsored tournaments co-exist with casual war gaming meet-ups, new game demos play footsie with painting lessons. It’s rare to find an afternoon and evening where the store isn’t humming.
Oh, and there’s snacks now. Sandwiches and the like. No longer must you wage your Magic duels with a rumbling stomach.
Here are a few of the more unusual events worth dropping by to enjoy:
- Blood on the Clocktower – every other Saturday at 5, dive into a session of intrigue, mystery, and murder. A fantastical social deduction game where you’ll get secret roles and alliances, powers and opportunities, it’s great, immersive fun.
- Madison Tabletop Roleplaying – every Tuesday at 6, join in on RPG sessions that play anything except D&D. That little qualifier means you’ll be able to explore the huge range of RPGs out there, letting you tell fresh stories. Then, on Mondays, you can bring out your half-orc barbarian and rage about.
- Bolt Action Fridays – Take your platoon and play (or just show up and learn!). While Bolt Action is hardly niche, it’s also not Warhammer, and giving all sorts of titles their own nights and afternoons is a luxury Noble Knight’s space provides. Pro Move – show up a few hours earlier and you can kick in some Scrabble games with vets, then use your expanded vocabulary on colorful curses when the dice don’t roll your way.
- Geezer Gamers – Noon – 4 on Wednesdays. No particular theme, just a board game meetup on Wednesday afternoons. All levels, all the games, and folks who’d love to play them. Noble Knight maintains a large demo library on site too, so you can always find something fresh to play.
Supporting Our Hobby, and Our Community
Beyond building itself up as a staple of the local gaming community, Noble Knight’s branched out to the hobby at large over the last few years, finding and sponsoring many creators. It’d be easy to read this as a marketing exercise alone, but the people sponsored here, from The Player’s Aid to Ardwulf and his lair, are, like you reading this, the lifeblood of the hobby. It’s a virtuous cycle, wherein GMT releases a great new game, Zilla Blitz gives it a cracking review, you buy it from Noble Knight, who in turn buys it from GMT, and around we go. Economics, or something. The end result? We keep getting great games, and we get to hear about them from folks who love our hobby as much as we do.
Sometimes, perhaps, a little bit more.
If you’re looking to support and enjoy some excellent creators, here’s a list (in no particular order), with each one’s tagline:
Zilla Blitz: Focusing on first look vides, gameplay videos, and reviews.
Ardwulf’s Lair: Focusing on strategy games and wargames, Ardwulf’s Lair has been bringing you gameplay, news, information and commentary on games since 2007.
The Player’s Aid: Board Game Reviews, Reports, and Reflections.
The Gameboy Geeks: The Game Boy Geek Provides Hi-Quality – Hi-Energy – Board Game Reviews
Books, Bricks, and Boards: Short reviews of RPG books, Legos and Board Games.
Tabletop Tokki: Dedicated to sharing board games that deserve more love.
Board Gaming Crew: Bringing people together through the joy of board games.
Tablenauts: Tabletop | Comedy | Gaming
Hungry Gamer Reviews: I do reviews and previews about board games.
Rogue Watson: I host a weekly live stream D&D show, review TTRPG content from DMs Guild and other websites, and live stream video games.
Dani Cha: Board game playthroughs and unboxings, SOLO board gaming focus, TCGs/CCGs, and more.
Purple Moose Plays: Previews, reviews, and playthroughs of soloable board games both new and old.
Legendary Tactics: Legendary Tactics is all about amazing games. From retro board games through to the most recent digital games, we cover it all.
A Man Is Alone: I am Man Alone and I am never alone because I create whole worlds in my head and then just keep leveling up. (Solo RPGs!)
Pushing Cardboard: Wargames, history games, political games. Dives into how to play, interviews with designers and publishers, and conversations about the ongoing history of historical game design.
Flik’s Tabletop Gaming: Welcome to the home of tabletop gaming in Scotland.
Tabletop Vibes: We love taking our passion for all types of tabletop hobbies and sharing them with others!
Board Gaming Mama: A Geeky Mother of Three covering games of all types.
Beyond hobby creators, Noble Knight also gives thousands to charities and organizations both related to board gaming and beyond, from local food banks to art centers to awesome D&D improv groups. We’re a part of this community, and we take pride in it.
All told, Noble Knight continues to grow, both physically and digitally. That’s only possible because all of you continue to come to us when you’re looking for a new game, or to pass along one ready for a new home. Thank you.
Now, stop reading. It’s your turn, and those counters won’t move themselves.
