A visit in the Wizards Inn

Pirmasens. A small town in the deepest of the Palatinate that is currently suffering a little from the offshoring of the shoe industry and is yet home to a cultural pearl - for the hobby. In the immediate proximity of the pedestrian zone, Thomas "Tom" Franz has been running the Wizards Inn since 1997, a whopping 25 years already.

The name really says it all - even from the outside, the store looks like you're taking a detour into a new Harry Potter adventure, and the homey feeling continues as you enter the Wizards Inn.

Tom founded the Wizards Inn back then out of a passion, but in a way also out of necessity. If you take a look at the hobby map in the Palatinate, you'll quickly notice that there are only a few places to go in the immediate vicinity, most of which require longer journeys. By doing so, Tom has not only enriched Pirmasens with an iconic location, but also enriched the lives of many enthusiasts in the hobby, whether they are role-players, board gamers, or tabletop gamers. The word social in social games is a big word at the Wizards Inn - of course always flavored with a bit of humor!

How far-reaching the meaning of this sentence is, you realize just when you take a look over to the local tabletop club. Since I have always tried to visit the local hobby clubs on business trips in the past, I also took the opportunity this time and contacted the 1st Tabletop- und Rollenspielverein Pirmasens e.V., which unfortunately recently had to give up its own club location and for the moment has found a new home at Tom's store on Tuesdays, where playing areas are provided.

Many of the club members can look back on a similarly long time in the hobby as the store exists. For almost eight years, the club has also existed as an independent association, which has its roots in the role-playing sector of Dungeons & Dragons and card games. Around 80% of the members were previously also active in the general pen and paper area.

Although Flames of War or Bolt Action are occasionally played, GW systems are currently the main games on the table. Thus, the club is in good hands at the Wizards Inn, since a wide range from their bandwidth is offered.

This is also partly due to the fact that a small store like this has to survive and is dependent on selling systems that sometimes yield a few pennies more, Tom explained to me. In doing so, he unconsciously addressed a topic that has been occupying me in the hobby for a while now - GW offers you everything, but in part also monotonizes the market. But that's a topic for long evenings and another article.

The Wizards Inn is otherwise quite diverse in terms of games. During my visit, several games were played at several tables, ranging from card games to board games. This area also hosts regular events, such as Friday Night Magic or Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments.

For me, it was a great visit, with a wonderful gaming atmosphere. So if you're ever in the area, pay the Wizards Inn a visit, play a round and leave a few bucks so that there are still anchors like this in our hobby in the future!

Greetings from the Palatinate

Dino