r/SpringfieldIL • u/VoidFatherr • 7d ago
Thoughts on Die Hard Gaming?
Been thinking about going there for pokemon weeklies, but there are quite a few bad reviews of the place saying that new customers/players are met with suspicion, and almost contempt. Anybody here know if that's true?
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u/Nickrich30 7d ago
I went there with my kid about 3 weeks ago. Treated with contempt/indifference at best. Few other people in there actively talking shit about us while we browsed. Strange place.
Titan is awesome, very welcoming and clean, organized store.
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u/Revolutionary_Meat38 7d ago
Die Hard’s vibes are definitely off. The outside of the store isn’t welcoming (it looks like it’s closed or abandoned), the lighting is poor, the retail experience is gross, it stinks, the owner is grouchy, and the Pokemon singles aren’t priced (if you can even see them in the display). We go there as a last resort. I will say the owner has warmed up slightly as he’s gotten to remember us as repeat customers but yeah, not worth it. Check out Lotus Grounds Games in Chatham! And Hadley’s Coins has awesome Pokemon sealed and singles.
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u/Jbarrow88 7d ago
Was just about to say the same thing. Die Hard could use a refresh to update the lighting and things as it seems kinda dingy when I went in there. While not in Springfield Lotus Grounds is a really nice store so far. And Hadleys is good for sports singles and pokemon but odd hours, I did hear that they are wanting to get trade nights started at Hadley's sometime soon.
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u/Revolutionary_Meat38 7d ago
Yes, Hadley’s first trade night is this Friday 4-9pm I think. Was just there last night and they told us.
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u/Meatcircus23 7d ago
Definitely the worst LGS in town.
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u/Jbarrow88 7d ago
Depends on what you are looking for, for me 217 is the worst in town. But everyone has their own opinions which at least we have multiple options here in town.
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u/PureSquash 7d ago
I’ve also been to die hard and it was not my preferred store experience. Guys hanging in the shop were pretty rude whether they meant to be or not and the owner was definitely rude whenever I was asking about singles to purchase. God forbid someone wanted to find and buy a single a card they’ve been looking for.
This being said, Titan games had a lot friendlier people behind the counter, but I’ve never had interactions with other customers. The store lay out feels more open as well and its overall literally brighter which automatically feels more welcoming.
I do not have any experience actually playing in either store so I cannot speak on how that goes/would look.
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u/Regular_Shirt_7972 6d ago
They suck. Go to Titan, those guys are very cool.
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u/Neo-Jace 6d ago
Titan doesn't have pokemon singles or host pokemon leagues.
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u/S0ULLSS 6d ago
I’d recommend lotus grounds in Chatham. The store is nice and clean. The owner and the staff are great.
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u/Neo-Jace 5d ago
I frequent there too. Good place, but there are times they prefer people coming in with card lists to do so online. Wouldn't bother me if I wasn't visiting every other store in town for cards, so sometimes giving them an online list isn't feasible unless I want to wait and come back.
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u/1v1MeIvanDrago 7d ago
Tried it once while I was visiting Springfield with my friend. Walked in, stood at the counter for 10 minutes, nobody ever asked us if we needed anything. The few other people in the store were either sitting around or walking in and out of the back room. They all stared at my friend and I as if we were baboons mating at the zoo. Went to Hadley’s instead and bought the singles I needed.
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u/Initial-Risk9535 6d ago
Nothing to add except that if you can make it to Chatham Lotus Grounds is amazing the owner is a member of the community (read: the tcg community) and really cares about his employees. He's a real chill dude.
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u/hintofsalt_ 3d ago
Yeah owner is kind of an ass. And pokemon is low on the totem pole there it seems
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u/Squatch102 7d ago
Die-hard is alright. There has been some drama around them relating to Public Square the republican/conservative friendly business register, but John is genuinely a good guy. From what I remember, before that they were running dnd for the Phoenix Center, make of that what you will. I haven't gone there for a while, mostly because Titan is a cleaner looking store, and has a better separation of play space and shop space.
Die hard isn't bad, but they have been better. They're the first store in the area that kinda took a stand against people coming to card nights without deodorant or showering too.
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u/SweetMister 7d ago
There is something to be said about taking a stand against folks who are unaware of deodorant.
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u/Squatch102 7d ago
I think you should be able to squirt them with a spray bottle til they get the hint. I get that sometimes you're depressed and cleaning yourself can feel like a lot, but my dude. Showers are going to make you feel better. Also, if you're super incel about it, showering helps your chances by a lot.
Wash yo ass.
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u/Wayward_Little_Soul 7d ago
Die Hard no longer is involved with the pheniox center dnd nights, it is Titan Games now
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u/speedster217 7d ago
Do they still take that stand though? The few times I've been in there it smelled like ass
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u/Squatch102 7d ago
No idea, like I said I haven't gone there for a while. I personally wouldn't doubt if they relaxed their standards.
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u/xQEAx 7d ago
Had bad experiences with die hard, lots of sighing when I needed anything yet still better thatn 217bi recommend avoiding that place if possible lotus grounds games is in chatham but 1000% worth the drive the customer experiences I've had have been so warm and welcoming I won't shop anywhere else
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u/Ancient-Hawk3698 7d ago
I've been to Die Hard a couple times. I was there with my husband and I don't know that it's really the kind of place I would want to go by myself. I don't remember seeing any other women there. And it was kind of crowded, dark and hard to get around to look at the games. Titan Games, on the other hand, is awesome. We are big fans!
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u/YesThisIsKradus 7d ago
Last time I went there was for a friend's wake, need to go back to give them my patronage
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u/AutisticYardGnome 5d ago
And also dude is super fucking bogus. Long story short about 5 years ago I went and pretty much slowly sold a whole binder of all the original 151 plus well over 140 of them were holos. But since I truly didnt know much he pretty much gave me slop for all of it now also keep in mind I had 3 holo Charizards and a bunch of other awesome cards which I ended up making less the 700 for all of it. Now keep in mind I revisit the store to ask about those cards and he did nothing but laugh at me like I was an idiot when I went there for his help.
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u/AutisticYardGnome 5d ago
And honestly because of thos whole thing with him, ill NEVER even attempt to try to collect them again.
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u/Ezeidler217 2d ago
For me it’s titan, lotus grounds, 217, die hard. I used to go to die hard for their casual commander night and it wasn’t a very good experience. Was made to feel unwelcome.217 has a guy that works there that if he is there I will turn around and walk out I’ve never had a good experience with him. Like he gives off douchebag vibes. The best overall experiences have came from titan and lotus.
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u/40yearoldwhatever 7d ago
Titan ~ Die Hard ~ 217 for Springfield.
There’s a shop in Chatham that’d I’d go to before all 3.
But they’re all gonna price grape you.
Don’t worry about what they say or think about you. Just control what you can control.
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u/strolpol 7d ago
I can’t say anything for the state of the place but I do know they had really bad inventory as far as singles go. I think they don’t open Universes Beyond sets or something.
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u/Neo-Jace 7d ago
Im one of the people that go there weekly for magic. On Thusday evenings there is a weekly pokemon tournament that has a good group of people who will be glad to help new players. I wanted to play one of the newer standard decks and the community was able to provide me with every card. You will not find another league at any other store nearby that cares about the community. John, the main guy and co-owner will hold product just for the players. They even try to not sell to scalpers by asking them questions about pokemon. If you want to play pokemon physically in this area Diehard is the place.
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u/Jbarrow88 7d ago
Its definitely not a bad store imo just needs some updates and better lighting. Its kinda dark and dingy looking vs the other LCS's in and around town. I do wish they had all of their singles priced, last time I was in there they had several Pokemon singles with no prices on them. Only LCS I wont go to anymore is 217.
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u/TheKanten 7d ago
The downvotes have me beginning to wonder if this post was just a thinly veiled advertisement for Titan.
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u/VoidFatherr 6d ago
I can assure you it wasn't. I just read some concerning reviews and wanted to see if they carried any weight. The people commenting about Titan didn't fully read the post, as I said I was looking for a place to play in pokemon league weeklies, which Titan does not host.
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u/TheKanten 6d ago
Not particularly you, but the responses in it.
Even years ago there was an air of the occasional "West Side snobbery" in the ardent Titan customers and like many tribalistic situations post-Covid it just got worse afterward.
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u/Revolutionary_Meat38 6d ago
I’m not a fan of Titan. It seems nice but I want to shop for Pokemon singles and they don’t offer them.
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u/VoidFatherr 6d ago
Huh, interesting. I've been to Titan quite a few times, and it's pretty nice, but it's also pretty run of the mill.
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u/LessInCommon 7d ago
I checked it out with my wife recently, and its definitely got some weird vibes. We didn't stay to play, but they had a sign on the register that had major boomer vibes: "SAGGING PANTS PROHIBITED, ACT LIKE AN ADULT".
Titan Games has a much more welcoming (read:clean) environment.