Gameplaywright will publish Friendly Local Game Store: A Five-Year Path to a Middle-Class Income on May 1.

Written by Gary L. Ray, the book was inspired by his Quest for Fun / Black Diamond Games Blog,but is mostly new content with a smattering of blog topics that have been worked over to be more accessible than the blog, where the writer admits, assumes a lot of “tradecraft” knowledge and business slang.  The book offers concepts on building a profitable game store, and getting the owner to a middle-class income in five years.  It also includes down-to-earth advice from Ray on things he’s learned running a game store and building community.  The  foreword is by Travis Severance, owner of Millennium Games in Rochester, NY and former Retail Division Chair of the GAMA trade board (see "GAMA Names New Board Members").

The print edition is a 174-page, 6" x 9" softcover with an MSRP of $24.95.  The book will be available through hobby game distribution through Gameplaywright’s distribution partner Atlas Games and through Amazon.  The two companies partnered on last year’s The White Box: Game Design Workshop in a Box (see "Atlas Offers DIY Game Kit").

The digital version of the book will be available in PDF, EPUB, and Kindle (Mobi) format from DriveThruRPG, Warehouse 23, and others.  The Kindle edition will be available through Amazon. MSRP is $9.95.