Ad for the Compleat Strategist from the July 18th 1977 issue of New York magazine, page 20. This is very close to the time that Holmes Basic was first released; the earliest recorded public availability is Origins III starting on July 22nd, 1977, also in NYC (Staten Island). Amazingly the store is still in the same location with the same phone number: http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-compleat-strategist-new-york
See here for the source info for HB at Origins III, thanks to Jon Peterson who found Bill Seligman's con report in the Wild Hunt APAzine:
ReplyDeletehttp://zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2012/09/when-was-basic-set-first-available.html
I always stop by the store whenever I'm in NYC.
ReplyDeleteI think I was there once in the late '80s, unless they had another location in Manhattan at the time. I bought the game "Killer" by Steve Jackson Games.
ReplyDeleteI've only been to their NY location a couple of times, but while it was open I used to go to their Montclair store as often as I could afford it.
ReplyDeleteI guess I really should make a pilgrimage to this place. Sadly I don't get to NYC all that often.
ReplyDeletethere used to be a 2nd NYC location at Rockefeller Center - it was more board games than anything else - closed years ago.
ReplyDeletethe one on East 33rd is gaming nirvana...
Aha, I think the Rockefeller Center location was the one that I stumbled onto, after seeing the Xmas show at Radio City Music Hall. Thanks, Erik.
ReplyDelete