The Game-Route Project is a map of every independent video game store in America. It is hoped that owners/operators will also share their insights on what it takes to run these shared places of video game knowledge and community.

Please subscribe to be notified when map updates go live, along with new content on our Blog.

The idea started many years ago when travelling on a business trip. When I have down time, I enjoy exploring. When I explore, I enjoy checking out local video game stores. If driving between cities, I also like to stop along the way at different video game shops.

I asked on various forums and was a bit surprised there wasn’t an on-line resource showing video game stores throughout America. I parked the idea until, during the summer of 2024, I decided to see what I could create.

Yes.

Or Google Maps?
Yes.

Or even Bing or Bing Maps?
There too.

Or…..
Yes, you can search for Video Game Stores in all the places.

Great question!

First, I found that looking via search engine produced a lot of noise. Results would include Wal-Mart, Target, Gamestop, etc. All great stores that I frequent, but not what I was looking for.

Second, many of the results were for on-line only storefronts. Again, many great options. But not what I was looking for, which were independent local video game shops to visit IRL.

Third, if I was going from Point A to Point B 350 miles away, there didn’t seem to be a great way to see what shops would be along my route. Instead, I’d have to search different points along the route to see what would come up in a radius around each, subject to the issues above.

Well, that’s part of it.

I also hope to feature shop owners and operators through the Game-Route Blog.

After creating the map, I felt that it was a bit one dimensional without also highlighting the folks who work hard bringing these shared places of video game knowledge and community to us. Therefore, the intent is to feature these individuals and gain insights into what keeps them going, what obstacles they deal with and how they see themselves as part of the overall video game culture.

What constitutes a local independent video game store is subjective. Video Games should make up a sizeable portion of the shop’s floor space. Many of the shops likely also sell music, video, collectibles, etc. Many are also part of smaller regional chains. However, the intention is that the store is not part of a multi-billion-dollar corporation and that a sizeable video game selection is available.

My hope is that The Game-Route Project is a living document that is kept up to date with community input and involvement. Please e-mail contact@game-route.com or via our Contact form to let us know of any additions, deletions or corrections that should be made. Please note that this is a passion project and not a job, so we will address as soon as possible.

Please send a note to contact@game-route.com or using the contact form and let us know. We will take a look as soon as possible and add as appropriate.

Please send a note to contact@game-route.com or using the contact form and let us know. We will take a look as soon as possible and remove as appropriate.

Store listing details, including but not limited to Street Address and Website URL, has been gathered from publicly available information searched for on-line. This information has not been vetted and may be incorrect.

Please send a note to contact@game-route.com or using the contact form and let us know. We will take a look as soon as possible and remove as appropriate.

The Game-Route Project Map contains links to other websites. Game-Route does not claim nor accept responsibility for any content, privacy policies, practices and/or procedures of other such websites. Therefore, we encourage all users and visitors to be aware when they leave our website and to read the privacy statements of every website that collects personally identifiable information. Please refer to the current Game-Route Privacy Policy Agreement for additional privacy policy details.

Any help is greatly appreciated. For a full rundown of ways to help, please check out our Support Us page.

There are several impactful and easy ways to support Game-Route, which also happen to be free. By subscribing to Game-Route and following us on socials (Bluesky, Threads, Twitter, Pinterest), you are doing us a great service.

If you would like to make a monetary gift, and are in a position to do so, please check out our Buy Me a Coffee page.