“New Challenges Await You at Waldenbooks!”
This 1992 ad from Dragon magazine reminds me that Waldenbooks is one of those stores that I miss. The store always had one of the better roleplaying game selections when I was a kid, and seeing this ad for the Dungeons & Dragons trading cards (last mentioned here), leaves me to ask: How was this ad paid for? Did TSR insert the ad into Dragon at no charge, or was there some sort of money arrangement between Waldenbooks and TSR? Anyone happen to have some info on this?
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That takes me back! Walden and B. Dalton were often the only places I could find RPG stuff as a kid. And you’re right–they did have quite the collection. (I mostly remember the Monstrous Manual books). By the late 80s/early 90s, Toys R Us had (mostly) stopped stocking D&D. It wasn’t until I was in high school on a state Forensics trip that I found an actual RPG game store!