Overheard in a Game Shop

Sometimes the most interesting moments that happen in a shop do not necessarily involve you.  It is the moments that you can see and hear when you least expect it.  Sometimes the moments when you wonder how people actually expect to get away with what they attempt.

I was reminded of the moment months back and started to write this post then left it.  However, this one needs to be shared.


Imagine you are waiting in a queue in a game shop.  In front of you a trio of people who look about 14, maybe 15.  Since the shop is busy it takes a while for the queue to move.  I was in my own little world minding my own business until the group in front of me were stage whispering about the games they were going to buy.  This was what made it obvious that something was amiss.


The youngsters were trying to buy a few games rated 18 and then one FIFA whatever year it was.  Given the age restrictions and the law regarding retailers to check ages I realised that this was going to cause an issue for them.  Of course there is the chance that a retailer would not follow this by thinking they were older, sometimes it is difficult to tell.  In this case the trio had made a fatal error if they wanted to bank on the cashier thinking they were older than they were.  They came in school uniform.


When they got to the counter they were asked for ID.  This was the end of their quest.  They obviously couldn’t provide this and tried to say the standard “oh I forgot it” but the cashier followed regulations and said they could not sell the 18 rated games to them.  They got in a bit of a mood and left empty handed.  I honestly don’t know what they were expecting given they came in school uniform and visibly looked young.


Have you had any interesting moments in a game shop recently?  Let me know in the comments.


9 thoughts on “Overheard in a Game Shop

  1. On the rare occasions I go to an actual store where video games are sold (mostly electronics stores) I usually encounter people like these. More often than not they ask bystanders if they can buy the games instead of them. This can cause serious troubles for the people working there, because they are supposed to not sell these games at all, if it was that obvious.
    But then again, they can’t really refuse these “proxy-buyers” those games. So, it’s a classic “damned if you do, damned if you don’t scenario”.
    Knowing this, I always refuse to buy the games for those kids and make a big deal out of it to “scare” them away from trying in the future.


  2. I used to work for Blockbuster that was on the route home from the local upper school (my county was one of the few that, up until recently, still used the three-tier system rather than the two tier system that was in place at the time). We used to get this often with both games and films. There was one group who used to hang out in the shop and would talk about what they were playing and afters while they begun to try and persuade myself and the rest of the staff to let them have games they weren’t old enough to rent/buy (I won’t say play as that’s a seperate argument), never worked though. We used to get alot of kids send their parents in whilst they were at school so they had whatever it was they wanted when they got home and when we were doing midnight launches we operated a strictly no under 18s allowed policy

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I can only imagine how often you and anyone who works in game shops (or anywhere that sells games) experience this sort of thing. It must be tough to deal with at times especially if you start to recognise them and they are still trying to wear you down to give in.


  3. I’m just thinking how much that has really got to suck for some places in the UK because in England some sixth form colleges (16-18 further education) require their students to wear school uniform. My old college is an example of this; when I was there we wore our own clothes but then the new headmaster since decided to change the rules so the poor sods had to wear school uniform up to 18 :-/

    In Scotland there is no separate colleges; you just choose to stay or leave at 16. Again, you’re still in uniform though. So in this situation the staff couldn’t have just used the uniform as a guide.

    Saying that though; I got ided buying Dragon Age when I was in my mid-20s… so I’m pretty sure they’re vigilant (overly so – I’m still sure this girl was being petty).

    Liked by 1 person

    1. The uniform definitely wasn’t the only guide since they looked so young as it was. It just probably didn’t help their attempt to buy games.

      The general advice is always bring ID. I am old enough to buy whatever but I still sometimes get asked for ID for pain relief and anything else with age restrictions so try not to go anywhere without something to produce in case I am asked. For some places/products there is the Think 25 policy so you are more likely to be asked. So sometimes you get asked even when you think you are old enough not to get asked (possibly your Dragon Age situation? That or being very vigilant!).

      I’m pretty sure this group were just trying to get games they were too young for in the hope that they wouldn’t be questioned because there was a queue etc. Also I realise some places don’t ask when they maybe should. On reflection at times I probably should have been asked for ID when I was buying games when I was younger but wasn’t always. Though I never really played games beyond my age ratings because I didn’t think my parents would allow it if I even asked haha.


      1. I’ve learned just to take ID with me whenever I could possibly be in a situation that calls for it. But I didn’t quite expect to get IDed at my own FRONT DOOR. lol. Yep. Seriously, it happened. We ordered some kitchen knives and the delivery guy actually asked me how old I was. I gave him the most fed up frustrated look possible and he got so flustered. Back when the Dragon Age situation happened, fair enough, I could have passed for under 18 – but this was last year and I’m going grey now. I just do not look that young any more.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Today I would speak out against people buying games for kids to play while being under the recommended age restriction but I actually got my mum to buy me a copy of Resident Evil 2 when it came out in 1998 from the local Blockbuster while I hid in an isle!

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