RGB Nostalgia is a hand-curated retro community directory. We bring together local retro shops, online resources, community events, and creators into one place — organized by location and topic. Think of it as the homepage for the retro internet.

Three main directories: Shops — brick-and-mortar stores for retro games, vinyl records, arcades, tabletop gaming, thrift shops, and more, browsable by city and state. Online — curated links to communities, reference sites, YouTube channels, marketplaces, and tools. Events — local gaming nights, swap meets, tournaments, and community gatherings tied to real locations.

Yes — browsing, searching, creating an account, claiming a shop, submitting events, and earning XP are all completely free. Some links on the site are affiliate links (primarily Amazon Associates), which help support the project at no extra cost to you.

RGB Nostalgia is an independent project built by a retro enthusiast. The site is not affiliated with any game company, record label, or retailer. All listings are curated for quality and relevance.

Shops are added through a combination of manual research and community submissions. Every listing is reviewed before publishing. If you know a retro-friendly shop we're missing, use the "Know a Shop We're Missing?" form on any shop directory page.

Yes. If you own or manage a shop listed on RGB Nostalgia, you can claim it by clicking the "Claim This Listing" button on your shop's page. Claiming gives you the ability to update your shop's description, hours, photos, social media links (Instagram, Facebook, X, Discord, YouTube, TikTok, Bluesky, Reddit, Patreon), and contact information. Claims are verified by matching your email domain to the shop's website.

The green "✓ Verified" badge appears on shop listings where the owner has successfully claimed and verified their listing. Verified owners can edit their shop details and earn bonus XP for their listing. Claiming also upgrades your account to the Shop Owner role.

The Online Directory is a curated collection of retro-related websites, communities, YouTube channels, marketplaces, and tools organized by category (Community, Reference, Marketplace, Creator). Each listing includes a description, social links, and topic tags.

Events are community gatherings tied to a location — game nights, swap meets, tournaments, release parties, and more. Events can be linked to a shop or online resource in our directory, or to any address. Each event has its own page with date, time, location, description, and tags. Logged-in users can RSVP to events to let others know they're going.

Yes — any logged-in user can submit events using the Submit an Event form on the Events page or from a shop's listing page. Official events (submitted by a verified shop owner at their own location) are published automatically. Community events (submitted by anyone else) go through a quick review before publishing.

When you submit an event, you can link it to a shop or online resource in the directory. This creates a two-way connection: the event appears on the listing's page under "Upcoming Events," and the shop or resource is displayed on the event page as the host or location. More importantly, event activity feeds XP back to the linked listing — every page view, Power Up, and RSVP on the event earns bonus XP for the shop. This gives shop and resource owners a strong incentive to host and promote events. For online resources, this means digital tournaments, streaming watch parties, Discord game nights, and community events all boost your listing's score.

Logged-in users can click the "JOIN" button on any upcoming event to RSVP. This shows other users how many players are going, earns +5 XP for both the event and the linked shop, and adds engagement XP to your user profile. You can un-RSVP at any time before the event. RSVPs are locked once an event ends.

Past events display a "GAME OVER" banner and are locked — no new RSVPs, Power Ups, or XP can be earned on them. They remain visible for reference and appear in the "REWIND — Past Events" section on the linked shop's page, showing the community's event history.

Some events repeat on a schedule (weekly, biweekly, monthly). RGB Nostalgia automatically generates future instances of recurring events so the next session is always listed. Each instance can be individually cancelled without affecting the series.

XP (Experience Points) is RGB Nostalgia's scoring system. Every shop, online resource, and event earns XP through community engagement — page views, Power Ups, shares, clicks, and profile completeness. XP measures how active and engaged a listing's community is.

XP comes from three sources:

Profile completeness (one-time, awarded when the listing is created or updated):
• Description: 50 XP
• Address: 50 XP
• Phone number: 25 XP
• Business hours: 25 XP
• Website link: 25 XP
• Each social link (Instagram, Facebook, X, Discord, YouTube, TikTok, Bluesky, Reddit, Patreon): 15 XP each
• Custom tagline/excerpt: 15 XP
• Featured image: 20 XP
• Each additional photo (up to 12): 15 XP
• Verified owner claim: 200 XP
• RGBN Featured selection: 100 XP

Community activity (accumulates over time):
• Page view: +1 XP (1 per visitor per day)
• Power Up vote: +5 XP (1 per visitor, permanent)
• Map click: +2 XP
• Website click: +3 XP
• Share click: +5 XP

Event trickle-down (events linked to a shop or online resource boost that listing's XP too):
• Event page view: +1 XP to the linked shop/resource
• Event Power Up: +2 XP to the linked shop/resource
• Event RSVP (player joins): +5 XP to the linked shop/resource

This means hosting events at your shop actively builds your listing's score — every view, vote, and RSVP on your events feeds XP back to your shop or resource listing. Events themselves also earn their own XP from page views, Power Ups, and shares, and appear on the High Scores leaderboard independently.

The Power Up button is the "?" block at the bottom of every shop, event, and resource page. Clicking it gives +5 XP to that listing — think of it as a "like" or upvote. You can only Power Up each listing once. After voting, the block turns into a red pixel heart to show you've supported that listing.

The green XP badge on each listing shows its total score. When you've Powered Up a listing, a heart icon appears next to the score — a personal indicator that you've Powered Up that listing.

The High Scores page is the leaderboard — rankings across all shops, online resources, and events. You can filter by time period (All Time, This Month, This Week, Today), by category (Top XP, Most Voted, Most Viewed, Most Shared, Most Clicked, Newest), and by tag or listing type. Trend indicators show which listings are climbing or falling.

No. Once an event's date has passed, all XP sources are locked — page views, Power Ups, RSVPs, and engagement clicks no longer award points. This keeps the High Scores focused on active, current listings.

No — you can browse the entire directory, view shops, read event details, and Power Up listings without an account. Creating a free account lets you RSVP to events, claim a shop listing, and submit events.

There are three roles: Member (default when you sign up — can RSVP to events and submit community events), Shop Owner (upgraded when you claim a shop — can edit your listing and publish official events at your location), and Site Owner (upgraded when you claim an online resource — can edit your listing details).

Play Press is the RGB Nostalgia newsletter — weekly retro finds, new directory additions, community highlights, and deals delivered to your inbox. You can subscribe during registration or from the homepage. No spam, just nostalgia.

Use the "Know a Shop We're Missing?" form at the bottom of any shop directory or online directory page. Provide the name, location, and website — we'll review and add qualifying listings.

Find your shop in the Shop Directory and click the "Claim This Listing" button on the page. You'll be asked to create an account (or log in) using an email that matches your business's website domain. Once verified, your account is upgraded to Shop Owner and you can update your shop's description, hours, photos, all 9 social media links, and contact info from your Manage Listing dashboard. Claiming also earns your listing 200 XP.

Similar to shops — find your resource in the Online Directory and use the claim button. Verification works the same way (email domain match). Once claimed, your account is upgraded to Site Owner and you can manage your listing details.

Email [email protected] with the listing name and what needs to be corrected or removed. We take accuracy seriously and will update or remove listings promptly.

Featured listings get a gold border, prominent placement in search results, and bonus XP. To inquire about a Featured slot for your shop or resource, email [email protected].