We took your advice, lige! It was a good way to get out in the neighborhoods, having a destination. We talked with the owner for a while, who was a cool guy, and picked up some dice. I almost pulled the trigger on a couple of other things, but I had packed light. He also directed us to a nearby bar, which was very convenient. There was a lot of the Star Wars miniature skirmish game going on at the gaming tables.
The Art Institute's arms and weapons collection was mostly not on display. They claim they're building a bigger area for it. It was one of the major moments of NYC snobbery I experienced on the trip. At the Met, there's a combination gun/cleaver/calendar that I could look at for hours!