Thank you to Corey for the suggestions, we are so excited to start our new games! We came in here looking for good two player games and solo rpg games. The selection is decent, though a little limited. They seemed to be out of some things but that's okay. We started browsing looking at simple games. Corey asked if he could help and we told him what we were looking for. He said the one we were holding, Rebel Princess, was really fun and he had played it himself. we decided to snag that. He then recommended us Forest Shuffle as a fun game for us too, little does he know that animals like bugs and birds are my entire personality. Such a good read on his part. We loved the game he pitched and took that as well. He showed us around the shop and where to find some amazing used and vintage books (very cool little selection) and where everything else is located. He also suggested me a solo rpg which I will be coming to get! Super thankful for the nice staff and amazing store! read more

Hero clix. HERO CLIX. Let me say again...... HERO CLIX is still alive & well. OMG!!!! If you like hero's/villain's/anti's then you need to get into this. Has all them. It's a super fun past time activity. Play it with your son or daughter. The service was great. They explained the new items and let me take my time on it. Which o got a ton!!! I lost all my old ones in a fire in 07. They had a great choice of hero clix. I almost got all of them. Maybe 4/5 items achieved. Cost a lot but so so worth it. I love heels and villain. I play city of heroes as well. They still had pokemon cards old old cards and new ones too. There was even magic being played while I was there. So so fun!! read more

Staff is friendly. Their specialty is boardgames and Pokemon, but their tabletop and miniatures selection has always been good. And they've got regular MTG and 5cent lands where you can go through them any time you want. If you want a table get there early before the war gamers claim them all. read more

customer service here is aaaabbbsolutely wild. this is one of those businesses that feels like they hate their customers and I'm so glad others posted about it on Yelp because I thought it was just me or maybe because im not "one of their boys". TLDR: Customer service is truly abysmal and makes it hard to support small independent businesses. The ambiance of the store is OK. Flourescent lights, feels kinda like an office, but selection is great and their website seems to have lots of fun events--they've got tons of stuff and in general, I love supporting the board game community! It's just that the staff here don't make it feel like one. If you're not a regular, there's a good chance the staff will be cold and you will leave feeling a little miffed. --- My story, for their owner, who likely doesnt care and will likely never read this: I visited your store from out of town on a Saturday evening at 6:50PM, and you were closing early that day at 7PM. I was rushing to buy a specific game that wasnt in stock in most of the San Diego area. I called in advance to reserve the item but when I arrived, your staff turned me away. I know its annoying to be the last customer of the day, but I was still there before their closing time at 7PM for a quick pick up, and usually, you close much later! I apologized sincerely for being a customer at the end of the day but technically, there was still 10 minutes left and there was no way of knowing you'd be closing early (your staff could have mentioned it on the phone when I called). And, to top it off, there were still two other customers in the store! As I stepped into the store, 5 steps in, I was met with a "no" and an almost snarky smile, and in my desperation, I plead and even offered to bribe the cashier with an extra $20 JUST to let me purchase the game I called in advance for and while you were still technically open. It was embarassing at this point and crazy of me to offer on top of the $50 game, but I was getting desperate. The cashier did not care at all, and his coworker looked hesitant and like he felt sorry, but didn't offer any solutions. I gave up and started walking out, and only until I realized I had cash did they begrudgingly allow my purchase. So at the end of the day, I got what I needed, but it was certainly a needlessly challenging experience. I try to support small businesses instead of Amazon and actively go out of my way to do so even at the cost of my own inconvenience, so who turns customers away for a 30 second transaction? Your customers and the surrounding community would benefit from a business that appreciates ALL their customers, not just their regular bros. read more

BEWARE! Came into the store and shocked to find that they sell Pokemon and MTG sealed boxes at scalper prices.

I was in town for work and stopped by for a Star Wars Unlimited local night. Entry to play was super cheap at $5 and the store is huge and has a great selection. The player community there is fantastic and the owner and staff are helpful and friendly. Really had a great time and felt welcomed despite being an outsider. I'll be back to play in the future any time I'm passing through. Highly recommend checking it out! Seeya at Galactics guys! read more

Awesome staff. Awesome selection for your gaming needs. Collectibles and supplies as well. Perfect in every way.

The space is amazing, a relaxing place that allows you to play some board games with friends.

I LOVE this game store - John and Cliff are super cool guys both - knowledgeable and easy to engage. This has been my game store since I was a kid, and it always will be - STRONGLY recommend. Also - they have the worlds best bits bin. read more

Great customer service from the team, bit pricey for pokemon sealed products especially booster bundles and packs. Incredible value in the singles, they've got some really cool slabs as well. Overall great place, will definitely be coming back for singles and graded slabs. read more

I called ahead to make sure they are dog friendly as yelp says and the owner confirmed on the phone. Today I was told my dog is not allowed. I already signed up and paid. The first time I came here the owner had a dog running around and peering on the floor and harassing customers. Now my well trained golden retriever is not allowed! I'm a DP under the ADA. Appalling. Garbage owner will not come back. And yes he is trained to alert. read more

Shauna & Cliff are so nice! I've come here a few times to buy card packs. It's a true paradise for TCG collectors and if you're looking for some retro stuff! read more

Game Empire is another gaming store that is good but that could be so much better with just a little bit of planning and creative organization. They've got a loyal following and they heavily stock up on collectible games, board games, and even puzzles. Nonetheless, they could do a much better job of using their space and making the gaming experience that much better. I've been coming to Game Empire since the days they were located in Mission Valley (we'd always drop by when we were in town for SDCC) and I often visited their store in Pasadena so I e seen what they can do when they make the effort. My only other complaint is their pricing. Competing with eBay and national retailers it's hard to justify charging more than suggested retail prices. And yet they do. Still, there just aren't that many game stores around (At Ease is much bigger and better) and I'll still visit. However, I probably won't spend much money in store. read more

See all

SHAWNA ROCKS! If you need to know about Pokémon cards she has got you! Thank you! read more

$14 for Journey Together single boosters. That's basically theft at this point. This is a scalper shop and seems like the overall rating speaks for itself. There are way better options out there. read more

I came in to the store after calling and looking for a Catan expansion pack to play with some family in town. It was the last one and the owner held it for us after a customer almost bought it (they overheard about us asking about it on the phone LOL). He then overheard my brother and I talking about getting back into magic the gathering and decided to give us three starter packs so his girlfriend can learn to play too. He invited us back to play catan and magic on the next game night and sent us on our way with all of our new goodies. Thanks for such a great experience read more

Will never shop there again. Marked up everything in the store way overpriced. Was served by a very rude and unfriendly staffer then told me I was insulting him by not paying a 110% mark up on an Item. Go anywhere else but here. Can't give a 0 rating! read more

Love this game store! Very friendly staff and they have a great game selection. I've never seen a used section in a game store before and I love it! They let you open up the used games to see if everything is in it before you buy it. Highly recommend going. read more

I try to avoid this place like the plague. They have barely have any singles for MTG from the latest sets. Outside of Shawna, the customer service absolutely sucks. They always tell me "we don't have anyone to pull cards." It's so weird. I come in during the week and the weekend and it's usually the same response. They say it's better to order online and pick them up.. If I was to do that I would just order off eBay instead of being stone walled each time. I think this is my last time coming here. Shawna was the only reason I still came here but I rarely see her. But as other people pointed out, the owners don't engage with new customers and usually speak to the regulars who play board games. If you play board games, I guess this place is decent but it's not because of the employees who work here it's because of the community that helps people get into the games like warhammer or DND. The prices are 10% higher than other local game stores across all of their products. You have a better time just going to other card/board game stores in San Diego. read more

Great folks who know their stuff. Fair buying and trading values for Pokémon cards. Will be back to

Tried to sell Pokémon cards when I first went, was impossible to pick a time that worked for a certain person to be there and the guy on the phone was extremely shitty when I was asking questions about when I could come in. I got lowballed by the owners and they then said they bought bulk cards so I brought them in a few days later and they proceeded to wait for 2 weeks to get back to me and then offered me $5 for about 1000 bulk cards. Do not take your cards or service here, the owners are extremely rude and will try to scam you in every way possible. read more

Super helpful n RPG masters! Great place to pick up scrap dice or even a high end chess set. Do it!

They had what I was looking for, (which no one else did), and were polite in helping me find the stuff I was looking for. Pretty good place!

I can only speak to this store as a board gamer. First, the good news. There's a large selection of board games here to choose from, and for the most part they're alphabetized, so if you're looking for something specific you should be able to quickly tell if they have it in stock. They also group the board games in an intuitive way, so all the tabletop stuff will be together, all of the kids games will be together, etc. With so many games to choose from, I appreciate the organization. In addition, this is one of the only board game stores in the area that are still accepting trade-ins. So if you have a bunch of old board games you're trying to get rid of, you can get cash or in-store credit towards a new game. Now, the bad. The few times I've gone in here, the customer service wasn't the best. It wasn't always terrible, but it feels like the owner really prioritizes hanging out and talking with the regular customers there over helping and attending to newer customers. A couple of times I'd be told "just a moment" and then get forgotten about for a while, which wears on your patience. Then they'll apologize for ignoring me but say something like "next time speak up," as if I were partially to blame. Secondly, others have mentioned it, but the prices for the board games here are typically a lot higher than other stores I've been to. If you know you can find a board game elsewhere, it's almost always worth it to just buy it at the other place. It's not a bad store, but the experiences I've had have left a bad taste in my mouth. Unless I'm trading in some more board games, I'll likely go elsewhere. read more

Came in looking for a board game, they didn't have it because it's no longer in circulation; but i met and chatted with cliff the owner. I ended up buying a few board games. Cliff was super helpful and very knowledgeable! I had a very enjoyable experience and would rather buy games here than large businesses and amazon. read more

Game Empire - Game empire storefront. - Hobby Shops Near Me - San Diego, California

I was looking through the reviews and there's barely any new ones. I've been going here on and off to play mtg commander games since 2018. Sure, some employees over the years have had attitudes or visually expressed they didn't want to be there, but you see them replaced eventually. The star of the show is a lady who I believe is the owner. She's always been very kind to the players. Her generosity extends to the point where since Wizards of the Coast does not supply welcome decks for new players she has stepped in and helped new players get into the game. To place a caveat on my review; my experience starts and ends as a magic the gathering player. If you're going to come here for magic the gathering it's a great store for that. read more

Walked in, wasn't greeted (no biggie). Other customers walked in and were loudly greeted and welcomed so that's weird. Wasn't asked if I needed help while roaming the store but heard others offered assistance. Walked to counter to look at the dice selection still no welcome or offer of assistance but worker did manage a loud burp without an "excuse me" My gut says being a 6'2" black male is the reason for my experience but even if somehow that's wrong service was completely terrible. Customer service 101 says greet everyone for loss prevention. My son and I gathered as much War Hammer 40k info as a couple of newbs could find on their own and left never to return again. There's plenty of other game shops to shop at or recommend. read more

Amazing selection of board games. Feminine products are offered in the bathroom as "menstrual support" which I thought was a really cool move. read more

Been in a few times after my first review. The staff is definitely more customer friendly than I remember. The lady that works there that I always see is just the sweetest. Very warm and helpful. With me DMing a ongoing D&D campaign. I am always looking for new material to use and inspire me and my players. Game Empire always has something new that I haven't seen the last time I was there. My favorite table top gaming store. read more

Highly disappointed in this place. My husband and 8 year old son went to this place for the first time. My son is going through a phase of playing with Yugioh cards. He was super excited to come here. He went up to the counter and asked the guy working at the counter if they carried any Yugioh cards. The guy responded in such a rude way and tone to my son. He said "No we do not carry Yugioh cards and that's due to several reasons." In a very upset and rude tone....to an 8 YEAR OLD. My husband gave him some feedback on his service and asked him why that is. He said it's due to a fight that happened in a past tournament between a 2nd and 3rd placer. We left immediately after. read more

Great local business with such an awesome idea! At this place, you can find just about any board game on the market. They have so much! I love that there is something for everyone! Although the prices are little higher than your online big box retailers, I always love supporting local businesses. They also have large tables throughout the store where you can bring your friends and play board games and utilize the space. It is really interesting to watch different board games going on and a bunch of people super excited about playing their board game. This location is right behind Arby's and parking can be sparse on a weekend. I highly recommend! read more

Our first time in this store. I had a collection of Pokémon cards that were 20+ years old. I knew very little about them. The owners (husband and wife team) were very informative, kind and patient. She took the time to explain how the grading process works and the value of each card. True professional who was absolutely awesome and really knows her stuff! At the end of day I was not able to retire with the sale of my cards but I had a very good understanding of why and that goes a long way. They really made us feel comfortable and offered a very fair price. We would highly recommend checking out Game Empire. read more

An acquaintance purchased a Pokémon Battle Styles Elite Trainer Box here and the packs inside were clearly resealed, containing inconsistent numbers of cards, and sometimes multiple online code cards. This is either the store's fraud, or fraud by the seller to the store, but either way it is the store's responsibility to sell the authentic product, no matter where it is procured from. I will not be doing business here. read more

I think epic is the best word to describe this place. It's wholesome, it's edgy and everyone knows everything about anything having to do with gaming. The best part is even a noob like me feels welcome. read more

Manager is incredibly rude and awful at his own job. Other employees are kind and competent, however. Pokemon cards sold here are overpriced, sometimes over triple market value. But thankfully they don't know how to perfectly price single cards so you could purchase some for significantly under market value, including off their website. On that note, their card website is incredibly inconvenient to the user to use, but it DOES allow you to reserve cards for free pick up and pay in store. read more

I recently bought a Quest2 VR rig and stopped in here asking about it. The dude at the register was indignant and rude. "We don't carry them and I know nothing about them." Instead of trying to cultivate a new customer by asking a question or two he blew me off in two seconds. No thanks. read more

As far as game stores go, this place is pretty standard. The price of everything is so outrageous, I can't understand how they stay in business, but they must have a group of loyal customers who keep coming there. I don't think I will ever be one of those local regulars, because between the unfriendliness of the shop, the lackluster organization, uninspired atmosphere, the overall selection, and the high prices, nothing made this place a "great" game store to me. Its only a place I would go if I needed something right now that I couldn't get at another store. The insane prices I remember: MTG Unstable Booster - $10 ($5-7 online) D&D 5e Players Handbook - $50 ($25-30 online) Dice Block (36 small d6s) - $17 ($5-10 online) I understand game stores charging more than online because of their overhead, and I'm usually willing to pay those prices to benefit the store. But the store has to be more than just a location to buy stuff, they have to offer something more, usually in the form of an awesome atmosphere, helpful staff, nicely organized products, and cool rarities. This place had none of that. So I give it a big, fat "meh." read more

I have been to this store a few times over the years and have always had a good experience. My family and I went in this last weekend and browsed for a good hour or so (the store is massive). We are casual gamers so it takes us a while to figure out what we want. I'm not the type to go into a store and start asking for recommendations because I enjoy browsing and reading about the game and reviews for them. My wife ended up finding a game that she played as a kid and had fond memories of. We decided to get that game. On the way to check out I found an older version of the same game. It was the exact version she played as a kid. While we were discussing which version to get, the store owner came over and recommended the newer (cheaper) version because it had better rules. We went with the newer version. While checking us out he told us about a few additional rules he had made up for the game that we could use to make it even more interesting. I appreciated the recommendation and advice. I was impressed with the new location, the service, the selection, the prices, and the used/marked down game section. I will definitely be back again. To the guy who went to a board game store to ask about a Quest 2 VR rig and complained about a lack of service... I mean... what do you say to that? You are not the sharpest tool in the shed? The fact that they didn't take advantage of your low IQ tells me they are honest. read more

So I rarely buy stuff. I'm more interested in seeing what's popular/what sells, getting ideas, and so on since I'm more into the art/manufacturing side than actually playing games. But I dropped by to see if they had a set of dice to buy. They didn't have it. No dice! (pun intended). There was a cashier with dark hair and glasses who was extremely talkative (in a good way). She gave me tons of great advice, interesting facts, and mentioned certain items that were in high demand. Another cashier (tall blond/light brown haired guy) jumped into the conversation to explain his experience with dice trays (which was helpful). I got a lot of great information from the two of them. I think the manager should commend them on great service. I don't know why so many people have a bad experience here. I didn't. I don't require above and beyond service to feel validated like some folks seem to crave. But I felt they were pretty helpful for someone who openly admitted they were probably not going to buy anything. But I do want a particular set of dice. I may come back and get it here if the price is reasonable. This store has a decent selection of games and accessories. There also is a gaming area in the back. read more

I hate writing reviews for my favorite game stores, but if I'm going to I want to explain myself. I am not a regular, but I am a local and I've purchased and bought games from this shop in the past at their old location. The employees are generally very helpful, but that's always a gamble sometimes. I had many great experiences. At the new location, I came in back in March to browse the new stock of board games and to pick up something fun. I wasn't asked for help, but that was okay for me- I was browsing but would have kindly taken some assistance in buying a new board game by the employee on duty. They didn't offer, but like I said- it was okay for me at the time. Well, to my surprise I looked up to see the store owner in my face asking if I needed help. I was intimidated as hell by his tone, and I'm not one to turn down help, but I kindly said no-thank-you...I judged his tone correctly, because he went to the other wanderers in the store to ask the same thing with the same gusto before returning to his employee and loudly saying something to the effect of them being lucky we didn't need help and "See how easy it is to not be fired!" Maybe the employee wasn't being very proactive, but do I remember the employee not talking to me, or the loud angry owner? I was still browsing when over the loud speaker the owner pipes on with a bit of humor that his regulars may have appreciated, but it was to the effect of "if everyone can buy something so I can make some money, that would be great." Like, I get that it was probably playful humor, and he is a businessman. But I was browsing through games and had barely been there for a bit. Already uncomfortable with his outburst at his employee, I felt extremely unwelcome. The find on one of his shelves luckily made my visit very good. I happily came up to him to pay for it. Trying to shake my nerves a bit, I asked about the parking situation, which from the front looked to be limited. He snapped at me and told me how easy it was to park behind the building. I explained my confusion and apologized, telling him he probably heard the same thing from other people. He was upset and angry, and it took me a while to calm down after the fact. So they did have more parking, which I realize now- but I'm not an idiot and I'm not trying to make his job harder. I wanted this info because I wanted to support his store, and I can't change the fact that so many people didn't understand the parking situation. When I read reviews like this I always think "Oh, that person is too sensitive" or "What kind of person takes time out of their day to vomit forth such silly indignation" - Well, in this instance I felt ostracized. I was in a pleasant mood and I don't go into the store feeling bad or vulnerable. When you yell at your employees in front of us, tell us to buy something or get out, and make me feel like an idiot, why do I want to come back? For the record, I'd take twelve employees who aren't doing their job over anger. And if I had been approached without the stunt to shun your employee, I would of asked you "Hey, show me some of the new board games! I'm ready to buy something fun for my friends tonight!" But I was scared, and offput, and I can't imagine ever walking into that store again or feeling welcome. And I'm terribly, terribly sorry I have to write this review and that it took a week to put out there. Like I said, the community surrounding it has been great, the employees seem nice, I caught this guy on a bad day I'm guessing, but my understanding and compassion can only go so far. I want a pleasant, welcoming environment for my local hobby store. This was not it. read more