Walked over to the other side of Garey Ave to antique row after our early dinner and checked out Game Nights which is usually super packed during 2nd Saturday art walks. We chatted with Kyle the owner who has intimate knowledge of 80% of the games in the store, having played them at least once. My husband bought the newest version of Horrified which is a series of cooperative games in which you are vanquishing monsters and saving villagers, this one is Dungeons and Dragons themed. Meanwhile, I talked with Andrew, a game enthusiast who had just purchased a huge game box with cards and dragon figures and was learning how to play it. Tuesdays are game nights there for people looking to play board games with a group. There are several tables for that purpose, and so many games for single players, duos, and larger groups. Super fun store! read more

Game Nights Cafe - Clearance shelf! - Tabletop Games Near Me - Pomona, California

After losing the Game Haus to post-pandemic fallout, there's been a sense of loss in the gaming community. Sure, it was pretty far away (Glendale) from Riverside, but I always enjoyed the trek and good times. Fortunately, Kyle, opened the Game Nights Cafe about 1.5 years ago as of this writing (01/01/2025), and the two-level shop and gamespace provides games to purchase, an impressive library of games to play in-house, and necessary hobby materials, such as Citadel paint, brushes, tools, and even a nifty airbrush set for about $70. After two visits here I'm Reviewing the shop, setting, atmosphere, and special New Year's Eve event. First, my long-time gaming buddy happened upon the store while antique shopping across the street. While Gameology in Upland has been our go-to, the initial appeal was the later hours of operation, especially on Sundays, the day we typically line up. There's a game cover fee, a reasonable $6 per player and good for the entire day. Otherwise, as Kyle mentioned to me, people would stay all day and not even purchase anything. Purchases, however, do offset the cover charge. The basement is where the bright track lights make the full-lenghth space inviting. Many hundreds of games line one wall. All are available for anyone wanting to play. And a significant number of tables and comfortable chairs are another draw. There's also a sizeable space upstairs adjacent to the retail area for games. Kyle invited us to come back for New Year's Eve for food, beverages, and a generous playtime that surpassed 2am. For $40 I was down, especially when I saw how much food was provided. A fullscale Middle Eastern feast, as well as charcuterie, sides, and desserts. Wow! The crowd was also fun and my group quickly befriended another and we played lots of fun games that could support 6 players, including Heat, Acquire, and Inca Gold. All three were in the extensive library previously referenced. In short, they host many events for Magic the Gathering (MTG), Dungeons and Dragons, open play nights, and hopefully more NYE celebrations. Finally, they also have a lot of games and things marked down for quick sales, so consider browsing. Not far away is the Glass House, and somewhere close by is Zoink Records. read more

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Over the past year, we placed pre-orders for five separate releases. Five times, we were let down. Each time, we chose to support Game Nights because we believe in backing local game stores and building a healthy community. Each time, that trust was misplaced. Not only did we fail to receive our pre-orders on all five occasions, but the owner never once reached out to inform us that the products had not arrived. Every single time, we had to contact him ourselves on release day to discover--again--that nothing was coming. That lack of communication is what hurts the most. Even if product allocation was an issue, there was no courtesy, no transparency, and no respect shown toward loyal customers who planned ahead and committed to pre-order their products from Game Nights. A simple message would have allowed us to secure our orders elsewhere. Instead, we were left in the dark--repeatedly--and were informed too late to buy products at MSRP. This isn't just unprofessional; it makes it incredibly difficult to justify supporting this store at all. Adding to the frustration, the owner has also begun removing gaming space, further destroying the community that once made this shop special. Game Nights used to feel like a true community hub--a place where people gathered around Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece, MTG, board games, parties, special occasions, and more. Now, it feels like a business focused solely on extracting every possible dollar, with little regard for the community that helped build it. We understand that running an LGS is hard. We can empathize with the challenges of keeping a struggling business afloat. What we cannot excuse is the ongoing, disrespect toward the very customers who go out of their way to offer consistent support, only to be mistreated time and time again. If you're looking to reliably pre-order TCG products, we strongly recommend considering these alternatives in the area: Lost Level - Strong community, active Discord, and dependable pre-orders A&N Collectible - Community could improve, but pre-orders are consistent Miss Play - New and growing; pre-orders may vary, but the community is welcoming Side Quest - Beautiful space; we haven't pre-ordered yet, but plan to in the future Ultimately, the repeated failures, lack of communication, and disregard for loyal customers are driving people away and have reduced this store to an empty shell of its former self. We mourn the loss of what was once a beautiful third space for our community, and it is deeply tragic that the owner shows no willingness to change. Supporting local businesses only works when that support is respected and reciprocated--and here, it simply wasn't. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Response to Kylan S.: While you may not have explicitly labeled them as "pre-orders," these transactions were consistently discussed as such with your players, and no clarifications were made regarding this "wish list." This left many members of the community with the clear impression that products had been reserved. Instead of out right lying to them, you are now having them lie to themselves. Your response only reinforces the concern about the lack of professional and transparent communication with your supporters. If this same level of clarity carries over to your distributors, it is unfortunately not surprising that product availability has been an ongoing issue. Thank you for the apology. We hope that Game Nights can one day return to being the space our community once loved. read more

Great local game store. Everyone that goes are generally pretty friendly. You can come here and join any game and have a great time. There are many members of the store that designated themselves as "hosts" that was super friendly and more than happy to teach you games. The owner of the store, Kylan is also friendly and more than happy to teach you games. They have a large selection of games for people to play at the store and plenty of room downstairs to play. They run a game night every Tuesday from 6pm-10pm. They also run a game day from 12pm till closer on the first Saturday of every month. In addition to that, they have separate nights for DnD, Warhammer, Card games, etc. read more

What a wonderful game store! Friendly owners, a great selection of board games and other gaming stuff, a loyalty program to add value to being a regular customer, and gaming space and events galore. Pomona is lucky to have this wonderful haven for gamers to play in and enjoy. Check out the used section, join the occasional Math Trades and Virtual Flea Markets and have a good time with the open gaming groups. This is a true gem of a community, all helped along by the owner, Kylan Swank. Don't miss it! read more

This is definitely your local tabletop game store. They have a big selection of regular board games with a focus on tabletop games. I mainly come here for Warhammer 40K supplies like paints and brushes. I recommend the "Ghost" brand brushes they are cheap however they are not as stiff as I would like them to be. But, that lets you get to those hard to reach areas on your minis. I think the employees name was Keith, he was really cool and helped answer a bunch of questions I had for the tabletop I'm into. read more

Been coming here for a few years now and has been consistently a welcoming place for friends and family! Excellent place to try out games and make friends. read more

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Usually don't leave reviews but feel like I have to here, been coming here almost every week since around last summer. This place is very welcoming and has something for almost everyone to enjoy, be it board games, TCGs, DND, miniatures games you name it. Kylan the owner is very welcoming and will answer any questions you have about any game/event that is happening. I really enjoy the community that is being built here, I usually do DND but am slowly branching out to other things such as TCGs and occasionally board games, even my girlfriend who isn't a huge gamer enjoys coming due to the great community that is being fostered here, if you want to be a part of a friendly and welcoming community then you should check this store out! read more

I'm so excited to have a new game store in Pomona! Not only does it have a great selection of games for sale, there is a large library of board games available to play in their gaming area. Stay for the day and have some fun! read more

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Great selection of board games and staff is very helpful and nice. Always have to drop by when I'm in Pomona

Very fun owner . Great selection of board games . There are plenty of other thing to do to

This is an awesome board game store! We went and played for a few hours. The owner was super knowledgeable on different games and took the time to explain how to play them. There was a large selection of games to play and the price to play for the day was great. read more

Met up with some friends to play a great selection of games! Parking is easy and cheap, and the price to play a huge library of games is a steal. The owner was also super nice and extremely helpful when we got stuck on a few confusing rules. If it was closer to where I live, I'd be there at least once a week (especially with their monthly passes). The shop selection was also pretty good, and we picked up a game for a decent price before we finally left for the night. I really hope the local community supports this place because it's awesome! read more

So fun! Has an amazing selection of games. We played for HOURS! and there were a couple games we fell in love with and ended up buying! The man at the counter was so friendly and had a great conversation on how many games he actually has. It was nice to have someone available to explain any games if we needed. They also have some snack and drinks if needed (which we needed) We live in Kansas and come to California to visit friends and family. We will be coming back every time we are out there! read more

Amazingly Friendly service from the owner and an astounding assortment of games. Snacks are widely available and not overpriced. Customer service is astounding and the environment is warm and friendly. Love this place and it has found a new loyal customer in not only me but all the friends I can drag to come for a game night. Also they have a 25 dollar membership a month that gives unlimited games for you and a guest. If you go with a guest twice it pays itself off so I'd say this place is beyond affordable. I really hope the community surrounding this shop supports such a warm and amazing environment for gaming! read more

Game Nights is exactly what you want in a gaming store! Kyle (the owner) is really knowledgeable and helped our group of 8 set up a couple games. He suggested a few I never would have thought to try that were very fun. It is hard to beat just $7 per person to have such a generous selection- there is literally something for everyone in the family from 3 years old up. Our group ended up playing more than 7 games between us all and we all had a great time. read more

Awesome place! My friends and I go to this place nearly weekly and always have a great time. I play a game which is my favorite and I asked if he had expansion packs for it. He said he didn't then ordered them for me! The owner is a super nice guy and will answer any question you have about any game in a great way. Always a fun conversation with him and game nights are free on Tuesday which lets you try out any new games you wanna try out. Anyone that likes board games NEEDS to check this place out read more