There are very few businesses in the world I would give five stars, but I lose no sleep and have no trouble giving five stars to Recess Games. Recess Games has always been a wonderful store. From the friendliest staff I've met in a FLGS, and also friendly clientele too, to some really excellent deals on the hobby, it's a wonderful store. I live nearly 20 miles from Recess, but I'll make the trip just for Recess. It's that good a store. Much love to the people who run it! If I could, 10/10. read more

Excellent store. Ginormous selection of games, I've never seen anything like it. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. They host a variety of gaming communities and events. read more

Friendly local game stores are often awkward, unfriendly and unhelpful. This place is anything but. Rather than feeling like a pawn shop for magic cards, it feels like a welcoming space for anyone at any stage of their delve into the hobby. read more

Recess continues to be my first stop for anything gaming. I've been shopping at Recess since they were in Great Northern Mall many many years ago and it's one of my favorite places to shop. 1) HUGE selection of games of every type. Whatever you're looking for they already have it or can order it quickly. Family games, casual, Euro, D&D/Role Playing, miniatures, card, party, etc. And they usually have a few new games set up so you can see and interact with the pieces and get a feel for the type of game it is. 2) Playable library of games. Want to try a game before you buy it? Or just a casual game night with friends or on a date? Recess has a great library of games and space to sit and play them right in store. Frequently the staff (or even other friendly customers) are willing to help explain rules or help you set up the game. It's a great way to relive some classics or try out something new. We've ended purchasing games that weren't on our radar because we were able to try them out first (looking at you Roll for the Galaxy!). I will say that it seems the library has gotten a little bit smaller recently but that may be because of the remodel and hopefully it will get epic again soon. Let me again re-emphasize the amount of space they have to play. There are tons of tables so you and friends or family can sit and play. Quality tables too, not cheap plastic folding tables like at grandma's house. 3) Events for everyone. Recess hosts events for just about every type of player. There are Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering events, tabletop miniatures events, card games, D&D games for experienced and new players, tabletop game nights, etc. While I haven't been to every type of event the ones I HAVE been to have always been full of welcoming and friendly people. There was always someone willing to help teach my kids Pokémon or whatever game was being played. 4) For the most part the staff is incredible. I mean really incredible. I say for the most part because there is one employee that it seems like we are interrupting them by shopping there and has been a bit condescending so we just avoid them when possible. The rest of the staff are 110% for the customer and willing to take the time to explain, help, guide and generally just do whatever you need. Trying to find a specific game and they will walk you right to it and talk about any similar games or expansions. No idea what you're looking for and they will ask great questions and make suggestions. What I absolutely love about (most of) the staff is they aren't afraid to tell you the flaws in a game. Or more specifically, set clear expectations. They've told me a game is super complicated or has a very long set up or has some confusing rules or whatever. It never feels like a "hard sell" on anything but rather like an enthusiastic friend giving their honest opinion and advice. And little things like the owners remembering your name and greeting you when you come in is a nice touch. 5) Finally, the store continues to grow, change, and expand. They are always looking for ways to make the gaming experience better for all types of gamers. Nothing feels static and old. If you are looking for a regular store for your gaming needs or if you are a one time customer looking for a gift you can't go wrong with Recess. read more

To everyone who is considering shopping at this store: You'll be glad you read this one I promise you. ( Incase you need the TLDR: Don't and save yourself the trouble of overpriced games with horrendous management and zero accountability - serious cash grab.) Here goes - I just had one of the worst experiences I have EVER had with a board game retailer. I ordered a few games from Recess Games online store and they glitched out in my cart during check out. After refreshing my browser they were no longer there. Hmmm? I went to reorder them and the wrong items ended up in there but I didn't realize because the pictures looked similar. After the purchase went though and I realized this was not the item I originally had in my cart I called the store directly and spoke with a wonderful woman - I believe her name was Susan. She was great. She apologized to me and said all I have to do is refuse the package when it arrives,"no big deal." I asked her "Is there anything else I need to do to ensure a full refund." She said "no, you'll be all set." I asked a second time to be sure. Again, "no we will take care of it your are all set, sorry about the inconvenience, just refuse the package." "Great, that make sense I'll do that, thank you." Fast forward to when I received the receipt. There was a 40$ "restocking fee". FORTY DOLLARS! That's 28.6% of the original purchase price. WHAT!? So I called back obviously confused. I explained to the person on the phone what I had experienced and what I was told by their staff. While trying to explain my confusion he interrupted to say: "... you're talking about things above my level (pay grade), you'll have to email Maria." "Ok, she'll help me?" "Yeah she help you, email her." After explaining the situation in detail here is her response.... "Greetings, Our policy of returns is available on our website. https://shop.recess.games/service/returns-and-cancellations/ Thank you for contacting me. Maria" No joke - that was the response. How desperate does someone need to be to respond so curtly. I then called the store again to speak to a manager hoping to get some courtesy. No manager until 2:00. Then I get a call back - Guess who it was - MARIA. I tried to talk and immediately she interrupts and said "THATS ALL THERE IS" I said "What?" She continues. "Our return policy is on the website." I respond. "This is not what the employee shared with me when I was told about the process and to refuse the package. Had I been given that information when I asked specifically about it I would have kept the games and resold them instead. $40 is almost 30% of the purchase." "Well that's not our problem - the policy is clear." This went on for a few minutes with a ridiculous attitude and I asked for her manager. She said there is no manager I am it. I said "please may I a speak to whoever holds you accountable." "No, you may not, I am her." "How is there no one above you?" I asked "and further more how then do you not hold yourself accountable for the misinformation your employees gave me?" "It's Christmas she said, we are busy so there's nothing I can do - goodbye." I respond "If you understand it's Christmas how are you ok with taking $40 from me and my kids Christmas gifts with a hidden fee when I was specifically told this wouldn't happen." As you can imagine she hung up. Overall, I am embarrassed for her. There clearly must be something else going on here - maybe in her life personally? But, I would expect there to be some measure of accountability and professionalism from this business. The only recourse I was give was to email there general email. "The owners may see that." After all of this I just felt that YOU and anyone considering shopping here needs to know the type of people who your dealing with. Furthermore, in addition to these types of fees, there prices are extremely overpriced. I'll attach some photos of where I ultimately bought the game from and it was A MUCH better experience and significantly less. You work hard for you wages - do toss them to people who could care less. Get the best bang for your buck. DON'T SETTLE for horrible service and overpriced boardgames. Seriously people like this do not deserve your business. Hoping you all have a Merry Christmas and never experience this type of garbage and the hot mess I had to crawl though today. - A concerned, saddened board gamer. Go here, save money: https://www.blackrowangames.com read more

Easily the best game store in Northeast Ohio. From coming here when I was in High School to now bringing my son, Recess Games has been special place of fun and joy. Since 2002, I have never had a bad experience coming to Recess. Great team, great environment, great products. read more

Recess Games is everything your friendly local game store should be! Huge selection of boardgames for kids, families and teachers and also for the serious tabletop gamer! Long-time local small business, friendly service. Almost every night there is something fun to do going on here- play games and learn new games! read more

I brought my VERY well behaved 6 yr old daughter in to find a puzzle bc we are very into puzzles right now. We were directed to the 500 piecers and we looked for about 5 minutes and she found two that she thought were nice. They only had about 7 different ones. We left to go check at Ollie's to see if they had any but they didn't and we came back 20 minutes later. My daughter went back to the shelf and was looking for the puzzle she wanted and she was moving The others out of the way in a pretty gentle manner. A woman who works there came over visibly irritated and told me to get her away from the puzzles And that she is messing them all up and she would have to be the one to fix them. I got down on the floor and told the woman that I would fix the puzzles and she is just finding the one we are going to buy. She told me I could not fix them bc they have to be placed in a specific order. I tried to fix them And she told me I was doing it wrong and it's HER job to fix them bc my daughter messed them all up. Mind you, there were like 7 puzzles MAX that got put out of order and it took her 2 minutes to put them back. I would never allow my child to mess things up for others to fix but she was only searching to find what she wanted. I took our puzzle to the counter and told the guy that I was not going to buy the puzzle bc the woman who works for him basically yelled at my kid and made her feel like she was messing it all up. We will not be returning and we LOVE games. read more

Created a yelp account just to write this review. And first, i want to say, i like the store. Front-line employees are polite, helpful, and even make an effort to get to know you by name! The owner though...just a rude, nasty person. If she were there regularly, i would never go back. I prefer to spend my money at my local game store (happily paying significantly more), but she makes me not want to spend a dime in there. read more

So funny story. My wife and I were actually in Target looking at board games (in Wadsworth) and a couple saw us looking at one in particular. We end up talking about board games and they asked us if we had ever heard of Recess. It sounded like a really cool store so.... Impromptu road trip! We drove just under an hour to go up to the store and check it out. As soon as we walked in we were greeted by a super friendly guy who gave us a quick overview of the store and then let us browse. We love board games, AND THEY HAVE SO MANY GAMES. It was amazing. They have card games, strategy games, tile games, 2 player games, cooperative games. But even better was the guy checking in on us noticing what we were looking at, and helping us with recommendations. It was a great experience. Awesome store, awesome selection, and awesome staff. 5 Stars all around. read more

I fear this review is based purely on one interaction with whomever was vacuuming the store this morning. I couldn't see an actual store name anywhere so I didn't know what to search for online. I walked up and there is a digital hours sign posted but no actual hours listed on it. So I waited outside until someone saw me. She unlocked the door, asked what I wanted and I just asked "When do you open?". If it was 9am then I was going to hang around and buy a game. Apparently I was the jerk for asking as the lady said, "10 am. It's been the same fucking time every day for the last seven years". So I guess I'm the asshole for there being no discernible hours posted on the storefront and no store name to be seen so I couldn't find a website. Anyway, I didn't get to go in and shop so perhaps they do have a great selection. I can't comment on that. I can only comment on the service which was absurdly rude. read more

We were in Cleveland for the 4th of July holiday, visiting family. Stopped at this store to check out the games and went back again 2 days later, we liked the place so much. Big, bright store. Very friendly staff and a great selection of games! Looking at their calendar, they seem to have a lot going on all the time. I love my local game store, but if I lived here this would definitely become my home store! read more

Saw the absurd low reviews and thought I'd throw my two cents in as this place is great. HUGE selection and a great gaming space. I always see guys playing warhammer and whatnot right up front and there's a giant space in the back for board games and card games. I come into town just for holidays and whatnot (when they have sales - sweet!) but if I was local I'd totally make this my go-to spot. Cleveland is lucky to ha read more

Well stocked game store with helpful and informed staff. It was quick and easy to slip pick up some gaming supplies on the road. Nice selection of games for younger players in the front corner. This is great when you have younger kids with you (who dont really need to see the artwork on some other game packaging.) read more

My favorite game store in the area, the owners are really awesome and my children love playing games with them when they're slow and even let them "help" behind the register. The staff is great, very helpful and friendly. When my girlfriend and I go play warhammer they created a little area where my kids can play if they choose to. My kids love coming here and are excited to see everyone every time we go. All this and we haven't talked about the selection. They have a great amount to choose from along with demo games set up, and they have a section of games you can try out in the back to see if you like it. If they don't have something, they will get it for you. I have never waited more than a week to receive a special order and all of your purchases goes on their amazing reward system that is generous compared to other places I've been where they offered little to nothing for shopping loyally. Over all I can not recommend this place high enough. read more

From the outside, you might think that Recess is some dingy little store, but let me tell you, this is an awesome store. I first went here 2ish years ago for a Pokemon TCG tournament and I was a little skeptical about coming, because after all, gaming stores seem to get a bad rep. However, Recess is a spacious, clean store with a wide variety of games ranging from Magic the Gathering to tabletop games. I highly recommend this store for even the most hardcore tabletop gamer. read more

Had a great time playing games tonight at Recess. Staff was very friendly and knowledgeable about the games they had, and offered good suggestions. Huge selection of games and collectibles. Would certainly recommend to anyone interested in getting into or carrying on the great tradition of board gaming. read more

That sales guy, Todd, is weird. I haven't been followed around a store like that since I was 15.

One of my favorite stores. Helpful and friendly staff. I've visited a lot of other independent shops that would fall into the "geeky" category over the years. What sets Recess apart is the welcoming and clean atmosphere... It's probably as family friendly as a specialty game store can be. read more

We're avid gamers and we first experienced Recess in Akron before we made the trip to the bigger store. The selection is very good, the employees are always helpful and make great recommendations, and the rewards program really pays off. I'd highly recommend Recess. read more

One of the best game stores I've visited in my 25 years of gaming. Great community and good support and selection from the owners.

Prices are well beyond other area stores selling the same products. When he has "sales" he marks up the regular price the night before so that his 25% off comes out to being the same as his normal price. It is the only store in the area where you are charged a fee for the privilege of paying them to buy product to play in events that manufacturers provide cheap prize support in order to help stores bolster sales or charges just to play there and provides no product for the entry fee's and pockets the money earning profits off of prize support that again manufacturers provide them in order to sell more product not to turn for a profit on it alone. read more

I was there for their Black Friday sales they were having this week which is amazing buy 1 get 1 70 percent off. But I went to pay in 2 separate transactions. My credit card declined I was huh so I said I will pay cash for the 2 items I bought ok wrong I go to buy 6 more games. MY other credit declined I said huh I don't have enough cash let me try another card it gets declined the owner comes over and I tell him oh I think your machine is down he says no it is not down I said are you sure he says I don't know what tell you and then the cashier gives me a lecture on banks. The owner goes back to his computer to watch videos or play world of warcraft or whatever he was doing. Not helping the CUSTOMER so I have to drag my 9 year old to the closest bank get out 120 dollars from my bank which I did and go back to recess to see the owner back on his computer watching videos give my 120 dollars to the cashier get my stuff and leave. I WILL NEVER BUY ANYTHING FROM RECESS AGAIN NO CUSTOMER SERVICE MEANS NO BUSINESS TO ME. read more