As a lover of all things tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons, I’m always on the lookout for the best tabletop game stores that will provide a welcome atmosphere to the tabletop roleplaying nerd in me. There’s nothing like the feeling of discovering a new store that is crammed from floor to ceiling with both games you’ve never seen before and old favourites that bring back a ton of great memories. When you’re in a place like that, it’s like you’re visiting an old friend. Everyone in there is usually on the same frequency: they’ve all rolled dice with that feeling of hanging anticipation and anxiety, they’ve all cheered when things went well and laughed hysterically when things failed miserably.
What makes a good tabletop roleplaying game store? There are many factors, but choice, welcoming staff, space to actually play tabletop roleplaying games, and price are contributing factors. There are so many cool stores out there that it’s very hard to narrow this list down, and I’m sure when you read this you’ll have a local favourite that is not on the list and you’ll be enraged! Since I live in the UK, I’ve featured those stores the most, as well as some from the U.S. and Canada, but of course, there are many more across the world. I’d welcome any feedback on Twitter regarding stores that you feel should be on the list!
Orcs Nest, London, UK
This is a small but jam-packed shop in London, UK, that has everything you need for tabletop roleplay gaming. Every available space is filled with tabletop roleplaying games. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable but won’t try to push you to buy something. It is an amazing shop for unique tabletop games, standard board games, and games for those who consider themselves collectors.
Travelling Man, Leeds, UK
The story of Travelling Man is that two bored friends decided to leave their dead-end jobs and start a business back in the 1980s. A three-time Eisner-nominated store, they are an amazing group of people that strive hard to create a sense of community around what they do. What started as a mail-in service playing a game called “Star Marines” has now blossomed into four brick-and-mortar shops around northern England. They are a huge contributor and partner of the Thought Bubble Comic Art Festival which brings in tons of cool guests like Molly Knox Ostertag and other amazing artists.
The Ludoquist, Croydon, UK
With absolutely lovely staff members that are really welcoming to new players, I found myself in the Ludoquist waiting for an event at another location that never happened. What did happen was that I stayed in the Ludoquist and just hung out, looking at all the cool memorabilia, D&D books, and the scores of other board games, not to mention the great food. I happen to know some fantastic school librarians that bring groups of students to the Ludoquist for trips and events, as they’ve had such a positive experience. This involves a day of Dungeons and Dragons and helping the library choose tabletop roleplaying material!
The Gathering, Limerick, Ireland
When it first opened in 1997, the Gathering had no running water, electricity, or phone service, but what it did have was a group of passionate people dedicated to providing a fun and welcoming atmosphere when it comes to tabletop roleplaying games and gaming in general. Now, it is a cosy and warm shop with shop owners that treat everyone like family. In my opinion, this is what is at the core of stores like this because this is the atmosphere I’m trying to create in every D&D game I run: a feeling of family and being welcome. They’ve been running their own gaming convention for 25 years called Conclave. As the owners explain, it’s not about winning or losing when it comes to games like this, it’s about the stories.
Mox Boarding House, Seattle, USA
Since 2011, Mox Boarding House has been providing a very unique tabletop roleplaying gaming and cafe experience. What’s amazing about them is that they have over four hundred games that you can borrow for free from their library to play in-store. They have over ten thousand square feet of gaming (and eating!) space. This allows them to hold large tournaments and other bespoke events that will stay lodged in gamers’ memories for years.
Noble Knight Games, Wisconsin, USA
What’s amazing about Noble Knight is the sheer size of their collection: over 250,000 products are on offer. They know what they’re doing because they’ve been around since 1997. (I feel old if ’97 is now ‘historic’!) They have a massive gaming hall and ship everything they sell all over the world. Even cooler, they stock tons of out-of-print games, perfect for the nostalgic gamer or someone who is missing a crucial part of a game that they desperately need. I’ve heard a lot about this place and am jealous of those who get to frequent it!
Madness Games and Comics, Plano, Texas, USA
This place calls itself THE Pop Culture Mega Store, and I am in no position to dispute this claim. They have film screenings, have special guests like cartoon voice-over actors, Power Rangers, and much more. They do live events and sell a ton of tabletop roleplaying material. I love that they appear to be multi-functional in that they cater to enthusiasts across the board (no pun intended). This place has it all. I’ve heard from reliable sources that this is the place to go when looking for your pop culture fix and I can say that all signs point to yes.
The Guild House, Toronto, Canada
An entire summer devoted to Dungeons and Dragons? Yes! This is just one of the things that the fantastic-looking Guild House in Toronto offers. Not only can you go there to paint your own miniatures (who doesn’t love doing that? Well, me, because I’m terrible at it!), but you can also hire a Game Master (GM) to bring you pre-made characters and entire games so you can learn tabletop roleplaying of any kind. There also appears to be a lot of food available. This place looks absolutely amazing, and the online reviews echo this statement!
The Sentry Box, Calgary, Canada
Thirteen thousand square feet and over 10,000 items on sale is nothing to sniff at, and the Sentry Box does it very, very well. With Dungeon Crawl Classics, Queer Calgary Boardgame Meetups, Monthly X-Wing tournaments, and a ton more, this place looks freakin’ fantastic. They’ve been around for over 40 years and consider themselves one of the world’s largest gaming stores. With the aforementioned massive catalogue, they also sell a ton of historic reading material as well as used games. You are also welcome to bring in your old stuff to exchange. This looks like heaven.
There are so many amazing tabletop roleplaying stores out there it’s impossible to list them all, I’d love to hear about the ones that have made a difference in your life!
You might also be interested in:
10 of the Best Tabletop Roleplaying Games Beyond D&D
The Best Dungeons and Dragons Accessories for Your Next Campaign
Must-Read Books Based On Your D&D Class
