Top Game stores in Portland, United States

I bought Penny Racers for the N64 at TOTL for $29, and I later found out that this is double the loose price according to Pricechart ($14 dollars). I still feel ripped off and wished I'd have waited for a reasonably priced copy of the game. Console accessories such as memory cards are fairly priced, however.

Edit: Thank you for the response! I will call soon.

One of the best game stores I've ever been to. Easily the best selection I've ever seen and the staff was very friendly and attentive.

The best gaming store in Portland in my opinion! Wonderful staff, awesome owner, a welcoming atmosphere, and a nice selection of games both new and old plus TCGs and collectables. Easily my go-to game store in Portland.

Hands down the best game store in Portland. They have a great selection of video games, accessories, table top, and trading cards + a variety of nerdy, and retro goodies 😁
The staff, and owners are just awesome. They've always been friendly, welcoming and super helpful!

I've been to board game stores across the nation, whenever I travel for work (10-15x per year) I hit the local shop. This is easily one of the top 3 shops I've been to. What makes it so good?

Cleanliness and organization - this may be the most clean store I've been to and they have laid it out in a very logical way with plenty of space for maneuvering around.

Selection - Their board have selection was ridiculously deep. I found games that I had heard about but never seen in a store. This included both big games and small games.

Friendliness - I had multiple workers ask me if I needed help finding anything, or if I'd like recommendations. It was great. They also had 4-5 people working which was awesome.

I can't say enough good about this place. But they also had a good size hanging area and an in-store bar.

Treasure trove of great modern Pokemon cards! Filled a lot of missing cards by stopping here!
Great pricing, great staff!

Great place for having fun with friends or family.
The idea of playing before buying is just great and the variety of games is Amazing, you can grab a beer and play until 10pm

I just want to say Alex (the owner) is great! He's very knowledgeable with vintage pokemon and fun to hang out with.

Under new ownership, now worker owned. Love the new guys. Fixed the place up, lot more play space now

Huge, airy store with a great selection. Hubby found a new 20-sided dice.

Excellent prices for draft and sealed events, they don't upcharge like the other LGSs I've been at. Great selection of singles and knowledgeable staff. 5/5

Guy working at the counter was so polite made me feel welcome and was extremely knowledgeable I would highly recommend this place over Gambit games in Lloyd Center

This place is awesome! We were visiting out of town with our dog and they let us bring her in. We played board games for hours here and staff are super friendly. Great wide selection here of board games too.

An EMPLOYEE OWNED card shop with some of the most helpful and invested folks behind the counter. They have a space for playing set up all the time, but they do Commander nights on Tuesdays.

Great place. Small clean space which makes it easier to meet people. Friendly, approachable staff. Had a great time at a pre-release event here.

Favourite game store! They've got quite a great selection of games, and a lot of Gundam model kits as well, notably rare kits and limited releases plus vintage and recent. Gunpla lovers would love it here

The store makes me feel welcome as well, it's a super inclusive environment for all trans and queer people.

Amazing gunpla selection! Gundams and tools, good range of new kits and some pBandai and obscure rare stuff

What an awesome store. They have a huge range of things including GUNDAM model kits. Tools, video games, collectibles, cards, on and on and on. The staff are so friendly and helpful. If you haven’t checked it out yet do yourself a favor and stop by!

Great small shop. Super welcoming. Also they put actual prices on singles so you don't have to use a website.

What a great store. Nicest staff. Great selection. Really am awesome experience. There are rooms in the back where people meet and play.

This is hands down the greatest local game store I've ever been to. The selection inside is mind blowing and extremely well organized. They had very rare games that were hard to find even online. The staff was extraordinarily welcoming and helpful giving many recommendations with detailed descriptions of each game and how they work, it was very clear the man I was talking to knew all about board games. I didn't have a chance to play anything from their expansive game wall or magic in their huge playing area. They seemed to also sell alcohol which is a huge bonus for some people. Overall this local game store is jaw dropping and i would recommend going out of your way to check this place out.

Possibly my favorite local game shop. I play cards here pretty much every single week, and it has been my go-to spot to purchase table top gaming supplies for over two years now. Excellent shop run by friendly and helpful people and a great environment to play games.

This is the best hobby store I have been to. Great friendly customer service. I love how everything is labeled with price. Will definitely frequent this store.

Good selection. Rentals available to play at one of their many tables or to take home and if you liked it enough to buy it, your rental fee goes towards your purchase. Really great staff. I hear there's beer on tap although I didn't have time to partake. Parking can be tricky sometimes but I managed to score a spot out front. Will definitely be back.

An absolutely wonderful store! Not only does it have a fantastic array of games and hardware, including some really cool rare stuff, it also has a big selection of one-of-a-kind cartridges and novelties. I never thought I'd see two copies of Xenosaga Episode III or a Wonderswan Color in-person, and yet here they were. The thing I loved the most was the staff. Great conversationalists, clearly huge game fans eager to share their knowledge and excitement about all kinds of collectibles and consoles, and they even wore masks which was a great step in helping my friends and I feel safe. I ended up buying a Saturn controller and we had a great talk about aftermarket controllers and the Saturn in general, which was my idea of a good afternoon! Oh, and above all, the prices were all very reasonable. A gem of a store I'm glad I was able to visit while I was vacationing in the area.

My favorite game shop in town. I rent games often ($5 for 3 days), and generally stop in when I'm at TnT or Mercado or Ottos. My kids love this place. They always want to buy dice.

This little game store is a gem to the neighborhood. They have a great variety of games, they host game nights, and you can even sell used games and puzzles here. Highly recommend checking it out if you are ever in the area.

This is way more than a game store! They hold community events, offer private game rooms for rent, you can borrow games to play in the store, and there's a cafe with coffee, beers, ciders, and pub grub style eats. Parking is limited to the surrounding streets, so you may have a walk a bit, and it's a popular area due to the food courts nearby.

Came in on a whim and was not at all disappointed. This place is super cool, very cute, and seemed very up to date on new games and stocked with standards. I ended up buying a puzzle. The cashier guy was super nice, asked if I’d seen the brand of puzzle before (magic puzzle co, and I hadn’t) and was very excited for me to try it. I had a bunch of fun putting it together and loved the little surprise details. Great experience overall.

I've been celebrating every birthday of mine at red castle for years, and I've gotta say I'm a big fan of the new location! More space for playing games, helpful staff with excellent suggestions, and the food and drink options that have been added are delightful! I love not having to stop playing to leave and get food, an excellent addition. The chicken tenders are delicious, and if you buy a drink you don't have to pay for game play. Yay!

I had my first visit tonight, and played commander.

The groups I played with seemed to have little regard for the experience of other players. To give an example, one opponent played a competitive deck in what I thought would be a casual game. I switched groups afterwards and had a similar situation, though it wasn't nearly as bad as the competitive deck.

I hope to check out their collection of singles later. I'm hoping they'll have a good selection. They did seem to have a good selection of sealed products, so I'm optimistic.

I'd suggest checking the place out. Just don't be surprised by the fact players don't restrain or restrict themselves, if my experience was any indicator.

I cannot recommend this shop enough. Everyone here is kind and helpful, and the game rental service is awesome: 1 game for one week for $10 or 2 games for one week for $15. Plus, of you decide to buy the game you rented, they'll put your rental fee toward your purchase! In addition to games, they also have beer and wine as well as N/A beverages for patrons who stick around to play games in house.

They helped me buy some Magic cards for me and my niece. Very friendly, supportive, and knowledgeable without any snobbery whatsoever. I felt very welcome, despite having bought my last deck in the late 90s!

Great place for any games you may need. The staff are extremely helpful when prompted with just a few ideas, returning with multiple games that you can choose from asking with a synopsis of the game! Alex, who helped me, was phenomenal! There's a selection of "small" games, averaging about 20-25$ and they range up to $2-300.

As an aside, they few one of the cleanest restrooms I've seen, with complimentary amenities.
Would recommend.

Recently had a great experience here! Came in looking for some gifts and Kylo was really thorough in helping find the perfect gift and answering all our questions, super kind and clearly knew his stuff. It ended up being a total hit so we'll definitely be back for some more recommendations. Drinks on tap too! Great local spot.

I'm the opposite end of town, but was pleased to find this gem when in the neighborhood. Good vibes, friendly staff, and while the selection isn't huge, it's well curated. I liked the used games and rentals selection, and the cozy game room had a nice warm feeling rather than the "card table and flickering florescent lights" of some other venues. I'd be a regular if I were close by.

Stopped in to check out this store because it's on my commute. Some with the owner who was super friendly. They have about 6 tables which could host about 12 players and the shop is mostly TCG focused.

They also have items which would make great general nerdy gifts.

Red Castle is my go to friendly local game store.

They have a great selection of games, puzzles, miniatures, dice, cards and hobby accessories. Anything they don't have on hand can be easily special ordered by the friendly and competent staff. The community is very inclusive and there's something for people of all ages and nerdy persuasions.

Red Castle also has tasty food and drinks for those who take part in any of their daily events and game nights.

Special recognition goes to the manager Matt. He's extremely friendly, genuine and knowledgeable of all manners of games. He hosts a thriving skirmish wargame community and actively supports people on Discord.

Matt provides immeasurable value to the store and is a key factor in Red Castle's continued success. Give that man a raise!

I went here with my partner this last weekend to meet up with a new group of friends. We wanted to go somewhere chill and talk about dungeons& dragons and maybe get something to drink or a bite to eat. I was extremely pleasantly surprised with this place. Not only where their energy drinks really good and affordable, but the food was really good too. My partner got fried pickles and said that they were some of the best fried pickles that they have had since they lived in the south. That is a huge compliment from them lol.

The staff were all super friendly and just really lovely. The people at the front who are taking orders and making drinks were really sweet and made great recommendations. The people in the games store area were incredibly kind and giving compliments about what we were wearing. The game store itself was very clean, easy to navigate, they had a great selection of games and of TTRPG books. They had a really good selection of minis and it seemed like they had paints and such. There were a lot of dice and the place was just covered in board games.

They have a private area that you can rent for I think $20 an hour but don't quote me on that because I don't work there, and the private area was a large room with a large table in the middle, A huge flat screen TV that had a webcam attached to it in case you had people that were remotely playing with you.

Considering you can step outside the room and immediately order food and drinks, it was definitely worth $20 an hour. If you have three to four people to split the fee, it's even more affordable.

I am absolutely going to go back here. I actually want to go back here this weekend. I want to buy some of their dice, I want to eat some more fried pickles or maybe mozzarella sticks or tater tots cuz those are my favorite things, I am craving their energy drinks which is weird for me, and I just really like this place.

Should do yourself a favor and check out Red Castle games and eat some of the good food and drink one of the energy drinks... And plan a meet up for here because it was really chill.

Just bought 90 bucks in mtg singles online I show up just after they open to pick them up. And then being told that since it’s Black Friday, they won’t have them pulled till maybe the end of the day maybe a couple hours and if I would’ve ordered them on the kiosk, they would’ve had them for me now.. well lost sales of the other items I am here to buy. Should have gone somewhere else.

Update
I see that they lie here. they never let me know about this policy and they definitely put anyone that was in the store ahead of anyone else’s order when it’s just as easy to pull for them I see that they don’t wanna accept responsibility for their actions, they had ten people in the store as customers two were on line one was me. They had five employees. But to busy to help anfter taking my money. I suggest that no one shops here.

An absolute gem of a location. Whether you are visiting to play a hard-core tabletop game or just wat to play a casual game with friends, RedCastle is the place to go. Lots of table space and tons of available games and a truly killer cafe. The staff is beyond friendly too. My whole family has become fans. Highly recommend!

I'm just sick of coming here. The area is scary, and my car got dinged again in the narrow parking lot.
Some of the workers are fantastic, while others are atrocious. Guardian's worked very hard to build an inclusive staff, but that just hasn't translated to how they treat many of their customers. I get a general elitist vibe from many of them: a lot of condescending attitudes and workers acting like you're inconveniencing them when you walk up to the counter. I didn't used to get this treatment when I was dropping hundreds of dollars, but now that I have kids, some workers act like I'm wasting their time. This is all while 3-5 of them are standing around chatting with each other.
It's just not a welcoming place for casual players and never really has been. Prices, especially MTG, are always max-market, and I've found a much more friendly and affordable experience just about everywhere else.
Guardian will always be top 2 when it comes to product availability, but you'll sadly find your time and money is ultimately better spent elsewhere.

This store is great, it has a huge variety of dungeons and dragons miniature, the staff are nice, they also sell mtg cards, and in my case they sold a set that wasn't set to come out until 6 days later! This store is amazing and I 100% recommend it if your into card games, ttrpgs, or board games. You can also play games on the tables inside.

Great store! Friendly demeanor and fair prices. Definitely worth checking out and supporting.

An awesome selection of games, with many different categories. The folks there are very helpful and knowledgeable of the different types of games, and if you find one you like, you can try it out at the store. Guardian Games is not only a store, but a space to meet friends and play your own games, and organize tournaments, and so on. Their is a snack bar/bar there also, to add to your enjoyment. I have not seen anything like this back in the east coast. Every time we travel to Portland to visit family, we check this place out. It's worth it. Give it a try.

What a fantastic video game store in Portland! The staff is extremely knowledgeable and it’s so obvious that they absolutely LOVE games. Went above and beyond to help me out. They have items for every console, era, and genre that you could ever want!

The Google maps picture shows an old image of what I believe is whatever business was there before they moved in, but the address is correct.

Great place, would recommend to any gamer!

The best place to be in Portland. Strong sense of community, passionate and friendly workers, awesome weekly events, great deals and prices on products. And right across the street from a food cart pod.

This place is my happy place away from home.

Cloud Cap Games has a wonderful selection and a helpful and friendly staff - even towards those who are not serious gamers. One of their best offerings is affordable rentals of many, many games.

What a great gaming store! Boardgames, DnD, Warhammer and much more. Too bad I was only in town for a day, but very friendly personel, a great boardgame library you can play and try at a dedicated space and a great atmosphere.

Great employee with the ability to float on her cane. 🫥 Made the experience the best game store ever.

Sadly, our car was broken into and we lost the miniatures hidden in the back with tinted windows in a garage..! 😨 But at least my cane is fixed, and I have an awesome pin. ❤️

Extravagant place for air conditioning, feel accepted, open tables, snacks, drinks, and cards! Highly recommend going to just sit if you ever wanted to build decks and possibly meet new friends! 😀

Well stocked store, great staff, a playing area to try out games, and an amazing overall atmosphere. I love this place!

This place is a gem of the PNW. I have literally never had a negative experience here, just knowledgeable people and plenty of open places to play. Adds to community.

Remodel is really impressive, cool to watch it go from brick alley (find memories) to a state of the art must see for both tourists and locals alike. I think it’s up there with Powells as a destination.

Only down side is it’s easy to spend lots of money (especially on Warhammer 40K) so treat it like Vegas and bring a set amount of cash and leave your credit cards at home! Other than that it’s quite a spectacle. I’ll post my Warhammer 40K collection which is 💯 all built from Guardian supplies (paint, minis, crates). So excited for Warhammer 40K 10e!

Fable Hobby has truly won me over with their exceptional range of Pokemon TCG cards and their outstanding customer service. As an avid collector and player, I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

About a week ago i bought a Paldea Evolved Booster Box, and when i opened up all the packs i pulled multiple Alternate Arts I Am very Pleased about the results, And would definitely recommend going to Fable Hobby if you are a Pokemon card collector.

Cozy game store. Atmosphere is warm and whimsical. They have a patio area with a covered tent if you would like to play outside. Employees will gladly join you for a game or two when they aren't manning the counter. They will also let you host special events as long as it doesn't fall on one of their scheduled game nights. For my party, they let me have the whole back patio and have goats.

They have a collection of games that you can play in store. If you'd like to try a game at home, you can also pay a small fee to rent a game.

Magic the Gathering players be warned, they only sell packs and not singles.

Really friendly atmosphere and a very large selection of games! They also collaborate with local game makers, which is really cool. I went to the Sunday event, Might I Suggest a Board Game, with some friends and we had a really fun time! We were able to play all kinds of games we never would have tried otherwise. Alex was really nice and he helped us learn some of the games. We also befriended someone who came to the event solo, so it's a good place to meet new people. The parking was also pretty good. They have a lot, and there's also plenty of street parking in that area.

Great store especially if you're looking for a family friendly game night. Huge variety of games, fun little outside area, friendly staff. Parking in the area is a little rough. Great Mexican food across the street.

Great friendly shop with great prices. They moved within the same shipping center and I almost missed them! Adding a photo of the new store front for reference.

I'll preface this by saying I haven't written a review in years; yet I felt compelled to for this amazing store. To start, the prices ARE GREAT! Consistently this store has lower and fairer costs than other Portland shops. Furthermore, they always have inventory for those hard to find products (for me, magic the gathering). To end, I'd like to express how awesome the owner is! He is an incredibly kind and obviously passionate player of countless card games. His knowledge alone makes me want to stop by his shop. He makes me proud to support my local game store and I look forward to seeing his continued success. He very much deserves it.

Came in here for the first time the other day to get some Pokémon stuff and was not disappointed. One the selection was great. But two the pricing is wonderful it's not a complete rip off like 99% of other card shops. I was even looking at things that I had found really low prices on else where before coming here and somehow they still had a better price here so I'm definitely going to be a returning customer

Excellent store that my kids and I love coming to. Our focus is on Pokémon cards and there is always an excellent selection of packs, boosters, box sets. The owner is very knowledgeable & very kind and patient, too. I have also ordered online and had boxes shipped to me, and the transactions were smooth and seamless. Both the product and service are exceptional. Thanks!

Rated this wonderful location incorrectly before, have come back to ammend. Great pricing, timely customer service, dependable sourcing. Had a postage issue before, but it ended up being a clerical error of USPS. 4 boxes of MTG booster delivered across the country in a few days flat, no shipping cost.
Would absolutely recommend.

I stopped in just to see what this store was all about. There are so many puzzles of varying number and style!
There were a lot of small models for painting (I assume for Dungeons and Dragons). Lots of dice and misc. interesting things. There was a selection of cards as well. Also, a good selection of board and table games.
It was clean, open, and the staff was friendly.
I didn't try the coffee (it seemed to be on a separate side from the merchandise).

2021 COVID note: masks required.

Great place to buy high quality puzzles (ex: Pomegranate brand) and the $5 used puzzles are a steal! Good selection of classic board and card games as well, and a rental program ($5/3 night period). As if that’s not amazing enough, they also offer a frequent buyer punch card: spend $20 ten times and get $25 store credit. Make sure you make the walk around the corner from the main strip of Sellwood and stop in here. The staff members are friendly and happy to answer questions on any of the games. I’ve loved learning and playing Wingspan!