Gamescape

Walking into GameScape was like swimming in a ball pit, ‘cept full of games instead of balls, and without the icky germs too. There were games floor to ceiling. I walked in on a critical mission – locate the most under advertised, awesome game there is, Monopoly Deal, AKA, Monopoly’s little sib that’s an action-​packed card game sans the super long lulls of boring, big sib traditional Monopoly. Basically, you can kick the pants off someone eights times and have way more fun doing it in the time it would’ve taken you to snore your way, begging, kicking and screaming, through a win in the original board game.
So anyway, back on topic. While I was on my mission, I noticed board games, card games, handhelds, classic games, new games, stuff I’ve never heard of before, and hard-​to-​find stuff like my precious Monopoly Deal. It seems no one carries it any more at the big box stores.
Prices were reasonable, the store seemed fun and interesting to browse, service was helpful and enthusiastic, and being there made me happy. That’s the mark of any great game store – bringing instant joy to its patrons. I’ll be sure to remind the next person whose butt I kick that their but whooping came courtesy of you, GameScape. Thank you :).

Friendly staff is knowledgable and always willing to answer questions about games. They always have good recommendations whether you’re an avid board gamer looking for something new or a casual player just looking for something fun.

Holy smokes Batman!!! This shop is FULL of games — hard to believe so many games are available … I kept it simple and bought a double deck of cards I was stoked about !! Looks like there are game tables so more options for gamers — a cool place :)

I took my Son here last week. He was in need of a Magic the Gathering Fix, and I was happy to drive him into the City as part of a Father-​Son day together. I didn’t sit down and play with him, but he did have a nice time at one of the game tables near the back. My first hand experience was passing him a Twenty, taking a browsing trip around the store, and receiving some spot on recommendations from store employee on where to have Lunch. If Magic is not your thing, the Board Games selection is pretty darn impressive.

good place to buy and play rpgs and board games

I almost always use Amazon when I buy games. No muss, no fuss. However, a friend reminded me that I really should support local businesses more. So I called the closest «Friendly» Local Game Store. I just wanted to find out whether an upcoming game would be arriving within the next few weeks.
The guy who answered wasn’t very friendly at all. If anything, his tone of voice was on the edge of sullen and I felt like I was intruding on his time. He said he would check on the item I requested, then left me on the line for 11 minutes. I only know because I looked at the call duration right before I hung up and called again.
Not sure if it was the same guy who answered, but I was polite and simply said, «I was left on the line for 11 minutes, and I’m just trying to find out about a game that is coming out soon.»
There was no, «sorry you were on hold for so long,» or any of the other Customer Service 101 replies that would’ve turned the lackluster experience around. Just an irritated, «what’s the name of the game?»
Look, I’ve been in customer service. I KNOW it is not an easy job. But it is your job and if you’re not really feeling it some days, then you fake it. A friendly, approachable tone from a store clerk is the best weapon local businesses have against online giants like Amazon. However, no customer service is better than bad customer service. I’ll stick with one-​click shopping where I’m not made to feel like I’m bothering a business when I want to spend my money with them.
I believe in second chances, though. If I check this place out again in the future and the experience is different, I’ll definitely update this review.

I’ve been here a couple of times, but stopped by tonight with my boyfriend in search of card shufflers for a project. We found the shufflers and then browsed the store. It was MTG night, and we came in about half an hour to closing. The back of the shop was pretty bustling.
The store seems to have a decent selection of games, although they don’t seem to be in any obvious order. I mean, I’m sure they’re in some sort of order, but they’re not marked as such.
The guys behind the counter were very friendly and happy to answer any questions. We asked one of the guys what they had by the way of two player co-​op, and he gave us some pretty solid recommendations.
Glad this place can still thrive here! It’s priceless for the event/​community space alone, not to mention being able to come down and ogle games.

Gamescape is a fantastic game store. The staff is helpful and knowledgable and the selection is first rate. RPGs, minis, loads of board games including the latest expansions when they are released.
Also, the scheduled events are great. I’ve attended board game night and Fantasy Flight card games night (basically Android: Netrunner night) and I’ve observed D&D encounters. Board game night was lively and welcoming, with an exceptional selection of games from the play-​me shelf, and D&D was going off! I really intend to come get in on a 5e game sometime.
Lastly, there is a wide selection of traditional games. Gamescape is a first-​rate location if you’re looking for a puzzle, party game or a fully stocked nerd-​cave.
Oh, and save your receipts because if you spend a certain amount ($ 100 i think?) you get a discount on your future purchases. Nice bonus!

This place can cram alot of board games and stuff into a medium sized store. Price points are fair and it is also fairly clean. What gets the 5 stars is that the employees are nice and knowledgeable and that their open board game tables in the back have the biggest selection of games to play that I have seen so far in a board game store. It doesn’t have «everything» like Games of Berkeley does but it probably will have what you need so long as that its fair popular or well known. The games in the back though, lots and lots.

Closest place to my house that has mtg events. The staff seems pretty good, the events have a lot of kids.
Store has a decent selection.

After calling in and asking about pricing it was apparent that they overcharged me for my order. I went in and was given the equivalent of what I paid for and was on my way in under five minutes. Review score updated to reflect this, ⁴⁄₅

I came here recently to purchase some games on a whim because we were having some friends over. We had nothing in mind and were browsing.
The Good:
Pretty large selection for a game store (I guess? I haven’t been in a game shop since I was a kid.)
Large open area for shopping.
Friendly employees when you engage with them.
The Bad:
Dust. You need to dust.
Are the games organized in any particular order? Genre? If so, can you make the signage a little clearer.
The Ugly:
The prices are definitely not bargain.
Employees pretty much ignore customers unless directly addressed.
Ended up buying a Sherlock Holmes game and another co-​op game. Total damage? $ 90.00.

Good game recommendations!

Very disappointed in the service I received.

I guess I don’t really have any reason to give GameScape less than 5 stars. We’ve done MTG drafts here before and the organizers are friendly, prompt, and well organized (what more could you ask for?). Every employee I’ve interacted with has been friendly and genuinely knows what they’re talking about.
Sometimes the store smells a little funky (body order ^ 2) but that’s not their problem. Maybe put in an air freshener?

WILL NEVER GO BACK AGAIN.
Me and a friend bought Star Trek of Catan there yesterday, to play together before I’ll be leaving town tomorrow. The game came with a set of cards that was completely covered in mold (looks to have been contained within sealed pack). We called them and they told us that they would be getting in another copy today, that they would call us and we come down today and exchange it. After not hearing from them all day we finally gave them a call, at which point the manager informed us that he would be unable to take ANY RETURNS because of his contract with mayfair and that we had to call the company directly. So my friend is out $ 60 for the game and I’m out $ 35 for the expansion that I will probably never get to play. THANKS GAMESCAPE. This is my first and last time buying anything from this store.

Have been a loyal customer to this store for two years. However, this weekend I went in to buy a game only to find that there was mold in the packaging. The store told me initially that I could return the game because it was defective, and to come back the next day once they received the new shipment. The new shipment didn’t come in, so I was checking in that I could receive it the next day. They said that they would get a new shipment in and I could return it then. I then spoke to the manager who said because they had a contract with the game manufactures, that they could not return this defective product because they would be losing inventory.
The manufacturers eventually got back to me after three days, because the majority of them were on a tournament cruise. But they did say that the store should have taken back this defective product in particular, but that it was poor customer service and that they were too much of a stickler to the manufacturers policy.
The store outright refused to take their defective, mold ridden product back or help in anyway because they didn’t really want to deal with this. I could have gotten the same product for 41 dollars on Amazon, but instead I «supported local business» and paid 55 dollars for inferior customer service, no way to play, and no way to return it.
They did apologize for the back and forth between the store and the manufacturer. They also were able to refund my friend who bought the expansion pack for the game that we were not able to play.
The manufacturer helped me out, but I still have to wait in the mail for it. Which is ok on the manufacturers part, but terrible on the store’s. Sadly, I have to wait to play my game. They did help my friend out, but not really me.

I asked for card sleeves that would fit cards for the Dixit board game series. The guy at the counter handed me the card sleeve packs. It wasn’t that cheap, around $ 5.50 a pack of 30. Anyways, I opened the card sleeve packs and they ended up being too small for Dixit cards, so I’m pretty dissatisfied with my purchase.

I often have friends who want very odd games as gifts. This place ALWAYS has them and their prices are SUPER reasonable! I come here as often as I can and inevitably end up leaving with way more than i had intended to.

This is a hard review to make, since I 100% want to support local FLGS stores, and as far as I can tell, this is certainly not a bad one. But the two star review represents my disappointing experience, nonetheless.
I came into the store to specifically ask for Dixit sleeves, and the guy behind the counter said that these sleeves (FFG Tarot size) would fit Dixit sleeves. I said, «Okay,» even though I had a vague feeling he was wrong about it, but I, going against my usual instinct, trusted him. He rang me up, asked me if I wanted a receipt, and by habit I said yes.
I went home, and the sleeves definitely didn’t fit Dixit. I went back to the store the next time it was convenient for me, but could only get store credit for it, despite the fact that it was A) their mistake and B) I had to specifically request the receipt.
To me, the only advantages of an FLGS over an OLGS is customer service and event hosting. I can’t speak to the latter, but I was really disappointed by the former. Their lack of product knowledge (combined with a lack in ethic to double check) cost me my time and $ 10, and all I got was store credit and an apathetic shrug from the guy behind the counter.

I went here today for the first time. On a personal note, walking through a board game store in a tie (after a meeting) feels ridiculously awkward. But nonetheless, not living in the area I decided to check out the local BG store. This place is AMAZING. My family’s collection borders on 125 to 140 games and my wish list is even bigger. Gamescape had every damn game on my wishlist and If I had more time, I could have spent 2 hours and several hundred $$$ there.
The selection is by far the best I have seen, from classic cardboard to new releases. The game I bought was in fact a new release and not one I expected to see in stores for a while. I’m also not a miniatures guy but the paint and miniatures selection was double that of most stores, not to mention the row of open gaming tables in the back.
For my money this is the best store board game shop in the Bay Area and I wish I lived closer. For me, at least once in a while, Gamescape would be worth a long drive and a longer visit.

I’m not sure if I’ve bought anything here yet, although I know I’ve been in at least a half dozen times. I’m not much of a board gamer, although I do enjoy one if someone cracks one out, so I find myself wandering over to the RPG books or trying to find out what’s in the world of Rubiks and then usually getting bad flashbacks as the nerdy gamer geeks in the back start yelling about their saving throws or how much mana they’ve tapped out and dude shouldn’t be playing that card.
(In fairness, the gamers in the back seem to be polite, occasionally enthusiastic, normal guys just having fun. It was only once where some guy got all huffy and slammed cards down and banged the table, at least that I witnessed. Gamer dudes be super serious about their Serra Angel or something.)
I think most of what this store caters to is board games though. I haven’t seen much in the small hand-​held puzzles (like Rubiks cubes) and while they do carry RPG books, the selection isn’t huge. The bulk of the store is filled with shelves of boxes: anything you want from Axis and Allies to Pictionary to Clue and probably five versions of Monopoly.
We did stop in this past Saturday with the intention of actually making a purchase but they were sold out on the game we were looking for. An employee indicated it would be back in stock soon so we’ll likely return in the next week or two.