Games of Berkeley

A wide range of games — if you can think of it, they have it! It’s a huge store, too, and prices are reasonable, though I do think it would be cheaper still to buy online. Overall, a nice collection of games of all types.

GoB seem to be more toy focus (stuff animals, key chains, Hello Kitty merch, etc.) as of late. While I don’t care for that fluff, they are a still a great table top gaming store. Amazing place to find board games, RPGS, and such. There’s also a lot of dungeon space downstairs for you and your friends to play whatever your heart wishes.

Wonderful gaming store in downtown Berkeley along Shattuck street! If you’re a fan of: board games, miniatures, puzzles, magic tricks or card games, you must stop in for a visit. They have an impressively huge selection of everything from more high skilled board games to easy party pleasers. Friendly service and a three-​day hold system where you can store an item for your next trip in. They can also set you up with gaming extras: dice, card protectors, etc. And they host gaming events directly from the store. It’s hard to walk out of this store without a new gaming purchase, and I highly recommend a visit (or regular stop) if you’re game-​inclined!

This place is awesome. They have the tons of trading cards, board games, puzzles, and other little doodads for a low price. They also host many gaming events, like Friday night magic, Netrunner tournaments, and they used to have yo-​yo class.

Well stocked game store, but poor customer service. We purchased a chess set which contained the incorrect set of pieces. Once we made it back to the store, a few weeks later, the employees said they could not exchange the pieces since it was a manufacturer error. We were able to buy the missing piece for a dollar, which of course isn’t a big deal, but its certainly upsetting that they could not fix the mistake.

Apparently you do not need to check in your backpack when you come in anymore. I was appalled because they left me standing there for five minutes at the counter while they helped four customers that came after me. I’m not standing there to stare at you. I’m not standing there to chill at the counter. I have my hands on my mini backpack, staring at you like helllooooooo check my bag in already. Instead they help other customers and then fed a pet corgi that comes in a treat. Might I add that the female employee was taking her sweet time and moving very slowly? I have had good experiences here, but I’m very unhappy with this last experience. If someone is standing there at the counter with a bag staring at you, that means they don’t know your new policy. Also, when I asked if I can leave my bag there, the red head guy looks at me like I’m crazy and says, «um you can if you want.» And turns around and helps someone else. Really. Really? Then take my damn bag after making me wait for like five minutes. The other girl completely ignored me and was the one that helped other people and fed a treat to the dog. I had to say very loudly, «HI SHOULD I LEAVE MY BAG HERE?!» And she finally said, «you don’t need too.» And I was like, «oh? I thought we are suppose to because I’ve been here tons of times and they always want my bag.» And she replied with, «we changed our policy two weeks ago.» Well… you could have told me that five minutes ago. It would have taken what? 5 seconds? Not pleased at all. I will continue to come here, as I have had nothing but good experiences here except this time. These people look new. I assume they are new, as I have not seen them here before.

We walked past this little shop on Valentine’s Day, and I was eager to go in. My boyfriend made me wait a whole 2 hours (lol) and some change so we could see a movie, but I definitely made it back before we left town. You know, it was awesome, by also kind of anticlimactic. I believe that’s because the array of products and the semi-​unclear layout and category organization was a bit overwhelming.
The product offering was great however! Random stuff (ty beanie babies! Neat children’s books!) to fun knick knacks (potty mouth magnets! Lol) to ATUFF you would expect in a game shop (cards! Yoyos! Uh, board games!), they had it all. I walked out with a postcard for a friend, said magnets, and a finger monster for a friend’s kid while my boyfriend grabbed a $ 50 freaking yo-​yo… (Nerd lol.). Was the service good? To be honest no, I didn’t feel engaged nor did I get the impression that the employees were psyched to be there. Granted, it was a bit packed when I went in, but even 30 seconds of bomb ass customer service would have been nice.

So often terrible customer service. And I wouldn’t recommend ever buying a puzzle here as a gift. I was given one as a gift, but I had it already, and even though it was sealed with the Games of Berkeley sticker on it, they wouldn’t let me exchange it for one I didn’t have without a receipt. Exchange — not return or refund! They told me even if I could get my friend’s credit card receipt showing the purchase, only the owner could do this at certain times.
The manager at the time was unfriendly and seemed completely uninterested in customer service. I’ve spent many hundreds of dollars at this store over the years, including on puzzles, but I’m not buying from them again.

One of the best game stores I’ve been to, and definitely the best one in the Bay Area. I go there for their boardgames, rpgs, and jigsaw puzzles, so I can’t really comment on their miniatures selection. The staff is helpful and friendly, the store is clean and well organized (although I wish they’d take a page out of Endgame’s book and label the game categories in each section, as they’re clearly organized by some sort of criteria). Love this place, and I’m happy to spend all of my gaming budget here, even though I can get things cheaper online.
I’ve also been here for their open boardgame nights, which I didn’t particularly enjoy — the back room gross — stuffy, kind of smelly, and there were flies. None of that is reflected in the retail area, though, which is clean, well lit, and pleasant to browse.

Customer service is hit-​or-​miss, and with me, they’ve missed several times. They have a great selection of board games, puzzles, and RPGs, unparalleled in the Bay Area. I used to spend all of my gaming budget here, but after several poor experiences with some of their employees, I’ll be taking my business elsewhere. I contacted the manager via email with my experiences, and never got so much as a reply. I wasn’t expecting them to take any huge actions due to my email, but something as simple as «Sorry, we can do better than that» would have gone a long way.
If you’re not going to get friendly, professional service, why pay a 20% premium when you can get it for so much cheaper online?

Amazing store! Nough said. More than just games, lots of other cool stuff that will appeal to to non-​gamers.

This is the best game store I’ve ever been to. Not only do they seem to have every game under the sun, but everything is organized in such a way that if you can find a game type that you like you can look around in that section and find a ton of other games that you would probably also enjoy. Prices are totally reasonable, and they host game events (some of which are free). Great puzzle selection. Only downfall is I always forget to use my 10% off with Unilocal checkin until after my charge has gone through. Next time I will redeem you!

I have never seen so many games in the same place in my life. They have a great range from classic to modern games that I would love to splurge on if I had the money. They also have a great selection of puzzles and small toys. The staff is really friendly and more than happy to assist. They also seem to be really well informed on the games, a lot of which they have personally played and can answer questions about how long they take, how fun they are, which versions are better, etc.

I collect Call of Cthulhu gaming material, so I’m in here roughly once a month. Overall, I like the store. The staff members know to leave me alone (except for the creepy guy who always seems to be in the back of the store and really, really wants to help me), the stock is reliably good and current, and it’s close to work. Really, when one has access to a place like this, why would one buy online?
And they have puzzles.
On the other hand, the clientele is a problem. This exactly the kind of place that attracts people who say things like, «In my world, surely the pegasus is the fastest of all the magical steeds (Thanks, Adam).» Worse, I have it on good authority that there’s a gaming room of one sort or another on-​site which no doubt draws in the lady-​killers, clutching their Magic decks & dodecahedrons, by the truck load. If this is the sort of thing you like to avoid, then time your visits carefully. The best time seems to be any weekday before 2 or 3; they don’t let teenagers in unsupervised until mid-​afternoon.
5 stars, if you’re able to time it right.

This place is exactly what you want it to be. My fiancé and I decided to scope this place out to help waste time while we’re waiting for our dinner reservations and were really excited by the options that they had available inside their store. They had everything from game cubes different types of dice a wide variety of nice actually. Large selection of chess boards available as well as card games galore. I highly recommend this place to any gamer who is looking for a new adventure to scout out and a board game or a card game or a chess game. The staff all look like they really enjoy what they do and are very helpful and knowledgeable and answering any questions you might have. I do like the fact that they do have you check in your book bag before you come in not only do the help prevent theft but it also allows more walking space around the store as face is kind of tight. Give this place a try especially if you’re trying that way sometime or just looking for something to fill your evening with.

I have never been more motivated to update a review.
Wow.
This place has made a complete turn around.
The new direction is is amazing.
The best part is, the employees are the same!
Which is crazy awesome.
That’s just a reflection of persistence and good management.
Better customer service, the store layout has changed it feels lighter, and the store itself is evolving as well, I can’t wait to see will change next.
Good on you Games of Berkeley.
Well done.

Love Games of Berkeley!!! I could spend all day in this store. Huge, affordable selection of the best games: board games, puzzles, kids games, educational games, etc etc. Blows ToysRUs away. Not to mention it’s got that family owned feel, so you feel as though you’re taken care of in a more personal way. I live pretty far from GOB, but it’s worth the drive every time. Oh. and for all you serious gamers, they even have game nights in the basement of the store. Dungeon and Dragon nights… pretty awesome!
The owner, Erik, is incredibly invested in his store and his inventory is geared towards his customers. If you haven’t been to Games of Berkeley, you don’t know what you’re missing. :)

Love coming here! A fabulous games store. If you are a board games lover, this is the place for you. Your life will be forever changed. Don’t go to Target anymore to buy those silly Hasbro games. Graduate and come to Games Of Berkeley!
The best selection of board games in Bay Area. The workers all love and know board games and will direct you to the right path if you’re looking for a specific game in mind.
Forgot to mention that the store also has Friday Night Magic drafts for all you MTG players. It holds pre-​releases as well.

Called for a special game that you can usually just get on Amazon and boom they had it!!! Awesome & efficient customer service from the moment I walked in to when I checked out! Wish I had more time to check out everything but my ride was driving around the block! I shall be back soon!!!

Walked in and was greeted right off the bat and they asked us if we wanted to bag check-​in. The service is definitely great, +1 star.
Games of Berkeley has a wide array of board games from big to small, new to old, mainstream to niche. Add in the magazines, toys and other board game accessories and you’ll most likely find what you were looking for. +2 stars for for their selection.
Although there are so many board games and stuff fit into this store it is pretty clean, especially the carpet. I don’t think I saw any dust on the main floor so +1 star for cleanliness.
I came pretty late in the day so I didn’t get to see their board games that are open to play. I think the door for it was closed, but looking at the Unilocal picture the variety of board games and the playing area isn’t as big as Gamescape, so .5 star. 4.5 stars overall, rounding it to 5 as they definitely deserve it. Will always stop by when I’m around the area.

Terrific set of games — including a ton of very unusual board games and card games. Also a decent selection of magic the gathering boosters from years past.

Very clean, organized store with a little bit if everything in it! I loved walking around here! They have everything from puppets to card games to action figures to little nick nacks, etc! I feel like this would be a great places to buy a gift for someone! They have a bunch of cute novelty items!

Very good game store! They have a large selection of family friendly games, but I wish their strategy section was a little more robust.
They do carry some amazing games though, and I recommend Munchkin, Forbidden Desert, Dominion, 7 Wonders, Lords of Waterdeep, Settlers of Catan, and many more.
I would like to see the tables organized in a more usable way by type (or something). For instance, card building games on one table, world domination on another, team strategy, etc.
Overall a good game store.

okay, check it
Games of Berkeley, play cards for days,
bay’s number one hit board game station, the phrase that pays/​
Train hard for these games, Ticket to Ride,
LA to New York, points on the side/​
And I’m a Settler, hailed from Catan,
Think y’all are friends? Come test your bond/​
Roll ‘3’ for the ore, gathering galore,
Magic the Gathering, booster pack store/​
4 hour sessions, no shame in my game,
fly like Planeswalker, Pro Tour to fame/​
When girls from Cal say I’m geeky as hell,
tap two of my islands — Counterspell/​
Sexy chick’s power negated here don’t be a fool,
i-​d-​d-​w-​y, I Don’t Duel Wit Youuuuuu/​
My board game so strong, strength like Hercules,
found my Olympus, Games of Berkeley.
foodkid fAAtcity

My group of friends and I decided that we were thinking about getting a board game, so we decided to come to Games of Berkeley to see what we could find. We didn’t buy a game sadly, but still had a great experience at Games of Berkeley.
This store is amazing in terms of its selection, cleanliness, and overall appearance. Upon walking in, you see everything clearly labeled and marked above so you know where to direct yourself. Also, I found that the variety of the games available was great from chess to jigsaw to strategy games to trivia. There is something here for everybody, so if you want a game, they are most likely going to carry it.
Note, they also do a price match here at Games of Berkeley for any printed advertisement! (Not online prices, don’t be ridiculous!)
One thing I could see people complaining about this store is how all the games are expensive and could get it online cheaper. Yes, you can get the games cheaper online; however, with the spirit of the Bay Area, we should be supporting local businesses!

Free yoyo class every Saturday at 11 a.m. How awesome.
The last Saturday of the month it’s $ 10 because they have a famous expert.

I graduated from Cal 3 years ago and I have not discovered this gem until now. Thanks to my co-​worker who recently got me interested in board games and jigsaw puzzles. It is definitely a great way to practice sportsmanship and relieves the crap out of stress.
I scored two 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle under 30. GoB has a wide range of art to fantasy collections. They also have a bunch of board games that I’ve never even heard of before.
This place definitely portrays a lot of what Berkeley is all about, creative, nerdy, and lastly extreme hipster.