Rivendell Books & Games

I stopped in here on my way home from Providence to poke around and start some early Christmas shopping. The selection of different books and board games was very extensive, and the customer service was exceptional! I chatted with the man working behind the counter (the owner?) about painting techniques for the D&D miniatures that they also sell there. All in all, a wonderful experience and I would definitely go back!

Fantastic games selection. One of the best around. Extremely friendly. They have few other things like toys and other novelties as well, but the focus is table top fun.

I grew up as an absolute dungeons and dragons junkie. Luckily for me this was in the 80s when the game experienced a brief wave of popularity and a suburban kid could easily find rulebooks and modules almost anywhere.
Although I’m not much of a D&D fanatic anymore, I’ve gotten into board games quite a bit lately. It’s easier to get a group of adults together to play a game you can finish in an hour than it is to get people to commit to a campaign that could run for months or years.
Rivendell is the type of store that caters both the hardcore RPG or trading-​card game player and the Euro-​style and indie board game enthusiast. To be honest, given my history I’m a little surprised I’ve not been to many stores like it before, but again in my youth you didn’t have to go to a specialty store to buy a Monster Manual.
Of the few gaming stores I’ve been to in the past year or two I’d say Rivendell has the best selection and most diversity. Many of the stores I’ve seen really cater to one specific market, often dealing mainly with trading card games and having rows of tables dominating the space. Rivendell has RPGs, trading cards, board games, and a small selection of used books (mostly fantasy and sci-​fi). I don’t recall if they had much in the way of comics or «geek culture» paraphernalia.
Rivendell is a bit of a hike, Rehoboth is kind of the middle of nowhere. But for gamers in the Providence area, I’d say it’s well worth the trip.

I’ve been a customer at Rivendell for quite awhile and the reasons for which are numerous. The selection of tabletop RPGS is excellent, they carry older systems in both new and used condition, a wide array of current systems beyond standard Dungeons and Dragons. They also carry White Wolf, Pathfinder, The Warhammer 40K RPG, etc.
In addition to the RPGs, there is a superb selection of Magic cards available at the front counter. I’m not much of a Magic player, but even I can tell that the cards available are excellent. They also host large Magic card events almost every other week.
On the other side of the store is a huge selection of new and used fantasy and sci-​fi books, I’ve bought many books from here and they always have been in great condition. Near the books is the large selection of board games by many different companies. I’ve bought at least 5 board games from here, and each one has been great!
In addition to the selection, the owner is excellent. He is friendly and knowledgeable about his products. He offers advice on new games to try or expansions to pick up, and I can tell that it is the voice of experience offering these products, and not a sales pitch.
As I said earlier, I’ve been a customer at Rivendell for quite awhile and will be for a long period of time.

This store has an excellent selection of board games, Magic and D&D paraphernalia. Prices seem to mostly be suggested retail on games, so pricing is okay without being a knockout. And a bonus point for used books.
[A note to the guy who opened the store one day: sorry we showed up 10 minutes early, but you know you could have let us in while you counted out the drawer, right? If we’d had shoplifting in mind you really couldn’t have stopped us anyway… just sayin’.]

Great stock. Rob is friendly. Game room is a great plus, in a small town and the atmosphere follows suit. A great laidback gaming/​ccg/​dnd/​book store.

Worst gaming store in New England. Bathroom straight out of a service station. Game room is enlarged closet. Owner is buy/​sell screw you MTG type. Clientele is immature, even for a Magic shop.
Badly located. Much better stores all over the area.

My boyfriend and I embarked on a quest to find a gaming store with older Dungeons & Dragons paraphernalia. From Johnston, RI, to Pawtucket, to Rehoboth, MA; Rivendell was the third such store we visited that day, but I wish it had been the first.
The owner keeps a tidy store, and all of the items are well-​labeled. To the left as you enter the store, you will find shelves of gently used fantasy novels, science– and Arthurian fiction (Piers Anthony, Dungeons & Dragons, The Mists of Avalon). Board games, role-​playing games, cards, collectibles, Jinx (gamer-​wear) t-​shirts, crystals, fun magnets, buttons, badges, stickers, models and miniatures — painted and unpainted. A great selection of many colors and shapes of dice from Chessex and Crystal Caste, as well as bags to store them all in. Displayed in the glass counter were a few beautiful sets of dice crafted from semi precious metals and stones.
Rivendell satisfied our need for older D&D manuals, adventures, and modules. In store that day was a nice selection of books from AD&D through 4^th edition. We also found out that the owner buys and sells used D&D books, so we will definitely be back to check for new inventory.
As Andrew M. stated, it was not obvious in the least that there was a gaming room behind the storefront — I was only made aware of that fact by reading his review. I just can’t bear to give Rivendell 4 stars for that, though, as it really is the icing on the cake! A bulletin board by the door serves as a nice little networking hot-​spot, so if you are looking to join a gaming group, check it out.

A great store with stuff for any kind of geek. There are board games galore, all kinds of RPG systems, tons of dice, card games, and more. The guy manages his space well, so he is full of a lot of inventory, despite being a small store. My only issue is that gaming events are put in the back room so if you didn’t know the store held Magic tournaments or Dungeons and Dragon’s games, you’d never guess.

Great gaming store tucked away in tiny Rehoboth, MA. The store is packed with all kinds of board games (my main reason for visiting), miniatures, Magic cards, and anything else a big gaming geek could desire.