The Gamer’s Torch

*This place is now closed*
This is a great little shop. They carry Pathfinder, D&D and Magic: The Gathering products and can order other games if you so desire. On the D&D side they carry mostly 4E stuff and for Magic they carry Type 2 stuff. Kudos to them for using Internet pricing for their Magic cards. Too few places do that and either overcharge or undercharge by a large margin.
I have only two knocks against this place.
1. They are a small store and cannot support a second category of game session if one is currently going on. But that’s a limitation of the store’s size and if you go to their website, you can see what game they are hosting.
2. Because they are a block away from the beach, parking is very difficult to find. But hey, it’s a block away from the beach. This is the first store I’ve found like that.
I went there because I like to scope out stores that carry Magic: The Gathering, and I know that I’ll be back anytime I can.

I don’t know why it took me so long to write a review about Gamer’s Torch, but it must be because I just couldn’t find the right words to gush about this wonderful little gaming store. In my humble opinion, gaming stores (and any store for that matter) are made or unmade by their customer service. Rarely, however, does a place go above and beyond great customer service to make the shopper feel like a regular, an old friend, a part of the family. That’s how it feels to walk in and shop at Gamer’s Torch. I was in San Diego for work and I had to pick up some gaming materials because I was running some coworkers through their virgin role-​playing adventure later that week. I found the Torch online and decided, at the last minute, to head there instead of the bigger joint across town. I fully expected to find what I needed or not, make my purchase or not, and be done. But… I ended up staying for about 2.5 hours! I jumped into a D&D Encounters game that happened to be running that night and then stuck around for another hour or so talking with George and his lovely wife about the shop, how they brought their kids up on games and so on. Great people. Great store. It’s a small place but, to me, that makes it all the more charming. They’ve managed to stock a ton of inventory into the place, but if they don’t have what you need on the shelves, George can no doubt order it for you, which he did for me. If you’re in the area and you are in need of anything gaming related (and I’m talking serious gaming stuff) then swing by The Gamer’s Torch. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

I drove across town to Pacific Beach because I was on a mission to find a decent gaming store. I live in east county but was told this is the place to go for games. Not a gaming store that sells video games but rather role playing games or RPG’s. You know… wait for it… the Dungeons and Dragons variety. Gasp. I know. That game that all the outcasts played back in middle school. Well, I was one of those outcasts back in the day. I have always had the love of gaming but haven’t really had the time to get back into it until recently.
But upon getting there my heart sank. I saw the «closed» sign posted on the window. Yeah, I know. I should of called but oh well. Instead of driving off, I decide to find parking and read the hours of operation. So I park across the street and walk to the store. As I walk across the street I see the front door open. Oh joy! Are we open?
As I peak in, I see a guy setting up shop. The place is not very big but full of RPG goodness as well as some tables set up for a game or two. I ask if they are open and he replies that they are closed but come in anyway. I was like cool.
As I walk in, I meet George the owner of Gamer’s Torch. I have to say that George will be one of the coolest guys you will ever meet. He is a old time gamer that has played RPG’s from the beginning and has a passion for it. It definitely shows. He is helpful and very cool to talk to. He totally got me interested in playing again. I ended up buying some gaming stuff with George’s guidance and got a local discount to boot. It was a very enjoyable experience. Totally worth the drive across town. I also got to meet two other guys– David and Simon. Both guys frequent the store and are big time gamers themselves.

This place was tiny. That’s about all I can think of what’s negative about this place. He carries mostly wizard products and focuses mainly on magic the gathering and board games. Has 3 tables for gamers to use. Prices are cheap. 10 cents for Commons and 20 for uncommonest. And I really do mean all Commons and uncommonest. He carries only standard cards though. The way he prices the cards are off online medium so you know You’re not getting cheated. Friendly environment. Nice location for gamers Because You have places to eat all around you. I would recommend anybody coming over here if you’re a beginner

We are so happy to have discovered this great game and card shop in Pacific Beach! My two boys love to play Magic the Gathering and George and his wife Kathleen have the perfect venue for them to play and find new cards and great games. Every Friday Night the store hosts Friday Night Magic, open game play for Magic the Gathering. the owners could not be kinder or more helpful, and they have an amazing selection of incredibly interesting games. We look forward to the end of the week to get to play Magic!

My boyfriend’s been dragging me all over town to scope out game shops that carry Magic, and this one seems to be the only one I don’t enter and immediately get that creepy «Comic Book Shop» feeling (girls, you know what I’m talking about).
It’s a small shop, but the owners are incredibly friendly and helpful and they carry a great variety of RPGs and instructional guides. It’s set-​up for game play with a few small tables that occupy the majority of limited space. Magic was really the primary reason we were there, but they have a ton of DnD stuff and I got interested in the game Munchkin.
The owner George and his wife are what really earn this place a 5-​star rating. It would be easy to drive to your local Comics N Stuff to pick up cards, but The Gamer’s Torch is so friendly and unpretentious it’s worth a little bit of trouble to find parking. George will match and usually beat other shop’s prices, and you never feel like it’s a «hard sell». He truly wants you to enjoy his products. If anything, he charges too little and I hope this gem of a shop will stay in business long enough to get a steady flow of regulars.
Give the Gamer’s Torch a try the next time you even consider another shop. You won’t regret it!

Great to see a gaming shop in the Pacific Beach area! The place is small, and does not carry comic books or electronic/​video games, however they have a comprehensive inventory of role playing games (e.g. D&D, GURPS, Pathfinder, plus much more) and fantasy card games (e.g. Magic the Gathering and Yuh-​Gi-​Oh.
Although the shop is small it is setup with multiple tables for casual game play. The owner also stocks a small refridgerator for cold drinks and has snacks that he offers for free to customers/​players in the shop, great and generous benefit for those who come in to shop and play.
The owner, George, is great. He’ll take the time to answer any questions you have. He’ll research product you are interested in if he doesn’t have it on hand. His prices are lower than other gaming/​comic/​card shops for identical items. Even if you don’t live in the area it could be worth your time to go there if you are looking for card singles or other items (sleeves, dice, boxes) at a very good price.
This is a true «mom and pop» shop and I’ve only seen the owner and his wife working there so far. Please join me in supporting local businesses that put customer service first!