Gary’s Games & Hobbies

I made a once-​a-​year trip down to Greenwood just to come to Gary’s games. It would be a day trip: eat at Gordito’s then go to the Game Store. I bought all my board games from here, a long time before Ticket-​To-​Ride sold at Target and Wal-​Mart, you could find them here as well as other less common games.
I always wanted to come play during the game nights but it’s so far, it would take me a long time to get home if I did. But everyone was friendly and nice and would help you pick out your next game.
I moved away from WA now but if I was there I would try to go. Although, I hear it’s closed now and that kind of makes me sad…

As a note, the new game store Gary’s manager opened is Round The Table Game Pub in Lynnwood. They were great the one time I went in, and you should go check them out!

They have a good selection and I’m always finding gems in their used section but I am concerned about the future of the store. The Greenwood neighborhood has a lot of new businesses and construction and I’m afraid that if Gary’s doesn’t try to update and change with the times then they won’t be long for this location. It’s great to have a well-​stocked game store in the neighborhood and I think they could really thrive with a few updates and some reorganization (the gaming area could be more inviting). I could be wrong but I don’t think there are enough hardcore gamers who remember the days when all hobby shops looked like moldy basements to sustain their business.

If you play role-​playing games or games that require special dice, you need to check out Gary’s Games & Hobbies.
The store was clean and they had a nice seating area. When I visited, there was a small group of Gamers discussing the pros and cons of prom.
Gary’s sells a moderate selection of traditional board games, but the focus is role-​playing games. There’s also a small model area, but I didn’t see much variety in the models available. Again, it’s a great store for people who enjoy role-​playing games.

Crowded, disorganized, and not very friendly are how I describe Gary’s Games. The staff often don’t even acknowledge me and when they aren’t familiar with a game, they just say «I don’t know» and don’t try to help me with third party reviews. I buy games there because they’re close to home and on my route, but I alway leave feeling as though I’ve disturbed them with my presence. Good game selection, though.

I really love this place. Slightly cluttered in the good way and eclectic, they play games (I believe it was D&D, although I can’t say I was too focused on it) Wednesday nights. I walked by and the kiddo HAD to have a very neat looking battery operated train and tracks in the window. Gary’s hours had passed, so despite the staff person inside and the lights, I told him we’d have to come back tomorrow.
When I walked by again 10 – 30 later, lights still on, staff still around. I walked in and the door was open! Very kind and helpful female clerk explained that they were open late for the gaming, but she would be happy to sell me the train. Amazing price ($ 10!). I also picked up a gag gift for coworker, and the clerk was great with suggestions for games in my price range.
The window display changes a lot, so make sure to check it out for various cool games, toys, etc.
I am happy to be a patron of a place like this.

I am a sucker for old RPG games… and Gary has what I need! I could literally spend hour and hours and hours looking through all the second hand RPG sourcebooks. As I said… I COULD spend hours at a time there, but I usually don’t…due to the smell of unwashed Magic the Gathering players gathering. I recall the scene from Fast Times when Spicoli and his buds take off their shirts in the burger joint «No Shirt, No Shoes — No Dice»…Gary should adopt a similar strategy…“No soap, No shampoo — No Dice“
Other than that, the place is awesome

A HAIKU REVIEW
Powerful wizards
Play Magic: The Gathering
As you shop for games

(1) I’ll tap a swamp for some black mana; and case a dragon and attack you for 4 life points…
(2) You fool, how you dare attack me; did you know that I purchased this Magic the Gathering pack tonight, and got this elf! Don’t you hide from me? Get back here, don’t run around the boxes of games, from well-​known publishers. I see you over there…
(1) How dare you see me… you call me out, for I am not next to games anymore, I have walked over to the rockets and their propulsion vessels.
(2) You lie, wait… where did you go… did you head to the puzzles or the models of Star Trek ships? Don’t make me get up and look for you… there are too many games here, and what is this?
(1) I’m back from the craft section, and with my dungeons and dragons kits, I dare say, at this greenwood games store, I proclaim WIN!

I like this place a lot. I’ll stop in once every week or two to grab a few packs of Magic or just browse the board games for a while. The board games aren’t the cheapest I’ve seen (compared to online) but that’s what you get when you shop and support small local business. But what I like best is that the people who work there love games just as much as I do. It’s not uncommon for them to be playing a game with a friend when I come in, and you know what? That’s totally cool. I still get greeted every time I enter, and if I need help, they’re always ready and happy to assist. So while the employee on duty may be playing their DS or negotiating a dungeon, I think that’s a good thing. After all… they work in a game store… right?

Gary’s is great! Has a depth of role playing and board games! Models could use a reorganize… But that not what I’m there for.
They have an active second-​hand market. Always worth checking in for.
Their back room is excellent space for a weekly rpg game.
I find that if I sit –anywhere– near the counter I get asked a lot of questions by customers, if their one employee is busy. And it’s never «Do you work here?», it’s odd. Shame they can’t seem to hire more help for the weekends.

I love games. I love gamers. And these geeky gaming game store owners and employees are the know-​it-​alls of games. The hell with video games, these games are the real deal. They have everything here, from D&D and Pokemon, to Apples to Apples and Spinner. They have dice and card and board an create your own games, Labyrinth, for example. Too bad they don’t sell players! I’d love to get me more game players to play with.
Anyhoo, get your butt in here and check out the loot. They know their games and can answer questions about new games old games out of print games rules about games and tricks n tips. Ask away.
I came in at Christmas for a Pokemon set or my nephew of 8 yo. What do I know about a poking «mon» and black and white stuff? Well, nothing. They knew all I needed and more. And then they read my kind and turned me on to a new game I don’t have yet. Heh. Smart cookies. Gettin me addicted and anticipatory so I just *have* to come back. Oi. Go get your game on.

Very impressed with the wide selection and easygoing atmosphere. Coming from the other coast on vacation I was pleased to see a store with such a wide variety! The only setback is a common one for gaming stores: the disorganization of the books! But really, it’s minor considering it’s a store with good hours, friendly and knowledgeable staff, and very very wide selection.

We came here a long time ago looking for Ticket to Ride (which we eventually found elsewhere). The sheer amount of games is a bit overwhelming, as is the crowd of people in the various nooks and crannies of the shop. I have no problem with people gaming in a game shop, but we didn’t receive any service, whatsoever. No one asked us if we were looking for something (even though we obviously were, as we were scanning endless titles of games and walking around a bit aimlessly), because they were very involved in their DS games or their trades or whatever was going on — not sure.
This is usually not so much an issue with us, since we’re happy to get in, find what we need, and get out again, without constant supervision from staff. However, there didn’t seem to be any method to the madness here, so it was a bit difficult to look through games — they weren’t arranged in alphabetical order, or any categorizing method recognizable to the non-​elite gamer. The stars are for the selection and for the fact that people obviously feel comfortable with the shop — it’s a good space for hanging out and finding others with the same gaming interests. I didn’t really appreciate feeling like an outsider in a store open to public business, though, and we probably won’t be back.

After PAX East, there were a couple of games that I simply needed so I headed to this local store. They have a plethora of board games (both simple and complex), miniatures and RPGs. The staff is quite nice and if they don’t have what you seek, they can recommend something else or give you a rough idea when the item returns back in stock.
It would be cheaper to buy your items online but I’m a supporter of local businesses. Their customer service is also sound. And the couple of times that I’ve stopped in, there’s been a game in the back. It’s fun to hear the general conversation that filters toward the front.
Parking is on the street and it can be limited. There’s a pay lot in the back if you are in the area. If you go that route, grab some food at a nearby place so maximize your value.

I was introduced to Gary’s by a fellow geek friend of mine. Yes, I live in Burien. Yes, this place is quite far away from me. However, for what I was looking for, this was the closest place to me that I actually liked or trusted to find what I needed. I brought my three year old daughter with me. She proceeded to prove that she might be doomed as a future geek as she pointed out all of the cool «dwagons» that were in there.
I thoroughly enjoy going here. It’s worth the drive.

I’m no game and hobby expert, but I think Gary’s Games is an excellent example of a neighborhood business that also has variety. You can get everything from common board games like Sorry as well as obscure games you’ve never heard of and Magic cards. There’s also a couple tables that people play games on inside the store.
Gary’s Games is very much part of the Greenwood business community. They were instrumental in collecting funding to repair the Taproot Theatre building after its fire damage.
Prices are a bit above average but they compensate for it in service.

I think some of the reviews of this place show why some people shouldn’t be allowed to write reviews. You give the store only a couple of stars because you have disdain for the ‘dorks’ who play D&D? Or that they don’t sell anything that you’d want to buy anyway? That’s like writing a review about an Indian restaurant: ‘I don’t like Indian food but I went there anyway. I was disappointed that all they had was Indian food. I also was unimpressed by all of the white wannabes in there pretending that they were Indian. I mean really. Idiots. I had some of the food. It was all right I guess for an Indian restaurant.’
Many of the reviews here are spot-​on, sure, but I swear I come to Unilocal less and less because of the deteriorating literacy and the fact that people just come here to whine rather than actually offer a useful review.
‘My boyfriend brought me here. They have games and stuff. I hate games. But my boyfriend likes them so I that’s all right I guess. There were some fat dorks playing some magic card games. I tried not to laugh at them but it was hard not to lol’
How is crap like that helpful to anyone?
[Yeah, yeah, so I’m reviewing reviews which also isn’t helpful. LEAVE ME ALONE.]

Definitely come here for the random games you can’t find at other stores. Beware, though, because it’s pretty expensive. They were selling Taboo for $ 40, when you can get it at Fred Meyer for $ 14.
Lots of interesting puzzles (think scantily-​clad dragon princesses) and stuff to build models.
I found the atmosphere to be a bit depressing; fluorescent lighting and general dinginess. But then again it doesn’t seem like a game shop where you’d spend a lot of extra time. Unless you were already depressed and dingy.

Plastic KEM playing cards?
Check.
The Settlers of Catan, every edition?
Check.
Guys playing some game on a card table in the middle of the store?
Check.
A genuine interest in games, puzzles, hobbies that you would never find in a more generalized toy store?
Check.
The go-​to game store in Greenwood.