Hat’s Games

Sadly they are permanently closed now. I really miss gaming there.

Great little local game shop. I’ve meet a ton of great people here and made the best of friends. Their doors are always open to kids looking for a place to spend their time (and money). And they’ve supplied me a sizable chunk of of my pathfinder gear. :-) Thanks for all the good times!

This is, by far, the friendliest gamestore in Tucson. When I have an itch for gaming this is where I go. I have never had a problem with getting help (usually just purchasing a soda). Speaking of which, they do sell sodas, candy bars, and chips for low, low prices. Every week they have multiple drop in dungeons and dragons games, monthly pathfinder society and other stuff that I don’t play but I know is popular. If you want you can reserve a table in advance. This does cost a deposit, but you can spend that on stuff in the store afterwards. So it kinda free in the long-​run. If want to risk it, an open table is always available for the taking. In any case Hats is a great place to game.

While this is the place to find other miniatures gamers in town, it needs a few things to compare well with the other 2 new, nearby game stores. First the bathroom is embarrassing and probably hazardous. Second the newer west side of the store is much improved over the game area, but its still hard to tell who’s working and who is just hanging out. The old check out in the back just looks like a mess.
For a few years after Thinkers closed this place was about it, but with the 2 newer stores nearby its time to clean up thier act and get it together.

I wish I could give this a negative rank. Worst game shop in Tucson. I walked in to look for something and was ignored, even treated like I did not belong! The person behind the cash register just rolled his eyes at me and just kept talking to a friend. Like someone else said, it’s hard to tell who works there and who’s just hanging out. Granted, it was a busy night. They had some sort of tournament going on, but there is no reason they should treat people so poorly. I will never be back and am amazed this place stays open.

If you like MTG go to amazing discoveries (if you are serious) and Show time cards/​heroes and villains (if you are a casual player)
They do have a crap load of warhammer minis and a fair amount of space to play in the back (well off to the side).
The staff (one person working) was less than eager to help/​make sales. UPDATE: This is still a bit of a problem, but after coming here a bit more they are getting better about helping the customers.
On the upside they do have a fish tank. AND hermit crabs.
On the down side they are located in a super sketchy shopping center (lock your car, and then lock it again), they are completely disorganized, have little in the way of CCG’s, average prices, Bad chi. Update: I still stand by that set of statements.
But they do have a fish tank and hermit crabs
UPDATE 1: after coming here a couple of times I can say It feels like going over to someones basement, only its the basement of a friend of a friend. You feel like you are always being watched and not trusted but no one is going to tell you to leave however they are not going to leave you alone while the pop off to get something at the QT.
UPDATE 2: I don’t feel I get the stink eye as much but I still don’t get the feeling they are happy to see me, ever. They do stay open LATE, like past midnight if games are going on. So I have upped my 2 star to 3 stars. I still feel like there is a huge gap for them to get any better than 3 stars and that 3 might be generous. This is not the kind of place that will welcome you and treat you like one of the gang right away but eventually you feel that there is a chance that you might have a place there.
PRO TIP to get the most out of Hats find a play group/​league that meets there.

Best gaming store in Tucson. They’ve got a big stock of miniatures, cards, books, tabletop supplies, and the like (and if they don’t have it, Hat can usually get it). The store has a healthy undercurrent of active players. Hat himself is a great guy: down-​to-​earth, honest, and ever concerned about the happiness of the people under his roof.
The shop itself is a geek-​fest, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The playing room is a mish-​mosh of tables and posters and shelves of tabletop parts; any given night you’ll find games and tournaments going on. Atmosphere-​wise, you’ll get fun and casual, though be prepared for the ‘gaming crowd’ (honestly, they’re harmless). It can also get a bit loud on the gaming side when several groups are really into their games.
Thanks to a recent expansion, they’ve got a ton of space for gaming and a newer sales room with nice shelves stocked with stuff. There are drinks and snacks for longer sessions (and there’s a pizza place right around the corner). They have a system where you can open a paid-​up-​front tab at the register for quick drink runs during games, which lessens the time I’m away from my Pathfinder table considerably.
The location is not the best. The plaza that the store sits in is a bit empty, and the general area of town is not the prettiest place; however, from what I understand, packing up and moving isn’t something a niche small business can just up and do, unfortunately. They seem to be making the best of what they have.
Anyway, support your local gaming store! This one’s certainly worthy of it.

We came by here to check out the models they had for sale. The front shop room is really small compared to the back room where all the gaming action is going on. I used to paint miniatures but lost time for it. My husband did the same and we were looking into getting back into it. There is a lot of Magic merchandise, pre-​painted figures, and some box figures but not a whole lot. A lot of the orders for purchasing go over the web, and you have to speak with someone at the counter (they look online), and they range depending on what you are looking for. We ran into some LARPers, and there were a lot of campaigns going on too (Battletech maybe?). Doesn’t matter if you campaigned old school or you are new school. There are a range of people here varying in age and gaming. It seems to be a tight group of gamers so it takes a while to get to know a few of the people there.

Nice venue that has room for improvement, but really tries to cater to gamers of all types. Dave Hat is a friendly and generous fellow and the gaming room is fairly large with a 4’x6’ miniature table, several 4’x4’ tables, an RPG-​specific table, and all kinds of games for play-​testing before you buy; if you don’t see it on the shelf, Dave will be happy to place an order. All in all, a good experience.

Most of the clientele to be found hanging around the shop on a weekday night is the type of stereotypical unwashed, Cheetos-​and-​Mountain-​Dew-​inhaling geek your mother warned you about. I am sure they are nice people, but the impression you get when you walk in for the first time is not necessarily a positive one, even to a fellow geek. (FWIW, the filtered 2-​star post pretty much nails it on the shop’s atmosphere.)
I’m all in favor of supporting small local niche business and buy things here when I can, but the place seems to give geeks a bad name.

If you are a boardgamer, 40k player, or other type of gamer nerd, Hat’s is the place to be in Tucson.

Hat’s is one of the few, if last local gaming store in Tucson. It’s a little out of the way but every time I made the trek (when I lived in Tucson) it was well worth it. There was almost always a 40K or Magic game going on and a real sense of community with many of the people there knowing each other.
Besides 40K and Magic, Hat’s also sells cards, card games, rents time on the X-​Box/​video gaming couch and to a huge surprise to my friends has a gigantic RPG table in the back. Not many know about it but if you give Hat a heads up, you can use the gigantic table in the back to host your own pen/​paper RPGs.
Hat will always try to order the stuff you need come ordering day, he’s really good about getting you your stuff. Also, another cool thing he does is auctions at his store. You bring in your stuff, give it a starting amount and it’s auctioned off. The store gets the money and you get the credit that the item sold for. Nice idea to get everyone involved and get rid of your old gaming stuff that someone else might think is awesome!

For the board gamer or warrhammer type gamer this is the the place

HELLZ YEAH! This place is it!
If you are in the Tucson/​Pima County region your every RPG/​CCG/​Miniatures needs can and will be met here!!!
Lately my unhealthy obsession has been the FoW minitaures system. Last August when I first discovered Hat’s while on my way to a job interview at the local mailorder clothing factory, there seemd to be only the most nominal representation of the FoW merchandise line. But when visiting recently, their shelf footage devoted to FoW materials had expanded by several orders of magnitude.
Also the staff is really devoted to all forms of gaming and simulation. I also met fanatical gamers getting ready to play right there in the store!
As an only child adolescent, I remember a real problem getting involved in the whole gaming scene was a lack of suitable opponents.
But my challenge to find other players of assorted geeky games was met as I was shopping for the games themselves!
Don’t forget to mention your past experience playing wargames, games of strategy, role playing games, collector card games or getting your glasses broken between classes by Steve Krist.
Anyhow, your every need for games that are not played on video display terminals will be fulfilled here, way down Alvernon!