RPG stores in Alberta

[sfgray]

I'm going to be passing through Calgary and Edmonton the end of next month, and am wondering if anyone can recommend which FLGSs are worth checking out. I'm especially interested in shops that deal in used books (or any used bookstores that carry RPG materials). I've found addresses for a few places online, but real info/reviews/store websites seem scarce for some reason.

Thanks in advance.

 

[C_M2008]

In Edmonton:

White Knight isn't a bad FLGS for used materials (and is the only one that sells used materials I know off), it's on whyte avenue(82nd ave) between 103rd & 104th streets(or Gateway boulivard & calgary trail) on the North side of the street. They open at noon I believe.

On the same street is the Wee Book Inn a used book store that occassionally has RPG materials.

For Non used materials there are quite a few stores(3 chains actually):

Warp1 is on 99th street & 82 avenue on the south side of the street, right at the corner of 99th street. They have a pretty large selection of RPGs, CCGs, comicbooks, magna, action fiigures and paraphanalia. There is also a Warp 2 (132 ave(I think) and 97th street) and a Warp 3 ( in millwoods towncentre (a decent sized mall)) with similiar selections, Warp 2 & 3 also carry gamesworkshop product.

Happy Harbour Comics runs three and a half locations: volume 1 (124 street and 102nd ave), volume 2 (Manning Crossing), volume 3 (81st ave between 103rd & 104th street) They generally have better service, but worse selection in my experience, they do also carry a fairly wide variety of boardgames however.

Wizard's Comics & Collectible's runs 2 locations in Edmonton(plus 1 in the suburb of Sherwood Park): 65th street and 28th avenue (in a shopping centre) and 109th street and 87th avenue.

There is a Gamesworkshop store in Kingsway Garden Mall(there is no garden ) It's roughly 112th ave and 106th street.

There is a FLGS store called the Adventurer's Guild that just moved to the west end, but I wasn't overly impressed with their pricing when I popped in before the move.

There are two stores in the Suburb of St. Albert that might bear a mention: Mission Fun & Games has a huge number of board games (even hard to find ones) as well as a respectable amount of RPG, CCG & miniature stuff--don't know the address though. Thunderground Comics is also somewhere in St. Albert, but i've never been.

There are probably more I don't know of or are forgetting but that's quite a few.

As you can see there are quite a few stores clustered around 82nd(Whyte) ave. That's due to it's proximity to the university I would think, it's probably your best bet with 4/5 stores (if you count the bookstore) in walking distance as well as some interesting non-gaming shops.


If you get a chance I recommend getting a muffin at the BeeBell Bakery(I'm probably spelling it wrong), they are a tad expensive, but huge and delicious. It's on 104th street and 80th ave, on the 80th ave side, just behind the ATB(Alberta Treasury Branch) building.

Don't know anything about Calgary gaming stores, sorry (their zoo is worth a look though).

 

[dangerous jack]

In Calgary, check out the Sentry Box (Sentry Box Main Page). It's pretty big and centrally located. I know there are other stores, but I'm not familiar with them.

 

[sfgray]

Thanks for the info, it's much appreciated. My daughters already have the zoo on the itinerary, but the bakery sounds more up my alley…

 

[C_M2008]

Thanks for the info, it's much appreciated. My daughters already have the zoo on the itinerary, but the bakery sounds more up my alley…

The Calgary zoo is pretty good, the dinosaur section is pretty lame (fiberglass dinosaurs in "realistic" habitats) and the trails for walking around are poorly laid out(some just abruptly end, very little looping--lots of backtracking), bur they do have some pretty cool exhibits. The best zoo I've seen so far is point defiance near Seattle though, just very well done.

I'd also recommend avoiding West Edmonton Mall while you're in Edmonton, as a local I can assure you it's pretty overrated. There are a few neat things there, but it doesn't outway the bustling crowds (unless you're there early on a week day) and difficulty finding good parking. Of course if you're bringing a wife/girlfriend she'll probably want to go shopping there, if you can sneak off with the kids to an Imax movie, the Waterpark or Amusement Park while she shops.

If you're in Edmonton mid to the end of August there is also the Fringe Festival: Plays of various types & quality for various age groups being performed in the Whyte Ave area, with varied food booths, street performers, etc. Not my cup of tea, but lots of people enjoy it.

 

[Verys Arkon]

I'll agree the Sentry Box is Calgary's largest RPG store that I've found. I know they have a collection of older material, but I'm not sure about how much is used. I'm like a kid in a candy store there. They have a large collection of board games, fiction, and war games, as well as RPG books and minis. If I was to hit one store on the way through Calgary, it would be 'the Box'.

Other smaller stores in Calgary include Myth Games (they run LFR there bi-weekly) in the NE, and Trilogy gaming club in the SE.

The Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller (about 1.5 hrs from Calgary) is well worth the visit if your family is interested in dinosaurs and paleontology.