San Jose / Gilroy Area Game Stores?

[Samothdm]

My sister-in-law is looking to buy a game for her boyfriend for his birthday and can't seem to find a game shop near Gilroy (the garlic capital of the world! - kinda near San Jose, CA).

Can anyone help out? Specifically, she's looking for FFG's "Citadels" game, but she's open to buying other board games.

 

[EditorBFG]

To my knowledge, the closest place to San Jose that has a good selection of game stuff besides the PHB and DMG (including a lot of great old out of print board games and supplements) is Scenario's in Fremont. Haven't been for years, but I don't see why it wouldn't still be there. They have a crazy selection of old school product.

 

[Oryan77]

In San Jose we have Legends inside the Vallco mall, very nice store but like all FLGS, they're expensive:

Legends
10123 N Wolfe Rd Ste 2108
Cupertino, CA 95014

Another place I found recently but I've only been there once is (I think) Game Kastle. I can't remember if this is the store I went to but I think it is. I included their phone number if you want to call them and verify they are a gaming store.

Game Kastle
19 Washington St, Santa Clara, CA 95050
Phone: (408) 243-4263

There's a few other dinky places I've found, but I wasn't impressed with them. One place plastic wraps their D&D books so you can't flip through them.

 

[bodhi]

http://www.gamescapes.org/

I used to go to the Palo Alto store all the time. Cool guys working there, who knew their stuff. Couple caveats, tho. I moved out of the Bay Area a couple years ago, and things could easily have changed. Also, I found one webpage that referred to the PA store as "defunct".

 

[coyote6]

There's the Game Habitat in Monterey, too. Lots of RPG & wargames.

There's also (I think) Game-a-Lot in Santa Cruz; not sure how much RPG stuff they carry nowadays, it's been a year or more since I've been there.

 

[yangnome]

FRPGames.com, though mainly an online store has a storefront in San Jose/Santa Clara area.

Going south, I'd also throw out a recomendation for Game Habitat in Monterey> They are good about ordering things if they do not have it in stock. She could probably call in advance and ask about products she is interested in to make sure the trip isn't a waste. Their number is (831) 655-5240.

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

Isn't D n J Hobbies in Campbell still open?

If yes I'd recommend them before anyone else; that place is as big as an old K-Mart and stocked to the roof with gaming, minis and modeling materials.

I used to drive up from Morgan Hill to that store all the time.

Beyond D n J I'd recommend the Legends Store in Oakridge over the one in Valco Mall, if only because it's closer to Gilroy. In my experience Legends has a great selection and have always been very good about ordering books/manga/games and getting them to me when they say they will. They are my prefered store now that I live in San Jose.

Tell your sister-in-law to ask for Mel (the owner) or Katie or Jen if she decides to head up to Oakridge. They can be reached at 408-578-5978.

Crap, almost forgot: In Gilroy there's a gaming/RC store right next to the Movie Theater located near the corner of Monterey and 10th street. I can't remember their name, but do recall they had a decent selection (kinda like a mini- D n J store) and the ability to order up most anything. Been awhile since I've been there though.

Good luck!

J. Grenemyer

 

[Beholder Bob]

The store

Paradox Playground Games

408-369-8716

2050 S Bascom Ave #5, Campbell, CA 95008

Next door to a Dennys


Its run by a pair of............ Gamer Chicks!!!!

The place is new, the people nice, and if they do not have something, they will order it for you.


BB

 

[Gryffyn]

The Bay Area has seen a number of game store closures this year.

Scenario Games closed its doors over the summer. So did GameScape Palo Alto. San Antonio Hobbies up the peninsula is about to close.

D&J Hobbies has gutted its game section. It's a shadow of its former self, and frankly not worth driving any distance to visit any more.

However, there are some new stores in the South Bay that are picking up the slack. Someone mentioned the Paradox one, which I haven't visited. I can recommend Game Kastle on Bascom near I-880. Nice place, lots of stuff I don't see in other stores. Gator Games in San Mateo is rather far from Gilroy, but is excellent.

Hope that helps!

 

[Chaldfont]

The Bay Area has seen a number of game store closures this year.

Scenario Games closed its doors over the summer. So did GameScape Palo Alto. San Antonio Hobbies up the peninsula is about to close.

Nooo! I lived in Mtn View in 2003 and I probably went to Gamescape at least once a week. I liked it better than the place in Vallco Mall. But that might be because I always found Vallco to be kind of creepy with all of those vacant stores. My wife and I called it the Ghostmall.

That sucks! Gamescape was awesome.