Game Stores in and Near Toronto Last Updated 2004/01/14 Added Game & Hobbey Zone Updated Strategy Games This list is OLD! Although the stores should still be around, the reviews are old, so please take it with a grain of salt now. (Although I did add Game Shack) Currently, I buy most of my games from The German Boardgame Company, an on-line store which has a slew of "German" boardgames.  Not only does it have your regular Rio Grande and Mayfair stuff, they have a whack of imports from Germany itself, and thus you aren't restricted to games provided by those two major American companies. The list is in Alphabetical order and not by preference. There are a few more stores I will add once I visit them. One is : Fandom II - OTTAWA 162 Laurier Ave. West halfway between Elgin and Metcalfe (South side of Laurier--Parliment is to the North) Hours: Sat/Sun 11-5:30pm Fri 11-8:30pm Phone: 236-2972 Apparently THE store to visit when in Ottawa. The other is in the West End, Nexus or something or other. Below describes how a store is rated (in terms of German boardgames): The ratings of the stores are very old, but I have kept them intact for some reason: Visit - Indicates when I last visited the store Stock - Indicates variety and availability of German Board Games Prices - What the prices are like Info - How easy it is to get info on this store (besides just calling them) Ease - The convenience of the store, includes things like hours, parking, customer service Overall - Overall obviously   Bayshore Hobbies Westdale Location 789 King Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 1K2 905-524-2334 Mountain Location 529 Concession Street Hamilton, Ontario Visit: 99/09/07 Stock  8  Prices  8 Info  5 Ease  7  OVERALL   7  Back when, long ago I used to be addicted to Magic: The Gathering, I shamefully admit.  It cost me a lot of money, (not that boardgaming doesn't but that's easily justified).  Anyways, this store was and still is jampacked with stuff, and a friend of mine (Sen) has been going to this store for around 10 years buying Manga, Anime, Warhammer, and other geek stuff. Rose, the owner, currently has the more popular ones from Mayfair and Rio Grande. They have two stores, one on the mountain, and one in Westdale. They had a web page, (albeit a not very informative one) however I can't seem to find it anywhere.  If you are in Hamilton, it's off of the main bus route, and you can park at the A&P. From here, I had bought Cosmic Encounter (amongst other things). Comic Warehouse/Comic World Comic Warehouse 20 Strathearn Avenue #15/16 Brampton, Ontario, L6T 4P7 (905) 799-3509 Mon-Tue 9:00am- 6:00pm Wed-Fri 9:00pm- 8:00pm Sat 10:00am- 6:00pm Sun Noon - 4:00pm Visit: 2000/08/26 Stock  9  Prices  8 Info  6 Ease  7  OVERALL   8  The owner has two stores, and stocks games in both. They both had a slew of games in stock: Settlers of Catan, Settlers: Stadte and Richter, El Grande, Lowenhertz, Entdecker, Mississippi Queen, Manhattan, Modern Art, Fossil, and others.  It is listed under the Mayfair Site as a store which carries Mayfair games, and it does!  To date, this store had the most selection out of all the other stores I had been too.  The owner was quite knowledgeable on the games, and plays them himself (although most owners do).  I did buy their only copy of Ursuppe. Comic World Bramalea City Centre Brampton, Ontario (905) 799-9014 Parking was easy for me to find for the store was not in the downtown area but near Steeles and Dixie.  This, unfortunately, makes it difficult to get to by transit.  Matter of fact, I haven't the foggiest notion how to get there by transit. They do take major credit cards, and they do have Interac.  Unfortunately, they do not have any discounts of any sort, they don't have a mailing list nor any way of informing anyone of new arrivals, and they don't have a web site (although they are working on it).  It is difficult for me to go out everytime to see if they have new stuff, so it would be neat if they had something like this in place. They have a group that meets on Mondays to play board games, although I'm not too sure on details.  Just call for information. From here I bought Acquire, Bohnanza, Ursuppe, Manhattan, Caesar & Cleopatra, Baron Munchausen CG, Give me the Brain, Ricochet Robot, Groo:  The Game & Twitch Crossed Swords 722 Annette St. Toronto, ON M6S 2E2 Tel: (416) 604-9410 Fax: (416) 767-9625 Tue 9:30am- 5:30pm Wed-Fri 12:00pm- 8:00pm Sat 10:00am- 6:00pm Visit: 2000/07 Stock  7  Prices  ? Info  7 Ease  6  OVERALL   6  This store is tucked away in western downtown Toronto (near Jane street).  They are just starting to get some European games in, but they are mostly a miniature store.  The small store is just packed to the brim with gaming products, and there was a plethora of Avalon Hill games. The store attendant was quite friendly and helpful and was willing to put me in touch with a variety of people to help me find games I wanted. The only parking available here was on side streets, and although I did find one quite close, it was still pretty crowded for parking.  I don't have the foggiest notion how to get there by bus, or subway. They accept:  Amex, Cash, Check, Debit Card, Gift Cert., MC, Money Orders, Travelers Checks, Visa Game Shack Don Mills Shopping Centre Toronto (416) 386-1814 Well, this is a computer store which has a bunch of boardgames in it, and surpisingly enough, some German boardgames (from Rio Grande). According to Chris, the stock of the German stuff has remained roughly the same and updated, but hey, I was impressed. Game Trek Game Trek Inc. Royal York Hotel 100 Front Street West Toronto, ON M5J 1E3 Phone: (416)597-0149 Fax: (416)597-1411 E-mail: info@gametrek.ca Visit: 2000/02/23 Stock  9  Prices  5 Info  5 Ease  7  OVERALL   6  Updated with new address information (2002/01/14), and is now in the Royal York building, right across from Union Station. May be difficult to find parking there though...well, free parking anyways.  It is very pricey, but it's quite well stocked and was the only store that I could find in Toronto that sold Family Business. (And I needed to buy presents for my groomsmen, and it was late, and I was rushed, so I bought them here). From here I bought, Family Business, Settlers of Catan: Card Game, and More Cosmic Encounter Grey Region Comics 550 YONGE TORONTO, ON M4Y 1Y8 (416) 975-1718 This place is just cluttered with stuff! They have computer gaming, they have comics, they have old RPG's, some old AH and just a wack of stuff. Unfortunately, no German games, so I'm not even going to bother rating them, but it's always just a neat store to check out. This is another store located in the heart of downtown, so don't expect much parking. Hairy Tarantula 354 Yonge Street, second floor Toronto, Ontario M5B 1S5 416-596-8002 Visit: 2000/05/06 Stock  8  Prices  7 Info  7 Ease  7  OVERALL   7  This store is just a couple streets north of the Eaton Center (which for those of you who don' t know, is on the corner of Dundas and Yonge).  It is a small room on the second floor, and is jammed pack with a truckload of comics and stuff. It does have your standard fare of German Board games as well, but the same German board games you would naturally find at any other store that happens to sell German Board games (which isn't a bad thing or anything).  A few AH games littered the place, as well as your common RPG's and whatnot.  It was quite busy (well, for a store that size, four customers would be busy), but it seemed well stocked and would be worth checking out if you are downtown at the Eaton Center.  I did notice that they were the first to get Cheap Ass' Brawl in. Unfortunately, it IS downtown, and thus parking is a major bummer. From here I bought Runes & Democrazy Mind Games 260 Yonge Street (Toronto Eaton Centre) Toronto, ON M5B 2L9 Tel: (416) 977-8994 Fax: (416) 977-7478 (They also have one in the Scarbarough Town Center) Mon-Fri 10:00am- 9:00pm Sat 10:00am- 6:00pm Sun 12:00pm- 5:00pm Visit: 99/09/22 Stock  5  Prices  6 Info  7 Ease  7  OVERALL   6  There are now two locations that I'm aware of, one in the Eaton Centre, the other in Scarbarough, in the the Scarbarough Town Center. The Eaton Centre has a tonne of normal North American Family games, but their European Board Game selection is few.   It also has your standard fare of Avalon Hill games. As always, parking is always difficult to find in Downtown Toronto (the Eaton Center is on the corner of Dundas and Yonge), however they are right on the Subway Line. They Accept:  American Express, Cash, Debit Card, Mastercard, Travelers Checks. From here I bought Settlers of Catan, Settlers of Catan Card Game, & Scotland Yard Strategy Strategy Games Phone: (416)486-3395 1685 Bayview Ave, East York, ON M4G 3C1 On Bayview, just South of Eglinton Toronto, Ontario Sun-Mon Closed Tues-Fri 1:00-6:00pm Sat 10:00pm- ? Visit: 99/13 Stock  5  Prices  ? Info  5 Ease  6  OVERALL   5  Sorry, I do not know the exact address, and I coudn't seem to find it in the phonebook.  The hours of this store are strange, and I cannot recall what time it is opened till on Saturday.  It is mostly a chess store, with a myriad of chess boards (mostly your classic old-fashioned wooden chess boards) and a bookshelf filled with chess books.  They had a number of copies of Advanced Civilization, as well as your standard fare of games and puzzles, but no German Boardgames to my recollection.  It almost seemed if the owner wanted to have a chess store, but knowing that this alone would not net a profit, it would be better to expand in some other areas.