Berkeley Game Distributors Review

Very awesome store. Good variety of games to purchase and they also have a decent selection available to play at the store.

Took my friends here from out of town and they had a blast

Are you a big nerd about games & tarot cards? (I am.) Because if you are, this spot is your JAM. (It is.)

Since there are very few game stores around, this place gets points for existing. They have a pretty good selection here. The more popular games are right up front, but there are some hidden gems in the corners. They also have a small selection of paints and brushes, which is very appreciated. Pricing is standard, not special. They also have gaming areas for people wanting to play. I'll definitely return.

I love the puzzles and games from here. I can usually find something unique and different. They will look for hard-to-find items. They even have role playing games.

When I set foot in the store, my first experience was the clerk asking me to please put my ice cream treat that I'd brought in behind the front counter. No food in the merchandise space. Of course, they didn't want people getting their filthy fingers over things, I can understand. I was even willing to shrug it off as a weird store policy and a bad first impression, but it turned out to be part of a larger problem.

The front of the store is laid out relatively open (for a game store), with the "safe" items like puzzles and conventional board games up front. Even as it moves through the gradient of spiel des jahres games to MTG to 40k to historical mini wargames, things are kept to look very clean and mainstream. Meanwhile, the playing space has been completely shoved into the basement. There, the regulars can be kept out of sight/sound/smell entirely, lest their presence disturb the mom casually walking in through the door looking for a puzzle. As if all those sweaty neckbeards were just as bad for the sale as ice cream dripped on everything.

It even permeated into the conversations I heard. More that people were allowed to show up for the scheduled warmahordes tournament than a place where people came to throw some dice in a pickup game. Nowhere were there people just hanging out (there wasn't any space on the main floor allotted for it), or just playing games, or having fun. There didn't seem to be a sense of community, and if there was, they seemed all but careful to hide it.

Instead, the whole thing was devoted to being exactly one thing - a soulless retail space. An IKEA except for European game designers instead of European furniture makers. Walk through the path, buy your stuff, don't touch anything, don't be weird. You almost expected there to be a cafe awkwardly wedged into the corner to offer sanitized chic like at a Barnes and Noble.

In the end I stayed long enough to rifle through some confrontation minis and 40k books, but I didn't buy anything. I'm all for supporting one's local game store (and I do), but this place doesn't seem to be one - it's more that games are what happens to be on sale at a generic Berkeley boutique. If there's nothing more on tap than what the store manager decides he wants to let you get your grubbiness on while you're buying something it would be one thing, but if you're nothing but a display case for the newest expansion to Carcassone, then I'm sorry, but you're competing with Amazon. Who offer that same expansion at half the cost.

Super clean store with a very large variety of board/tabletop game supplies. I saw more obscure games that are typically only findable at conventions there. If you like hoard games this shop is definitely a must visit. Their magic: the gathering support is minimal so if that is super important to you be warned but they are excellent with what they focus on.

Amazing selection, most board games I ve ever seen in one place.

Customer service is outstanding. They know the products that they have in their store and accommodate you when you're looking for item that they may be out of.

Fun place to spend some time. There's more board games than I'd ever seen and a good selection at that. They also have a few games left out for you to just try as you walk around

This place got me addicted to magic the gathering . great location close to cal. So us nerds can spit mad game. Didn't play me .

Stopped by to see what they have and was quickly disappointed by the lack of magic singles, tho i did enjoy the fact that they have a large assortment of dice so thats a +1

I love this store. So much to look at and fun things to buy. I love shopping for gifts here as well as for myself.

Has everything you need for an amazing game night and more!

Ahhhh what's not to love about Games of Berkeley? You can get all your gift shopping (and shopping for yourself) done in one place! Comics, RPG supplies, tons of games, beautiful dice, and more. I actually live in the South Bay now so I don't get to shop here as much as I would like, but I always have to stop in if I'm in the area!

So basically I've been here a few times to get Yu-Gi-Oh cards and not only do these people over charge for booster packs and structure decks waaaaay more than a Target or Walmart but they have enforced a buyer's limit. Sometimes one box or product per person. That is completely ridiculous if I'm spending MORE to get LESS. I'm looking to actually invest serious money into this game and with all these restrictions how can anyone hope to get some quality cards here. Don't waste your money. At Target a box is 29.99 for duel power and these guys have the nerve to charge 39.99 PLUS tax! Never coming back here. Only come here if you're really impatient.

A must visit for gaming nerds. The variety of board, card and desk games is amazing. They also have cool science based toys which are great for use as teaching aids.

Fun store loaded with games and helpful staff. Got Pandemic

If it wasn't for this place I would have had a lot less fun in life.

Huge selection of games with very helpful employees! I was able to find the game I was looking for quickly.

Games of Berkeley is a fantastic Berkeley gem! They've got games for children and adults, and a great selection of puzzles too. The place can be a bit overwhelming but the staff is extremely helpful and navigated us to what we needed. They're also open pretty late- until 9pm most days.

They have everything!! You could spend hours in here just looking through all of the options. Great for birthday and holiday gifts. Helpful staff and cohesive layout. Everything you need for your gaming fix.

Great friendly staff who know what they are selling not just in for profit bit as well as the community

Great selection of puzzles games and tabletop minis. Will definately come again

Ridiculously broad selection of games. Very nice chess boards and pieces. Best selection of go boards and stones I have ever seen in this country. Friendly staff. Great store.

Great game shop to go see. A hidden gem of Berkeley. Customers service is really nice and very good. The quality of the products is awesome. My only complain is the prices of some of the games are expensive other then that pretty great game shop. It's a very nice niche spot to go visit if you like cards games, board games, toys, crafts, activies, plushies, etc

I really enjoyed the wide selection of games and collectibles available for all ages. The store is a lot larger than it looks like from the outside. The staff are helpful and nice, too!

A perfect gamestore: Huge collection of games, knowledgeable team.

Rudest employees I've ever seen in my life. Basically had two people in their store, and my husband's mask slipped off his face instead of asking completely to put it back on the desk guy was super super rude so we decided to leave. When leaving the door the man at the front said thank you and please don't ever come back. in the middle of a pandemic you think that he would be nicer to have business. On top of that nobody even buys games anymore in a store. Could order them all on amazon. Definitely don't take your small children in there because they look at those creepy type of people. Your employee was RUDE!!! I work in health care I realize the risks!!I also have to remind people of mask wearing all day! And nobody was yelling out front, we were laughing at how rude the back was. Its no problem we donate game to a children's shelter and were going to spend a local store to help out. We decided amazon was a better way to go.

If you love tabletop games of any kind then this is the store for you. New location is more spacious and has a good parking structure near by. Best selection of board games in the Bay.

Very friendly & knowledgeable staff, awesome place.

One of the best game stores I have ever been to. They have a great selection of products and a super knowledgeable and friendly staff.

I love this place a lot and have been coming here for over 25 years. I don't even want to think about how much I've spend in my youth on led figurines and gaming supplies.

The majority of the staff are friendly and helpful and the selection of stuff is excellent. You can go in there with "I'm looking for this game, I think it has to do with space, but I don't remember, it has a cloth playing surface and you use dice" and in three guesses figures out the right one!

Games for all interests and ages, check it out if you are in the area!

Huge selection, extremely helpful staff. Watched as an elderly man bought playing cards with bigger print cause he was losing his eyesight. 10/10