Previously, I have talked about being a Sun Devil. I live in a more farming-based community. Therefore, the commute was an absolute drag. Sometimes, getting home from school would take an hour or more. However, there was an upside to the drive. Such as seeing new shops or restaurants I would never have stopped at before. For example, I would never have eaten at Portillo’s if traffic was clear or bought Rugrats in Paris for the 64 at Fallout Games. This got me thinking about other local game shops I never knew about unless I drove by them or saw them on Google Maps. So, today I am sharing game shops in the East Valley.  

Map

Hearing “East Valley” might be strange for those not from Arizona. The Phoenix Metropolitan Area is more extensive than what I am used to. From my understanding, this area encompasses Apache Junction, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Queen Creek, and Tempe. Depending on who you ask, Ahwatukee and Scottsdale can also be considered part of the East Valley. However, I will follow the PHX East Valley website, which omits those two towns. Below is a map of the area I focused on and shop locations.

Shops

Here is where we get the meat and potatoes of this article, the actual game shops. Here you will get the name of the storefront, location, specialties, and events. I made this list alphabetically to avoid favoritism, but I will highlight a shop in more depth further down the line.

Amazing Discoveries – Gilbert

  • Location: 745 N Gilbert Rd #116, Gilbert, AZ 85234
  • Specialties: Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, YUGIOH, Roleplaying Games, Board Games, Minis.
  • Events: Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Dungeons and Dragons, YUGIOH; more information is located here.

Athoria Games Mesa

  • Location: 3136 S McClintock Dr. Ste 11, Tempe, AZ 85282
  • Specialties: Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, YUGIOH, Digimon, Funko, Flesh and Blood, Roleplaying Games, Board Games, Minis.
    • Tabletop Games: Warhammer 40k, Age of Sigmar, Star Wars Legion, Armada, Bolt Action, and more.
    • Roleplaying Games: Dungeons & Dragons 5e, Pathfinder 2e, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Shadowrunner, and more.
    • Board Games: Catan, Ticket to Ride, Ascension, Exploding Kittens, Coup, Boss Monster, and more.
  • Events: Currently, no events are listed on their website; however, based on the Tempe location’s calendar, one can infer similar events.

Athoria Games Tempe

  • Location: 3136 S McClintock Dr. Ste 11, Tempe, AZ 85282
  • Specialties: Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, YUGIOH, Digimon, Funko, Flesh and Blood, Roleplaying Games, Board Games, Minis.
    • Tabletop Games: Warhammer 40k, Age of Sigmar, Star Wars Legion, Armada, Bolt Action, and more.
    • Roleplaying Games: Dungeons & Dragons 5e, Pathfinder 2e, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Shadowrunner, and more.
    • Board Games: Catan, Ticket to Ride, Ascension, Exploding Kittens, Coup, Boss Monster, and more.
  • Events: Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Dungeons and Dragons, Digimon, Star Wars Legion; more information is located here.

Baxter’s Games

  • Location: 18530 E San Tan Blvd Suite 116, Queen Creek, AZ 85142
  • Specialties: Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, YUGIOH, Dungeons and Dragons, Board Games
  • Events: Magic the Gathering, YUGIOH, My Hero Academia, Pokémon; more information is located here.

Desert Sky Games

  • Location: 3875 W Ray Rd Ste 12, Chandler, AZ 85226
  • Specialties: Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, video games, dice, accessories, and more.
  • Events: Events seem less prevalent; however, there was recently a Pokémon League Cup, and their Facebook is quite active.

Explorers Emporium, Inc.

  • Location:  306 S Ironwood Dr, Apache Junction, AZ 85120
  • Specialties: Gaming, Fossil Casts, LARPing, Crafting, Spiritual, Renaissance Gear, Workshops, School Programs, 3D Printing
    • A future article will highlight the uniqueness of this shop.
  • Events: Magic the Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons 5E, Mini painting; more information is located here.

Gamers Guild AZ

  • Location: 2223 S 48th St Suite C/D, Tempe, AZ 85282
  • Specialties: Card games, Tabletop, RPG, Board Games, Accessories, Video Games
    • Card Games: Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, YUGIOH, Digimon, Funko, Flesh and Blood, and more.
    • Tabletop: Warhammer, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Blood Bowl, and more.
    • RPG: Dungeons and Dragons, Star Wars Edge of the Empire, books, dice, and minis.
  • Events: Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Warhammer 40k, Marvel Crisis Protocol, and more. More information is located here.

Games U

  • Location: 1550 N Stonehenge Dr #102, Gilbert, AZ 85234
  • Specialties: World of Tanks, Warhammer 40k, Kings of War, Dungeons and Dragons, RPG Terrain and Minis, and more.
  • Events: Every Monday, there is an Infinity meetup; more information is located here.

Olympus Games

  • Location: 1350 S Gilbert Rd suite C1, Mesa, AZ 85204
  • Specialties: Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, YUGIOH, Digimon, Anime, and more.
  • Events: Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, YUGIOH, Super Smash Bros, Guilty Gear Strive, Streetfighter, and more. More information can be found on their Facebook page.

Rekreation Games

  • Location: 1075 S Arizona Ave Ste 2, Chandler, AZ 85286
  • Specialties: Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Pathfinder, Dungeons and Dragons, Vampire the Masquerade, Marvel: Crisis Protocol, and more.
  • Events: Magic the Gathering, SolForge Fusion, Flesh, and Blood, Marvel: Crisis Protocol; more information can be found here.

Odds and Ends

I was pleasantly surprised when I embarked on this journey of finding game shops in the East Valley. There were far more spaces for fellow nerds to meet one another than I ever realized. I wanted to highlight the Explorers Emporium in more detail; however, I realized this article got more lengthy than I anticipated. So, be on the lookout for that! Finally, if I missed a game shop, let me know! I would love to find another spot to feed my unhealthy dice obsession.