Side Quest Games and Accessories — Attraction in Pomona

Been going here regularly for 3 months to play Commander MTG, and here are my thoughts. Pros: Close to two colleges, not a long drive and parking is easy Staff is friendly - Everyone there has been relatively friendly and willing to cooperate. People will usually move very quickly to service you. MTG nights are always packed - It's usually packed on Fridays, lots of different faces to meet, and new conversations to have.

Cons: Proxy Unfriendly- Must produce a card in paper that is proxied and cannot accept pictures because they want to keep the place at a lower power, yet does nothing to actually prevent people clearing pods. Will not accept photo proof and will actively be hostile towards you if you are unable to produce the card in person. I personally will play a mox diamond in some of my decks even if they're lower power, but because I do not want to bring the $500 card to an 18 dollar casual commander night tells me "I am not welcome here". Expensive- To play in the commander nights, it is 18 dollars for THREE pods. Even if you get three packs of the newest set, it's still a horrible value. The store will also sell booster boxes of Karlov manor for $180, which is an absolutely horrible price. Then if you want to get more games in, it's not like you pay one price to play until closing, you have to fork over ANOTHER 18 dollars to possibly play more if your games close fast enough. MTG may be an expensive game, but this place is demanding money for the most basic stuff. Complicated Commander Night system- It takes FOREVER to get into Commander games, usually because there's only like 2 people working the front desk, and there's no free play/free sit down while you wait because the tables are usually packed full. The store will also usually try to drop The store has a bounty system in place where they say it's to "encourage" people to play MTG, instead of just trying to kill the table as fast as possible. Unfortunately it really doesn't change anything, and I was considering bringing decks that don't go infinite but still win by sheer value to win. If they want to go maximum fun police on this, they don't really do anything to stop decks from "Winning" and just stop decks that want to go infinite. There are also no judges on standby, so people have to call out interactions on their own and there isn't anyone to actually clarify rulings should people have questions. Hostile community - I was personally targeted for the use of proxies because of "cheating" and "winning games I did not deserve" because I decided to use proxies for cards that I either needed in other decks, or did not want to bring for a casual commander night. And for a casual commander night they really like telling you to follow the rules. When I went to lodge a formal complaint the owner brought me outside and repeatedly stated that even with photo evidence it does not mean anything if I do not have the card in person. Very small play area - The play area itself is very small, the main area can only really run about 3 tables at once, and the room has been a known issue for months that they started bringing tables into their warehouse space. People are usually needing to scooch by tables to get to the bathroom or into the back rooms.

Personal thoughts: I have been here for about 3-4 months as I have previously stated and while I enjoyed commander, I really don't enjoy the house rules set in place to try and lower the casual ceiling while doing absolutely nothing to solve the problem. While I don't have a problem with playing without proxies, the fact that people will do petty manhunts for proxies because the house rules don't want them is ridiculous. While the emotional display I had on my last day was excessive, I've had these feelings brewing for months where the joy of MTG eventually faded into the spite of MTG. I do not recommend this LGS, and there isn't anything here that would warrant you go here over any...

Drove an hour down there with a friend to have a look around and see what was up. It was pretty cool, good selection of items and I even got my hands on a book I've been wanting to get for a while! The staff were kind to me, made me feel welcome and wanted, and even let me kind of chill in a side room for a little bit when things got crowded. They gladly lent my friend some superglue when he had a cosplay malfunction, and the owner helped me fix up the dragon nerf crossbow I had bought there. Trevor, the guy running the fifteen minute dungeon, was really cool too! I loved how he ran the one-shot, and he had extremely good vibes just in general.

If that was where my experience ended, I would have been happy to give five stars. Unfortunately, my friend had a differing experience. I stuck pretty close to him for most of the trip, and I do feel that he got disrespected quite a bit.

For example, he realized he had gotten something he wasn't going to use, so he and I went up to the desk to request a return and refund for the item. The owner, who was running cashier at the time, seemed hesitant to do so, and if he had just said 'no' I think it would have been fine. But he gave a 'yes', then started to do something else. I get that it was crowded, he was clearly stressed by how many people were present, but it's one thing to say "Yes, just hold on a second and I'll help you", or even just "No, we can't refund you for it." and another to say "you know what, yeah" and then go do something else. An employee had to ask him to return to helping my friend before he would get back to it.

There was also a sort of big misunderstanding with the sale that turned into a confrontation that made my friend and I feel unsafe in the shop. We had misunderstood the advertisement and thought it meant that you would roll every time you checked out. We had each gotten to roll twice, but the third time, we were told it was one per customer. We pointed out that we had each gotten a second roll, trying to voice our confusion, and were told we must have 'gotten lucky'. My friend tried to get clarity on the situation, and asked why it wasn't on the sign. The cashier said "Okay, what's your goal here? Is it to prove a point?" At this point, it felt like the entire establishment was staring, and the owner joined in, mentioning that he wanted to know the exact same thing. I stepped in at this point, explaining that it was a misunderstanding and that we would just pay the full price. I would have understood if it was because it was such a low price for the item that we weren't allowed to roll the discount for it, or if it had been a mistake that was cleared up in a respectful manner, but the way my friend was treated so confrontationally for asking a question felt uncomfortable. We paid for the item and ended up leaving for a few hours after that. When we returned, my friend apologized for his part in the confrontation and shook hands with the two people he had upset, but he never got an apology in return for the way he was treated.

I don't want to bring this place down, or seem like I'm giving a poor/mediocre review out of spite. I enjoyed my time there, I felt safe for most of the day. It was comforting to be with so many like-minded people, and I liked the way I was personally treated. I want to see Sidequest succeed. I just want it to be a place where EVERYONE can feel safe. I understand that it was a busy day, and that it was stressful, but the way things were handled in this case left much to be desired. I hope to see it improve, and I hope to be able to visit again...

I have been coming here since November 2023, as I am a student at Mt SAC, and i can fully say that this store is one of the best places to come shop, hang out, and play games. They mainly focus on D&D, Magic the Gathering, Lorcana (more recently), and Warhammer 40K. By far, this local game store is one of the most friendly stores I have been to. Their prices are reasonable, their employees are very nice and put in effort to make your stay enjoyable, they have a loyalty program that makes shopping here worth it, and they are very well stocked and knowledgeable. They have events for all of the games I mentioned above, with the Friday Night Commander being the most attended. The staff are super cool, and they try their best to get to know you, if you come in often, and they do their best to get you whatever it is that you need. Casual games are welcomed almost any day of the week, and they have a designated room that people can book for events or private games, ahead of time. Most of their sanctioned games are pay-to-enter, however, it is well priced and they are even beginner friendly. The commander nights are pay-to-enter as well, however, you get a booster for every game you buy, and are given rewards for winning or completing certain objectives in the group you are put in. The game nights also have their own rules that are EXTREMELY fair, as it puts everyone on a balanced scale. You can also ask to play free games without the boosters or rewards, and they will let you play with others who wish to do the same.

The biggest positive this store has, is that they actively listen to their community online and in-person. They are welcome to any ideas and suggestions, and are very patient with people that come in. As I have mentioned, I have been coming here since November of 2023, and I have felt nothing but welcomed here, and I come to become fond of the staff and people here. I strongly recommend coming in if you have the chance, and I promise you...