Gator Games — Attraction in San Mateo

This is our go-to for boardgames and cards - I could not recommend them enough! They have such a good selection of boardgames and they always have cards in stock. I'm an avid boardgame collector and my boyfriend collects Pokemon/MTG/Yu-Gi-Oh cards - this shop has contributed in building our collection immensely. Our Warhammer enthusiast-housemate also appreciates their good selection of Citadel paints. Staff is always very knowledgeable/kind and will happily order something that's not available. They're also very quick to contact you once it's in. Their prices are only slightly above what you'd find online and on par with other physical stores, but we don't mind paying the extra couple dollars to support a local business like this. I've been to a couple of other games stores in the bay area and I still think this is definitely a diamond in the rough and will happily drive the ~30 mins...

Love this place. Yes, it's a hole-in-the wall. Yes, it's cramped. Yes, you have to walk across the street to use the restroom. So what. It's filled with knowledgeable staff who are happy to help out, and that's huge. They can help recommend games and love to talk about everything in the store, which is useful when doing research or looking for gifts. They will preorder anything you need and give you a discount for doing so - as well as enabling you to get merchandise before the "official street" date. Sure I can order nearly anything off Amazon or from another online merchant - but I prefer to support my local brick & mortar game store here so that it doesn't go away. My only knock against the place is a lack of space for them to run games - that really is a shame. I'd love to see this place being more of a go-to for casual and League gaming as well as a go-to for in-person research...

I have been actively involved with Gator Games for years. It an excellent non-electronic game store on the San Francisco Peninsula. The staff is expert in all aspects of tabletop games, whether board, card, or role-playing related. Miniatures and painting supplies are ample, as is a fine selection of obscure older games along with the newest releases.

Molly Stone's grocery store is just across the street, and functions as the rest room and biological supplies repository for all nearby businesses should a crisis arise while perusing the excellent inventory of this quality game establishment.

Gator Games also has a strong web presence, with their own site and an eBay store where out-of-print games can often be located. They are also happy to order anything not currently in their inventory, and will give you a call when the desired items arrive.

Go here. Buy...