Paragon Gaming — Local services in Knoxville

I stumbled across Paragon when I was searching for some Pokemon 151 cards for my best friend. It was in East Knox, and easily accessible for me (I live in South Knox). That was about a month and a half ago, and in that time Paragon has become my "third place". For those who don't know, below is a tl;dr of third places from wikipedia-

The third place refers to the social surroundings that are separate from the two usual social environments of home ("first place") and the workplace ("second place"). In other words, "your third place is where you relax in public, where you encounter familiar faces and make new acquaintances".

This is easily the best local game store in Knoxville, and the best one I've ever been to in any other state. Blaise and Cera, the owners, are the kindest people and genuinely love the games they sell. They have put together numerous events, and I've met so many amazing people and had nothing but wonderful experiences there. Blaise took the time out of his day to, almost from scratch, teach me Magic, a game I'd always wanted to get into, and play several games with me to help me understand enough to join in on their Commander nights. Now whenever I walk in the door, multiple people call out my name and are excited to see me. I can ask any question and I won't ever be judged, and I'll walk away with my initial question answered as well as all my followup questions answered.

The prices are great, the employees are wonderful, and I look forward multiple times a week to coming to the shop to play and talk to people. Blaise and Cera have truly made something special here, so if you're looking to purchase board games, Magic cards, Pokemon cards, and more, or if you're curious and want to LEARN how to play, you absolutely need to make Paragon your first and only stop...

Friendly, clean, innovative, passionate, and very willing to hear feedback. The absolute best place to participate in MTG pre releases!

They have an excellent selection of board games, and a ton of accessories. Blaise and Cera truly care about the community and go above and beyond. If you want something they currently do not have in stock, they are happy to order it for you.

The selection of MTG singles are top notch, and their Pokemon section is steadily growing as well. They host a ton of fun events and are approachable with new ideas.

Bonus: They have an absolutely MAJESTIC mural that was professionally done, they have a Poke stop for Pokemon Go, and the bathrooms are the cleanest of any game store I have ever been to. They also have BoBo's PB and J snacks which is a nice addition to the usual...

Went in to trade some Pokémon cards and the young guy who said he was the “Pokémon expert” proceeded to try and take advantage of me. He offered me 20.00 in store credit for 2 cards and one was a Charazard that is selling for 100.00 and an eve that is not super expensive but still a hot card. He then told me he was offering me 80 value of the cards. I pulled up TCG to show him he was not correct and he tried to play it off as mine was incorrect. Took it to another shop and they offered me more than double in cash for the 2 cards. Unfortunately I will not be back to this shop. I spend a lot on cards and was hopefully I found one close to me but I guess I will continue to drive to west Knoxville to...