Blade Gaming — Local services in Roanoke

This is the best board game store that I have ever visited. Anyone in the hobby knows the common downfalls of a board game shop. It can too small, too cramped, too pricey, poor social skills in the staff, etc. Blade completely subverts it all. Josh, the owner, is the friendliest, most welcoming owner I've dealt with. He is always happy to chat, will teach you how to play any of the numerous games available in the library and really makes this place something special. The place is rather large which works out wonderfully. There are Magic games essentially every night, which could crowd out boardgamers (I've seen this a lot at other stores). But there is plenty of space for the Magic players in the section of the store away from the game library. The place is clean, the prices are often below MSRP and you get 5% off if you get a membership.

Quick note. There are table fees here. $5 per person. This includes unlimited time, and they will teach you to play games, which is worth way more than $5 in my opinion. They also have a monthly or yearly membership that pays for itself in 3-4 visits and you get several included sodas and snacks every month. My wife and I bought the month and we broke even with the daily rate in a week.

I cannot recommend Blade...

Words don't do it justice with how much I recommend Blade!! Product is beyond plentiful in trading cards (especially Yu-gi-oh, pokémon and MTG) board games, etc. The staff (even the owner) are so pleasant, helpful and knowledgeable about everything in the store and best of all prices are consistently extremely fair. In my last 6-7 years of traveling the country and visiting many dozens of card shops nothing compares to Blade with their product pricing and the Roanoke area is very fortunate to have a place like this that doesn't upcharge and price players out going beyond MSRP. They also purchase cards and the TCGPlayer pricing they go off of when selling to them is fair, offering more than other places I've seen. Been shopping here for 5 years and I suggest Blade to anyone asking me about where to buy cards! Tournaments they host are a ton of fun, lots of people show up and there's always something going on here and is a great place for newcomers trying to get into the hobby to learn in an environment where they aren't being price gouged or looked down upon. Places like Blade are super healthy for the hobby and environment of trading card games. You can really tell which places prioritize player experience and retention over just profit and...

Made a review on Facebook about the negative customer service I received recently from them. Received a comment back stating to message them to speak about the issue. Before I even had a chance to respond, Blade blocked me from their page. After reviewing with my own personal business page, I noticed that you cannot even message the page.

Edit: A few days after I've spoken with said manager, I'm still blocked from the Facebook page despite the manager saying he is aware of the issues that they have with rude staff. I thought everything was all good and said and done but when I made the comment to the manager stating I'm still blocked, I've basically been ignored for now two days and still blocked despite the company still posting. I have never dealt with such an insane company. I tried to make amends and thought it was all good, but apparently they weren't.

Edit again: The owner reached back out after ignoring me for multiple days. It's apparent this company can't tolerate negative reviews and the truth really upsets them. I stand by the rudeness not only from the staff but management...