This is one of those times when I'm hesitating to write the review due to how it might make me…read morelook. Everyone and anyone can see my Yelp reviews. I might as well be announcing it to the world... YES. I PLAY MAGIC: THE GATHERING. As a devout planeswalker speaking to another (or maybe potential) planeswalker, if you're looking for Magic: The Gathering shops in the CBD, this is much better to the MTG Dungeon. ~ It's very largely spaced with plenty of tables to play on! ~ The staff have a great sense of humor in contrast to MTG Dungeon where the man, although he knows his stuff, can be a bit of a cock at times. In the 50 cent bin, the employees at Games Laboratory wrote "Maybe Black Lotus?!" on the side, which I found HILARIOUS! I mean... it's funny right? Because Black Lotus is incredible rare and expensive? Please humor me here... ~ They have a collection of the LEGENDARY cards on display. ALL the Moxes, Black Lotus... omg! I absolutely love it here and I would come back to fulfill more of my weird nerdy needs.

This place is more that just a shop! For your gamers out there it is a experience and a social…read moreclub! They hold multiple tournaments here weekly, filled with players! Lots of products and games to buy! From speciality cards/ board games/ drinks.

I hadn't managed to get around to visiting a gaming shop for a while, so when one of my gaming…read moregroups decided to have a special event here I made a huge effort to come and check it out. Okay, I had been past here a couple of times, but had never had the desire, or the time, to pop in and have a look around. Anyway, like a lot of gaming shops, the focus these days tends to be Euro-games and card games, however they do have a small collection of roleplaying games, but the collection is somewhat smallish. However, they also have gaming rooms, and on top of the gaming events, they also have some special nights, including a caberet night, which I have to admit is pretty cool.

BOARD GAMES! I have a minor obsession with them... Not so much because I love playing them super…read moreoften (maybe by candlelight when there's been a blackout or on Christmas night), but I really love the aesthetic of them. Is that weird? Gatekeeper Games has every shape/form/fashion of board games. I popped in to make a VERY important purchase... Cards Against Humanity. I walked in and asked where I might find it, as essentially this store is like a library of games - you really do need a bit of direction. They immediately pointed it out to me and took me through the different editions of the game (Australian, American, British) and I quickly made a purchase. I was in and out in just a few minutes - that is efficient customer service! You will also find games including Warhammer, Star Wars Rebellion, Game of Thrones - everything you could imagine. Also, Gatekeeper Games also regularly holds gaming nights - so if you in the market to make new friends and play fun games, you now know where to head.

A few days before Christmas one of the staff set aside the last copy of Carcassone on offer in all…read moreof Melbourne. Sent a friend over to pick it up and I surprised a family who went on to really get into the game. Great service!

We came here looking for Magic Cards, thinking cards from Australia would be a nice novelty for an…read moreAmerican player... Anyway, the elevator opens unto a huge space, half of merchandise and the other half filled with tables where many men were busy playing various games. A worker approached us and suggested which bundle of cards would be a good gift choice. Easy and painless!

I rang Marche about an end of year party. I asked about group/corporate packages but the staff…read morecouldn't answer and said a manager would call back. I provided the office number. 2 days went by and I didn't hear back so I called again. I spoke to the same staff (not a manager) who said she'd tried to call but "it was too complicated". (We have an automated answering service which is very easy and quick to navigate and speak to a human). I asked again about packages and was told they weren't going to offer anything. Despite having a group of 30 people for games and karaoke plus food and drinks, they didn't think it was a worthwhile booking. In fact, she told me it's 'just 30 people' and they had another booking of 30 people the same day and they were just paying the retail per person price, making the point they didn't really care about our booking. Ok, so now I discover that in the 2 days they hadn't called back they'd taken another booking which basically meant we couldn't fit in there anymore anyhow. Wow! How do people run these businesses like this? Their website has a functions page but clearly they have no idea about larger group events or working with business clients. They definitely have no idea about good customer service. I've been here before for karaoke with friends. It was fine. Not memorable. Not bad. But if you want anything even remotely out of their usual scope, don't even bother. It's all just "too hard" for Marche.

Stepping into this shop is like stepping into the scene of an important turning point in a…read morescreenplay; there's just so much to discover amongst its dusty and seemingly haphazard shelves of goods that it just feels rich with opportunity. It looks as though it could have been the stand in for the shop the boy hides in at the beginning of 'The Neverending Story'. It's main specialty is in selling second hand and niche academic, political and specialty books, some of which it sells online (presumably through ebay, because I can't find an actual website). The shelves are so dense with books it's almost intimidating to browse, but anyone who likes the feeling of hunting for a bargain will enjoy the process. There's also a lot of second hand vinyl records, CDs, knick knacks and even the odd board game, including somewhat hilariously the 'Home and Away' game. You can also find stuff like old cuff links and other retro junk, a rocking horse and other old toys from bygone eras. The guy behind the counter, Noel, is friendly and it's worthwhile having a good conversation with him. Although the shop's been where it is for a while now, the lease is only month by month, so its' future existence is a little tenuous. Definitely worth the effort of checking out before it disappears at the end price hike in shop rent.