This is one of the best hidden gems in the Bay Area for a board game afternoon. The collection is massive, with every genre and skill level covered, and the upkeep is genuinely impressive: every single card is individually sleeved in plastic, so the games always feel brand new. The space is spotless, well-organized, and the staff make you feel instantly welcome. They've also got snacks and drinks on hand, so there's zero reason to leave once you've settled in. Needless to mention, unlike almost any other board game cafe in the Bay Area, they don't charge you just to sit and play. On top of that, they have a huge collection of comic books, board games, and comics-related items and artifacts available to purchase, so it's easy to walk out with more than you came in for. I love this place so much that it's always hard for me to leave. They close at 7 PM on weekends, and every single week, I find myself wishing I had just a little more time before heading out. If you want a calm, genuinely fun way to spend an afternoon, this is the spot in the entire Bay Area. read more

New Illusive Comics & Games - Lost Ruins of Arnak - Hobby Shops Near Me - Santa Clara, California

The energy here is IMMACULATE. Wonderful staff -- friendly, ridiculously knowledgeable, inclusive, and accommodating. Inventory is really thoughtful, they have a fantastic selection of anything a nerdy heart could desire. Definitely recommend. My fiance also comes here for MtG events, and he has nothing but glowing things to say about this place. read more

Very neat shop, I really liked it when I stopped by. The staff was very friendly, knowledgeable & engaged. Unfortunately I do not live near or I would stop by more often. read more

My favorite game store. Everyone is just so loved whenever I visit. I come for their excellent selection of d&d minis, but they an incredibly spacious shop with a wide selection of tabletop games that I just can't help but peruse each time I'm here. Service is always top notch, and the prices are very reasonable. Game Kastle is down the road, but this place has them beat. read more

The game store we usually go to is closed for a little while longer, so we felt lucky when this place was still operating. Needed a bunch of card sleeves and some boxes, had a wide variety of colors to choose from, which was perfect for trying to separate decks. Fair pricing, great variety, greeted and asked if we needed help, everything we needed. Also, a shoutout to going to extra mile for safety measures. Reminders everywhere and even welcoming us along with reminding 6ft distancing, keep masks on and there was hand sanitizer right up front. A comfortable environment to get what we needed. read more

Great selection, and loved the D&D dice seller! We bought some dice, and they let us sample as many as we wanted. Also bought a few new RPG systems and Pokemon cards that I'm super excited to try out!!! Will definitely be back for more. read more

Super friendly staff and a great selection of games, comics, figurines, and accessories! They have entire shelves of board games, comics, funko pops, and more. We came in to look for Magic The Gathering tokens which, ironically, they didn't have, but we left happy with some colorful dice. The two people who helped us were both really kind and went above and beyond. read more

Best comic and game shop in the bay! The staff is very friendly and helpful and make everyone feel welcome. They have a ton of incredible dice and lots of options for miniature painters. read more

Amazing service, plethora of books and games. Only sad part, no yugioh cards but they have everything else!

Amazing collection of games. Anna was so great in explaining us the games, we ended up buying more than we intended :) They rent as well as sell games, so if you are looking to try some game this place is great too. They are following Covid protocols really well. read more

Came in with no knowledge of painting war hammer models and left with the basics and a plan. Great customer service and fantastic to see the employees able to explain the various brushes, paints, and techniques to paint the models. Has a great variety of stuff ranging from anime and manga to D&D, Warhammer, and comics. read more

Covid approved! Great selection, higher prices for to small business owner, but comparable to other stores. Great explanation from the staff and you can rent the games to try them out. The rental wall is to the right as you enter. Reserve the game on their website and they'll hand it right to you. The only thing that's tricky is that they really discourage you from touching anything which is hard when you want to just pick up the game and read the summary. (Post reply from Anna: Yes! They do have gloves and hand sanitizer, but we were also told to use our phone to look up game info. I do think during these times touching less items is super important.) read more

I found this place when doing a search for my local gamer store in an effort to support small businesses when doing my holiday shopping. My brother is a major gamer and this place is right up his alley. You can shop in-person or online. I called to make sure they have the deck box he wanted in stock, which they did, and I was even able to pay for it over the phone. They offer offer delivery or curbside pickup, which is so awesome during these crappy covid times. I did curbside pickup and called when I was outside. They immediately brought it out and dropped in my trunk. I was out of there in seconds. Highly recommend! read more

THIS PLACE IS AMAZINGGG! We wanted to try a game and they had plenty of demo games that we could play! There were lots of tables. Lots of people playing Dungeons & Dragons haha. It was really comfortable! Matt was awesome and super helpful and friendly! You can tell the people working here love games. Knowing that makes me want to support this local business! Also, lots of games to buy and they are well priced! The game we wanted was $10 cheaper than Amazon! We are definitely coming back! read more

They are super helpful purchasing and paying over the phone. I have done several sucessful and stress-free purchases over the phone, paid electronically, and picked-up curbside. Each time they were friendly and Covid compliant. The friendly, prompt and professional service is much appreciated. Easy parking. Easier curbside-pickup. And they will deliver orders over $25. Best of all, the games boxes are not smashed like the online retailers tend to provide 50% of the time. read more

We love Isle of Gamers! What a great spot to hang out, play games, make friends, and be nerds! Everyone who works here is so friendly and informative. I especially love Allison and Michelle! My boyfriend and I have gone to Isle multiple times to play games, buy D&D supplies, or attend their events. I am looking forward to the next Mini Painting event (Paint Jam), which happens every other Saturday. Overall, so glad I live close to this place! read more

New Illusive Comics & Games - Playing Pandemic at Isle - Hobby Shops Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Great place to shop! They have everything here! From Pokémon cards to D&D miniatures and books. Staff is nice and willing to help. Will be shopping here again very soon. read more

I was craving some Pokémon packs to open and although the variety of Pokémon tcg product was limited, they still had a nice selection of other things to look at, like funko pops and tabletop games! I was still able to buy a partner pack and the customer service was was amazing as well! read more

Went in for a casual game and everyone at the store was super nince and helpful.The employees are awesome and even helped pick a game for us newbies.We really enjoyed our time and will return for more. p-s: feel free to ask about gameplay and rules as everyone is super helpful.... read more

I first walked into this store with some friends about two years ago, and was thrilled to find a games store with the kind of selection they carry. However, I forgot the name, the address, and ended up wondering if I'd somehow made up the place. A few months ago, my girlfriend was getting her nails done across the street, and I stumbled back in. Knew I'd found the right place as soon as I walked in the door. Friendly staff, great selection, even politely gave me a bookmark with the address so I'd remember their address. read more

very nice store. Large collections of games, to either play there or to buy and play at home. Haven't played there, but seems to be a chill place. Will go to one of the biweekly painting sessions soon. Owner is a friendly enthusiast, easy to talk to and full of info. ;) read more

What a cool place. I went in looking for a particular board game that I had already been driving all over town trying to find (I like to support brick and mortar establishments) and I could not have been more impressed. They have a massive wall of board games. Not only did they have the game I was looking for, but nearly all the versions and expansions too. I will say, it does cater towards strategy type games. I did not see a large selection of party games. There is also a wall of games (probably 60+ boxes) that are free to play in the store. So if you want to demo a game before you buy it, just grab a table and start playing. Awesome. My experience then got bumped up when I was approached the manager (Badger I think his name was), He epitomized what customer service should be. He sought me out to help find what I was looking for, told me he could order any thing I couldn't find and to let him know if there was anything I needed. I've never quite understood why people play games inside game stores. Why not just go to someone's house. None the less, there is no change if you want to use the store to play games. All they ask is to buy something: snacks, drinks, etc. They also have big screen TV. However, nothing was playing on it. Not sure if it works or what it used for, This place is just games. I was told they have sister comic book shop called Illusive Comics and Games. Final note: Their prices are not inexpensive. I paid $180 for what I could have gotten for $100 through Amazon. Support your local brick and mortar establishments. read more

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The workers here are very nice and they seem to know about every single board game that they actually sell. It's nice that they also stay open very late. They have opened games that you can play with and even have a system where you can "rent" the board games and take them home to try out. My only suggestion is to get better ventilation or place an abundant amount of air fresheners. If people are staying in the store for hours, there is a very distinct smell that comes from it. read more

Can you suggest that your employees shower and use some sort of deodorant. K- thanks! Update: after repeated messages from "Anna" questioning me rather than reflecting upon her staff, let me make it very clear that is was a staff member who had pungent body odor and could have used a breath mint. Unless you allow gamers behind the counter, access to the POS station and assisting other customers, it was a staff member. Jeez. How hard is it to be aware of your personal funk? read more

This is a cool place. They've got some relatively new business models on the gaming store. So they rent tables here and also rent a private room in the back. Prices on both are ok, I personally feel a tad bit pricey but if you split the cost among your group it's totally affordable. But what I found the coolest thing, is that they have a library of board games in which you can also rent! Very reasonably priced. read more

Board games = love, so adventures at friendly local game stores are like trips to the mothership for me. Alright, first things first-- yes, if you buy games online from retailers like Amazon or the like, you will probably get a much better deal. But there's something warm and fuzzy about supporting FLGS. I stopped by Isle of Gamers after calling around to a bunch of FLGS searching for a few games. In particular, I was looking for Pandemic Legacy Season 2 (and Season 1 and Codenames Duet, both of which no FLGS in the area seem to carrying. Sadface.) When I walked in to Isle of Gamers, the place was packed! I thought that maybe there was some sort of tournament or something going on, but nope. There were just a bunch of friends and families playing boardgames together. THIS is why FLGS are so awesome! Isle of Gamers is great because they have a rather extensive selection of games available for you to test out and play in store. The selection of games available at Isle of Gamers is pretty good, though if you're looking for a particular game, I would call ahead of time to make sure they have it. I don't know if they have more copies in the back, but it seemed that for most of the games they were carrying, they only had one or two copies. I had picked out a copy of Pandemic Legacy Season 2 and was checking to see how much it would cost on Amazon when I was approached by one of the staff members. He was super friendly and helpful and had a lot of good suggestions for games that I might enjoy. Another reason why I like FLGS so much is because it's really nice to talk to people who are passionate about board games and really know what they're talking about. If I had bought my game from Amazon, it would have been $25 cheaper than what I paid for it at Isle of Gamers, which makes my wallet freak out a little bit. I probably would have just gone ahead and ordered from Amazon if it weren't for the staff member who came and talked to me about the game. There is a loyalty card though that helps to offset this somewhat. For ever $10 that you spend (before tax), you get a stamp, and once you've filled up your stamp card, you get $10 off your next purchase. One last comment, the place does smell of BO, which was kind of a turnoff, but perhaps this can be remedied in some way? tl;dr: Great friendly local board game store with very knowledgeable and helpful staff. If you're not sure about a game, they also have a good selection of "tester" games that you can try out and play in store. read more

You have to check this place out if you like board games!! You can come play your own games, they have a library to play and also buy new board games! The guys at behind the counter are so very helpful, they will go to great lengths to explain what the games are and what game would be perfectly suited for you. And the best part- you can rent the games tooo! Super fun! I always feel like a little kid when I come here :D read more

Awesome place and extremely welcoming! We walked in on a Sunday afternoon around 2PM and was instantly greeted by the guy at the cashier. He asked what he could do for us and when I asked if we could just play some board games, his face lit up with a smile and he got us situated at a table and said we could play any games we wanted that was on the back wall. The game selection was frikken magnificent. The seven of us ended up staying for a few hours playing various games and ended up having a blast playing Bang. All the while there are tournaments going on all around us. If you've got a hankering for some games, definitely give this place a look see. read more

New Illusive Comics & Games - Hobby Shops Near Me - Santa Clara, California

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The perfect place to sit down with your friends and play a game. The staff members are wonderful and very helpful and friendly. Every week I come here with my friends to enjoy a game of dungeons and dragons and they even sell snacks which is very necessary for any tabletop rpg. They have an abundance of games, dice, cards, and campaign guides. Whatever game you're into, they have it. Looking for a new game? The staff will be happy to help. They have a private pirate ship themed room you can book to play a game and it has props and chalk boards. After playing here for about 6 months now I can safely say it's my favorite game store in my area. It's definitely worth checking out and scheduling sessions here. Everyone comes here to have fun and it shows. Nothing but good vibes here! read more

Awesome board game shop. It smelled like BO, but we were able to find an awesome game called Dead of Winter due to a recommendation from the employee there. :) read more

I'm super new to the area and decided to check this place out, boy was I glad I did! Allison was super nice and knowledgeable, she made some great suggestions. I'll definitely be returning and recommending this place to my friends. read more

Stopped by this lil' shop after eating at Paik's Noodles. Super helpful staff member and a lot of interesting games around. There were so many groups of people playing some intense games. I wish I got to join! read more

Service was really great. Was in a mood to browse my little friend was with me so I ended up purchasing an item. Standard prices on collectible cards and such. All board games you can think of. Had Adventure time munchkin set, cards against humanity, monopoly, various chess sets from traveling to professional ones that clubs use, various sci-fi, fantasy games and so much more! You can also rent games here. Oh yes, NO COMICBOOKS! You will have to go across the street for that to Illusion Comics which I kind of like now that I think about it so they don't compete against each other. Thank you Ian for the amazing service and treating my friend very well :). For a Sunday night 15/20 maybe tables were full. Good place to have fun. Didn't have much time but it did have a very personal vibe to it. Even all the wall and carpet colors were awesome! read more

AMAZING STAFF SO HELPFUL. I was recommended games to play from Nic. Had a great time! Please support them while you play their demos. DEFINITELY WORTH COMING read more

One of the best board game and card game store in the South Bay. Lots of space lots of choices and s library for just chilling and playing games. read more

Great staff! Don helped me pick out a very nice lol Pokémon set for my cousin :) Thanks!

My beautiful girlfriend had to file taxes next door at H&R block. Instead of waiting patiently like a good boyfriend would, I spent my time here. I was never into board games and never thought I would be. Unfortunately I met Ian. He was so nice, I broke my stone cold face and said "I'm not into this stuff, but please try to sell me something". Feeling like a Pikachu to his Ash, the tour and recommendations ended. There were two games he had recommended that sparked my interest 'Mysterium' and 'Smallworld'. Judging by Ian's smile, I probably said "I guess 'Mysterium' and 'Smallworld' sounds cool." Loud enough for him to hear. So I bought them. Saying to myself "Ian, these better be good!". Then he replied "you will love these " .... I spoke out again ... After a few rounds on each game, I fell in love. First time in a long time I had my TV off and my phone down. Who knew a board game would do that. I went back. There he was again ... Smiling ... He probably knew I enjoyed them ... Then again , he probably doesn't remember me. So I ask again to recommend some more games. He does so gladly. My girlfriend now is waiting for me. But unlike me, she waited patiently. Today I walked out with 'Formula D', 'Avalon' and 'one night ultimate werewolf's. And as I'm walking out there he goes again smiling as if he knows ive bought the games perfectly suited for me. All in all, wether you enjoy boardgames or want to step into that world cause all the cool kids are doing it, there ain't no better place than this one. (Don't hold me to it, never went anywhere else but this place is awesome nonetheless). And who better to help you than Ian?! Hope this story helps you in searching for a great game store. You wont be disappointed. P.S. in the beginning I said "unfortunately" met Ian because the dude got me all hooked in the board games. Ian is a super nice guy! He also reminds me of the dude in the "Try guys" in BuzzFeed. read more

Santa Clara actually has one of the nicest problems if you are a gamer - having too many stores nearby. Game Kastle, Channel Fireball, Isle of Gamers, and if you are willing to drive a bit further Legends and Black Cat. Oh, and let's not forget the parent store Illusive Comics. So what makes Isle of Gamers standout? Simply put - Air Conditioner. Though the staff and ease are also high marks. Game Kastle definitely has the selection advantage of the 3 and technically have 3 gaming rooms, but the air conditioned one is pay only, and you may have to fight for a spot in the other two rooms. Channel Fireball really only caters Magic and Force of Will, and if you are actually a paying customer and not there for a tournament, you are treated like second class. If you want something mainstream and want to get in and out, Isle of Gamer is your best bet. They do host tournaments, but they don't become the main thing like CF. They also have a lot of casual events between Magic variations like Tiny Leaders, to a few dedicated DnD tables, all while larger events are going on. Though be warned that large Magic events will steal the show, but again you can still make a purchase if that is why you showed up. The staff is nice, and while there are some complaints of cliquishness (as opposed to any other store?) the are usually welcoming if you have something to say. Considering the ridiculous heat in South Bay over the past few weekends, Isle of Gamers has been a refuge. Thank you. read more

I love this place for the selection and friendly staff! They always know what they have on hand and can refer you to their other store if they don't! The selection here is extensive and they probably have every board game you can think of (unless they're sold out) This also looks like a nice play space to play games since they have a lot of tables as well. Definitely my favorite board game shop along El Camino! read more

I really like this place, I've been here a few times to play games with a Meetup group. There are a LOT of games here, and there are quite a few tables too. A lot of games are available to try, and the people who work here are super friendly! They come by and suggest games and see how we're doing. It's a lot of fun, would recommend! read more