Boardgames - where to buy?

rzaba666

Hi All,

Where do you buy your boardgames? - I mean the modern ones not the Smyth Toys games. I see amazon.co.uk has good choice but some games cannot be shipped to Ireland (I was looking for Abalone). Are there any Irish online stores that will not charge fortune on delivery?

thanks,

Prenderb

Try gamers world on jervis St. I think they are at gamersworlddublin.com or some similar URL.

meeple

I usually buy from amazon but ebay is a good option too, if the seller's got good feedback. Shipping's generally more expensive than on amazon though.

http://toys.shop.ebay.ie/i.html?_nkw=Abalone&_sacat=220&_odkw=Abalone&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

ShooterSF

Prenderb wrote: »

Try gamers world on jervis St. I think they are at gamersworlddublin.com or some similar URL.

99% sure they have Abalone btw. Pricing is pretty reasonable on most games and you get a loyalty card stamped for every 25 quid spend and when you get 10 stamps you get 25 off (I think) a purchase..

Don't think the website really works though and I've emailed them before and never got a reply. For gamers they don't seem to be computer nerds

HivemindXX

rzaba666 wrote: »

I see amazon.co.uk has good choice but some games cannot be shipped to Ireland (I was looking for Abalone). Are there any Irish online stores that will not charge fortune on delivery?

People have already mentioned Gamers World but since you may not be in Dublin mail order might be your only option. If you have problems with amazon.co.uk try amazon.de. They don't have the same peculiar restrications on shipping that the UK version does.

Prenderb

You could always ring them - they do mail order post included for the same price as shop price.

OakeyDokey

TK Maxx have stocked up on the classic board games recently. You could always have a look there.

Mother Duck

Hi there,

Gamer's World have a great selection but a terrible website! You need to go in and have a look...but their prices are really reasonable when you take into account the shipping costs from mainland Europe.

If they don't have what I'm looking from there, you can get stuff amazon and ebay, as mentioned.

www.ludibay.fr and www.iguk.co.uk are also reasonable and have a flat shipping rate for europe...so it works out good if you are ordering a couple of games.

Finally, the mighty boardgamegeek.com have their own marketplace, so if you go to a game listing, then you can see who is selling it. I've gotten some good deals from sellers in Europe and sometimes you see the odd Irish listing up there too, which helps on the delivery.

If you're looking for something in particular, maybe there is somewhere here that you could post? I'm always looking for opportunities to buy, sell and trade!

Cheers

MD

Earthhorse

I've ordered several times from Shire Games in the UK and always been pleased with their service.

Sure, when you order from abroad you are going to have to pay some delivery costs but there's no real way of avoiding that if you can't find the items locally.

Buceph

Gamer's World in Dublin is a great shop. It's close to the Jervis Luas stop, near the Games Workshop store. The owner really keeps his finger on the pulse of gaming, so he always has something you'd like even if you don't particularly have anything in mind going in. He also has a decent selection of the staples for wargames, boardgames, CCGs and RPGs.

I haven't had any response from the website but he is on Facebook and friends have gotten stuff from him that way. Similarly you can get him to deliver stuff from a phone order. I think he has free shipping on some stuff, and on others I've never heard of more than a €3 charge. And he's happy to put stuff into his weekly order from the distributors if he doesn't have it.


There's a game shop in Limerick. I can't remember the name, but I know the owner. He's extremely dedicated to games and works a second job to keep the shop open.


There's also Other Realms in Cork, but I haven't had great experiences with them, and neither have my friends. They're only worth dealing with if they have something on their shelves you want, and even then there isn't a great selection.


There's a couple more shops that have some stuff, but they're not primarily games shops. There's also a couple in the North.

silverhare

Sub city on exchequer St. Dublin 2 has a good selection down the back. Prices are reasonable. They also have a shop in Galway.

Forbidden Planet (also Dublin 2) on the quays may have some games (other than pen and paper RPGs and tabletop miniatures)


Nimble fingers in Stillorgan used to have a semi decent selection, I haven't been out that way in ages so I can't really confirm.

This Jackeen doesn't get out of Dublin much so I can't really comment on game shops in the rest of the country.

n0irin

I'd usually buy in Other Realms, as it's my local gaming shop in Cork - or Gamers World if I happen to be in Dublin.

More often than not, though, I buy games at the various gaming conventions that are run around the country - as most tend to have some selection from the gaming shops around the country, and the bigger ones usually have a few traders so prices are quite competitive - the only catch is that you have to pay for entry into the convention to do so, but it's worth it, and you might even find new people to play your newfound games with.

A convention calendar is available on the Irish Gaming Wiki and that tends to be updated every now and again with conventions - hopefully there might be one local to you which would be convenient if you're not near any other gaming shops.

oeb

n0irin wrote: »

I'd usually buy in Other Realms, as it's my local gaming shop in Cork - or Gamers World if I happen to be in Dublin.

More often than not, though, I buy games at the various gaming conventions that are run around the country - as most tend to have some selection from the gaming shops around the country, and the bigger ones usually have a few traders so prices are quite competitive - the only catch is that you have to pay for entry into the convention to do so, but it's worth it, and you might even find new people to play your newfound games with.

This sums up exactly where, when and how I purchase

ShooterSF

What are these conventions like? I've got that horrific image of American television shows' sci-fi conventions in my head

oeb

ShooterSF wrote: »

What are these conventions like? I've got that horrific image of American television shows' sci-fi conventions in my head

I have not actually played a game in one in years, I just tend to hit the stalls and leave, but depending on what kind of games you like it tends to be very good.

For example, the most recent one, Warpcon (in cork) had alot going on. There were numerous groups playing various RPGs, there was a board gaming room with a shared table of games, just grab a game and find a group to play it with. There also tends to be other stuff like Magic The gathering (and other ccg) tournaments, wargaming tournaments etc. (And lots and lots of traders, ranging from the very reasonable and willing to bargain to the inexplicable table from the english / ni store that always seems to have everything priced at 120% of the value of the rest of the traders.