Strategies Games & Hobbies

Super friendly staff, they knew the rules of the games I was asking about. That was pretty impressive. Great service from passionate guys. I checked prices online and it was interesting to read about how someone said on here that Amazon was cheaper. Definitely not the case at the moment. Do your research. There is one cheaper place in Vancouver but more of an online shop.
I found what I needed, I left happy and I will be back.

Gaming every weekend, great selection (happy to order anything they don’t have), really friendly and helpful staff, and great location! Can’t say anything bad about the place!

My husband and I are new parents, so I was hoping to get some games for the many nights we stay in. I wanted to support a small business instead of shopping on Amazon, so I went to Strategies. The guy was very helpful in suggesting games and I ended up spending almost $ 100 in his store. Unfortunately the version of Trivial Pursuit he suggested was not at all what I expected and the questions were aimed at teenagers. My husband and I played it once and were done in 15 minutes. I went back to try to exchange the game less than 24 hours later.
It was in pristine condition but he refused to exchange it, saying he could not resell it without the plastic wrap. This is bull. He could easily knock $ 5 dollars off the price and someone would buy it. Anyways for $ 5 he lost me as a customer. I also found out the game is $ 13 on Amazon and he charges $ 30, so yeah. I guess I should have shopped online. You might want to do the same to save money. Unless you like to pay a lot more for games in the name of «good» customer service.

Strategies is an awesome shop on Main Street. I’ve been in several times and even if they don’t have what I’m looking for, the staff have been helpful, polite, and informative.
I sometimes feel sensory overload in games shops – all the logos, pictures, writing trying to catch your attention. While that is also the case in Strategies, the staff are really helpful and the store is clean and organized.
I love playing games, but there is so much choice and so many minute preferences that I end up feeling overwhelmed by choice. So having someone who knows about the different games, the type of play, the appropriate age, etc. Sure, you could buy the games online cheaper, but you wouldn’t get any of the service or convenience of having a local bricks-​and-​mortar store.

Love this place. Big selection of both classic/​mainstream games (Scrabble, Taboo, etc) along with tons of RPG/​tabletop and accessories. Staff is friendly and helpful and can give knowledgeable advice. Prices are on the higher end, but I’m willing to pay a premium for the service and convenience of a local brick & mortar store.

It’s nice having such a fantastic boards game store right in this neighborhood! The staff are always super friendly, and always helpful in suggestions and locating games if I can’t find them. Any time I’ve asked if they could order something in, it hasn’t been a problem. A bit pricy though,

great selection and a great locally owned store!

Walk in with a Purpose Review.
Strategies for me is a love hate relationship. I love the selection they have, the knowledgeable friendly staff, the layout of the store, the location, and they quantity of their stock. What I hate about Strategies is that their prices for everything is off the charts!
I’m an avid hobbyist and boardgamer, meaning I play and own a ton of board games, I also invest a lot into dice, tabletop RPGs, and starting to get into wargaming. Being into all these things means that I buy a LOT of crap. and buying so much stuff means that I usually have a great idea of what the cheapest prices are along with where I can most likely find them. Since Strategies opened, they have been by far the most expensive games store I’ve found, both comparing to their online competitors and other brick and mortar stores in Greater Vancouver. Usually this isn’t a problem for me, because being such a crazy person, I sometimes tend to be willing to pay a couple bucks more and support the local stores in town, however, I have yet to do that with these guys simply because I feel like I’m paying too much, to the point where I’m getting ripped off. (maybe I just draw a very thin line from «supporting a business» to «hey! you’re stealing my money!»… but who knows)
It is for this reason that I don’t shop here.
However, if 10−20% is something you can live with, then Strategies is a Great place! I stumbled in here a short while ago since I was interested in Wargaming and I came out with enough knowledge to teach everyone around me, and that definitely felt great. The staff is awesome here, the events they host sound pretty good, and random customers I’ve gotten a chance to speak with all seem friendly. If only their prices could drop down a little lower, because everything else is perfect!

They have a large section and a clean store that is pretty well laid out. The staff are friendly and helpful and they have several events a week. But they have about the highest prices in town. Many of the games are right at or a little about MSRP. I’ve bought some Flames of War stuff there because there are a limited numbers of places that sell it and there prices are only a little above standard. However, I don’t think I would buy board games there. I don’t mind paying 5 or 10% above Canadian internet prices, but 20% to 40% above is just too much.

Awesome selection of Euro, Traditional and other Tabletop and Boardgames. Darren and his staff run one of the cleanest, best stocked, friendliest and overall impressive gaming stores I’ve ever seen.
Ask for Darren’s board and card game recommendations if you’re stuck for something new to try. The guy has played more games than I’ve even heard of.

Fantastic staff and great atmosphere

I walked in.
I saw Doctor Who Yahtzee.
(You shake the die in a Tardis)
I was sold.
I’m pretty tickled pink I finally ventured into this place though my wallet will forever rue the decision. That tiny little store across the street that I always thought was a kids toy shop turned out to be another check on the list of geek havens in the hood. They have every tabletop game you could possibly think of — and a sweet selection of a whole bunch you have never heard of.
The store is really well thought out and seems to range from the more common games (Yahtzee to Bananagrams) up front into the still intimidating as heck Warhammer gear in the back. A big ol’ game table in the middle and the novelty sci-​fi edition of every classic game from your wee years and basically — it’s a happy place.
But what really made this short visit stand out was the service. I’m a tabletop newbie and the gent behind the counter was SO awesomely helpful and patient. He pointed me in the direction of a few i’ve been eyeing, gave me the run down on good games to start with, indulged me in my knee jerk MMO tangent and even gave me some story info and history to the big ol’ Warhammer beast. Totally genuine. Totally helpful. Service ninja all around.
They also have open gaming nights ever Friday where you can go down and just play, or get a tutorial on a game that stumps you. There’s a huge selection of games in the back to choose from.
Fan!

This is a good store in many respects — helpful, friendly staff, good layout and presentation, excellent location. Selection is so-​so — some current hot games aren’t even listed on the site (e.g. Summoner Wars as of this writing.) My main reason for a mid-​range rating is that they’re terribly overpriced, even for a brick and mortar store. I understand that they need to make up for their location and store expenses, but charging $ 60 for a game (Small World) that I can get at another brick & mortar store with good service on the skytrain for $ 42 is pretty outrageous.

Good place for the higher-​quality, harder to find games, but they also have classics like scrabble. They know their stuff and host game-​playing events on Fridays @ 6 PM, using the in-​house games, which are some of the more popular choices in the store.
It is also wheelchair and stroller accessible, which a lot of places on Main aren’t.

I agree with Louise G. Five kajillion percent! High five sister!
This place is awesome. Their staff are so helpful and knowledgeable and their selection is fantastic! I just bought Ticket to Ride (European Edition) and am so excited to play it! They also host some pretty cool events here and I’m looking forward to the next one!
It’s always fun to tell the staff what kind of games you like and what new games they think you will enjoy. I was sure glad I did!
Website:

You know how some game places are commercial and overlit and have the same old games and so-​so staff?
You know how some other places are dark and full of geeks and you aren’t sure who the salespeople are but they have tonnes of great stuff in giant unorganized piles ???
Well Strategies isn’t either of those places… they are the perfect combination of everything you could want in a game store. Amazing selection of games; children’s, adults, board, card, international, expansion packs. Figurines, collector items, it goes on and on. AND a knowledgable, friendly, relaxed staff to help you…
So much fun packed into the shelves it would take a lifetime to enjoy them all. They even have my favourite… mah jong… but how many mah jong sets can a person own… I wonder. :D