Aero Hobbies

Friendly staff and a good selection. This place is great if you want to explore their board game library (they have a great selection) or if you are looking for miniatures for your tabletop campaign.
PROS:
— Friendly staff
— Great selection if you don’t know what you want to get and are looking to discover a new board game. They have all kinds of board games for any crowd.
— Free parking
— Really nice people and environment. You can tell that this store has built a really large community that’s open for anyone (some parents bring their kids here to play games for their events).
CONS:
— While they have a great, large selection, which is perfect if you walk into the store without already having a game in mind, they don’t ever seem to have that specific game I came in looking for. And I’m not just talking about obscure games, because they don’t have specific games that are popular.
— The price. I should note that this problem exists with all the other board game shops in the area, so this should not necessarily dissuade you from coming. I still come here to buy games, despite that it’s cheaper for me to get it on Amazon (you can save $ 15 online, including shipping), because I want to support my local game store. However, when they don’t have the specific game I am looking for, they always ask me if I want to order one. I don’t — if I wanted to wait for one to come I would get it online, where it’s cheaper.
All in all, I would say you should definitely check this place out. If you’re looking to play some board games or discover some new ones — this is an amazing place for it. If you have a specific game in mind though, call ahead, because they might not have it.

This is a great local business that has been one of the last true hobby stores around. I love this place and try and support them as much as I can. The staff has always been really helpful and friendly! They will even order stuff for you and keep it on hold!

This is an amazing store! The owner, Keith, is great with customers– same with Shanti.
This store has all the latest strategy board games, as well as all the classic tabletop war games.
They have a gaming section with about 4 tables that people can use to play.
I personally like their selection of older/​harder to find games/​miniatures.

Get your geek on! Aero is perfect. Knowledgable, approachable and super friendly. I look forward to taking my son to one of their D&D Encounters.

It’s a great store with a good selection of games. They have a wide variety of choices. I am not very well versed in Magic, D&D, or Warhammer, but it seems that they have lots of resources for those who are.
My only complaint is the price. They sell everything at retail price, without any kind of discount. Most games that you buy here could be had for $ 20 – 40 cheaper from Amazon or even CoolStuffInc. I almost bought Parhfinder the Adventure Card Game from them for $ 60 but I opted to wait and order it from Amazon for $ 40. In addition, I almost bought Dead of Winter from them for $ 80, I think, maybe even $ 100, but I found it from a shop in Utah that I’m familiar with for $ 60. That didn’t include shipping, but it was still much much cheaper.
That’s a good approximation of my feelings towards Aero Hobbies: great selection, a bit more expensive than I’d like.

For all your tabletop gaming needs aero hobbies has your needs. The manager is a great guy and helped me learn to play axis and allies with my friends. The store has a great community and is a great place to go to make friends!

small but mighty game store. incredible staff. shockingly complete collection for the size. this is a great place to go if you are just getting in to the hobby and need some advice, need more people to game with, need… well, pretty much anything related to gaming.

I used to have friends who owned a gaming shop back on the east coast, and I spent many, many afternoons hanging out there when I was younger. Now I’m a parent and I have a daughter to game with. Fortunately Aero is only blocks away. I haven’t had as much fun in years! The shop is well-​stocked, the staff is friendly and not pushy. The owner once dug through tons of stuff to help me find some old miniature planes I was looking for. And best of all, the shop has let our new group use one of their gaming tables! Support your local game store, they deserve your patronage.

This place is so much fun!
Been 4 or 5 times for various things and each time the staff was happy to answer questions or provide info and seemed enthusiastic about games like you would hope.
They have open tables i know for playing bigger or smaller games in certain days and plenty of obscure of table top/​board games to peak your interest.

My god son sparked an interest in Magic the Gathering and D&D recently. After reading the reviews here I decided to stop in. Keep in mind I have not touched a Magic card or D&D book let alone a d20 in over 15 years. The minute I walked through the door I felt like I was 14 again, after the nostalgia wore off, I was very impressed with the inventory and the service I was provided. I think he was the owner but not sure, either way he answered all my questions as well as giving me great suggestions. The dude knew what he was talking about and was very genuine. As far as pricing goes I think it is fair but I personally support community stores like this rather than going to big box stores. I might save a buck there but I would rather support a store like this. Hopefully my god son sticks with MTG or D&D it would give me a reason to play and be a dork again lol

Pretty much the perfect hobby shop. It’s rare that you find a place such as this that is so devoted to board games, role playing games, and especially miniatures. Sure, they have Magic the Gathering and a plethora of other card games, but their core business is core dorkiness, role playing games, et al.
The staff is very friendly and super knowledgeable. They do a great job of showing off their wares yet inculcating a sense of community amongst gamers. Love this spot, and it’s a must-​go if you’re in LA and are a nerd.

This place provides something less and less stores can ensure and that’s a sense of real community. There’s always something happening and the locals are easy to connect with.
It’s been my store for 2+ years, and has kept the dice rolling strong.

I can’t give anything less than FIVE STARS for Aero Hobbies. This place is Great!!!
I of course found it because of Unilocal.I’ve been searching for a good hobby store nearby. There aren’t really too much of them these days. We visited a few duds before we found this diamond. Hobby town wasn’t too great. and Games Workshop was focused mainly on the game, Warhammer.
This place is just great. There are a ton of board games, card games, all kinds of games here. The prices are good. And they have a lot of the newer games too.
They hold gaming events at the store:
1^st Sundays are Historical Minis Game Day
2^nd Sundays are WarMachine & Hordes as well as Legends of the Old West Days
3^rd Sundays are Star Wars and Star Trek Attack Days
Of course those games are all subject to change. When we were there, they were looking for Dungeon Masters so there might be a Dungeons and Dragons day one of these sundays.
If you’re new to the area, there is a bulletin board near the entrance of the store with people who have posted wanted ads for all kinds of games you could play.
The store is small but there is so much stuff packed into it.
If you’re looking for figures, they have them here… but it’s best if you look for what you want online before heading over. All of their figures are sorted by number and you just have to find it. kind of like a library catalog. From what I remember. the brands they had were:
Bones
War Lord
Chronoscope
Dark Heaven Legends
Pathfinder
You should all ahead to see if they have that figure. and if they don’t they can order it for you.
Parking is street parking… I did see a back entrance but I forgot to ask if there is customer parking back there. Since we went on a Sunday, the meters were free so we didn’t have to worry about parking at all.
I’ll be back!

It’s tough to add to what’s been said, other than «don’t judge a store by its front window!» This place is much more than the storefront indicates and the service is tops. I don’t give five stars often but this place clearly deserves props — Treating people well and knowing your stuff pays.

What a gem! My boyfriend and I have taken to hosting board game nights at our place and needed to up the selection. He googled this place and we came to check it out… whoa. My mind was blown. I was overwhelmed. The walls are literally covered with both well-​known and indie games, as well as game books and more.
Luckily the boy knew what he wanted to get; that meant we barely needed any help, but the guy at the checkout was pretty friendly. There was a group of guys playing a card game I didn’t recognize, but that alone is intriguing and noted for future reference. We’re coming back to buy our next two games pretty soon, and who knows what else we’ll pick up? Stoked!

Aero Hobbies is a local, organic, homespun resource. You can probably buy a lot of their inventory online, but you’d be missing out on community, chit chat, and that ‘game shop’ buzz.
Sure there’s giant megalith stores like Barnes & Noble with sad, watered-​down game sections — but if you buy game products there, all your profit goes to faceless corporate shareholders and our evil secret illuminati rulers.
Put your money where it outta go — local stores, good people, the ‘gaming scene’, etc.
And gamers — bring your movie-​junkie friends in to play ‘easy-​to-​learn’ games like Settlers of Catan, Small World, Dominion, etc. Share the gamer love!
(Did I mention I love this shop???)

I recently got back into board games and I wanted to try out some more indie type ones. This was the only reputable board game store on the west side that I could find on the internet so I went in to check it out.
Keith was working there when I first came in and the guy was ridiculously friendly right off the bat. He was of course a gaming nerd himself and a totally down to earth guy who took no hesitation in showing me and my roommates the open box games they had. He sat us down and showed us how to play some board games, was notably busy with some other customers. So after he gave us a 30 minute intro to one game he left us alone to play and said grab him or holler if we had any questions or were stuck.
Needless to say at the end there was no pressure whatsoever to buy any games. He was just happy to get people involved and show them new stuff. I looked around and noticed many of the games were either similar priced to online or literally only $ 1 or $ 2 more, which is a very small premium to pay for the convenience and friendliness of such a mom and pop store. The laid back no pressure salesmanship led me to purchase 2 games from them this week and can’t wait to go back to hang out as well as show up for one of their Friday night board game nights. The second time I was there a lady was working there and she was just as friendly and knowledgeable, her name escapes me! My apologies.
Highly recommend for the staff alone.

They guys at work want to start a DnD game/​encounter and most of us if not all are total n00bs at the game (You wouldn’t know that though as we are all nerds). Ture, some of the guys also play Magic, but as I ended up being the DM, I wanted to check out what they got. I arrived a bit early and the shop was Closed. Got there an hour early so I went to take care of an errand and came back a few hours later.
When I got back, I couldn’t find any street parking but was lucky enough to find a spot in the back alley lot when I turned the corner. There shop is pretty small, but they did have lots of games, and whatever you are looking for I’m sure you will find here. There is a fairly large gaming area and a gentleman was setting up some game pieces on a table for an upcoming game.
After checking out all the DnD & Pathfinder items they had, I only ended up with a small set of gaming dice as I couldn’t find some of the miniatures I was looking for. They guy behind the counter was really helpful, and said if there was something I was looking for and they didn’t have in the shop that he could order it, and it would be in within a few days.
I really like this shop, and hope to be more of a regular if I didn’t live to far.

There’s very little I could say about Aero Hobbies that would do it justice.
The owner, Keith, is a fairly young guy who REALLY loves games (and it shows).
Tucked away on Santa Monica Blvd, the storefront is fairly unassuming, but once you venture in you’re literally surrounded by wall-​to-​wall games.
Aero doesn’t have the most gaming space around (Probably 4 – 5 tables), but they make up for it by making you feel like you belong there.
Keith is the only game store owner I’ve ever met who treats his customers like personal friends from his own gaming group, and will go to great lengths to help wayward parents find the right gift for their kid, even if it means sending them to a different store.
The leagues are well organized, the local crowd is really mellow, and if I didn’t live on the other side of town this would be my number one jam.
For now I take solace in knowing that it’s just one terrible drive across town away.

This little vignette will tell you everything you need to know about Aero Hobbies.
My first time here, I was looking for a particular D&D module from 15 years ago. I was quickly approached and helped for about 35 minutes, given various suggestions, engaged in a long and varied discussion, and brought about a dozen items I hadn’t originally intended to buy up to the counter. I laid the veritable mountain of books, figurines, hobby paints, and dice on the counter, but the person who’d helped me didn’t come ring me up. Finally feeling my stare, he turned toward me from the computer in the corner and said, «Oh, I don’t actually work here, the owner just told me to watch the store while he got Carl’s Jr.»
This is the kind of place that attracts semi-​professional geeks & nerds, from dads with their timid children, to childless timid adults, to the kinds of dorks that have an overblown self confidence engendered by entire decades spent cloistered among their own ilk. I love it. Their selection is enormous, they’re always happy to special order, and almost too happy to tell you about whatever it is you’d like to know. They have frequent game nights that I’ve never attended and also a sizeable used section with some real gems. If your next encounter involves a multi-​level castle and you’re curious about how to build it, this place is like a mini internet that’s just for those kinds of questions. Except this internet always smells a little like Carl’s Jr.