Accidentally Cool Games

Accidentally Cool Games is a local game store at 407 Algoma St NW in Bemidji, Minnesota, that carries trading card games alongside tabletop wargames, board games and role-playing games. It has been in business since 2010 and runs in-store play events. The store suits Magic players and Pokémon collectors, and also anyone who wants a Warhammer army, a board game night or a set of dice from the same counter.

What's on the shelves

Seven card games are stocked: Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece Card Game, Disney Lorcana, Digimon Card Game and Star Wars: Unlimited. Magic gets the deepest treatment, with booster boxes, bundles and toolkits, booster packs, Commander, Brawl and Challenger decks, Secret Lairs and specialty games, plus a catalog of Magic singles. Pokémon stock runs from booster boxes and packs to Elite Trainer Boxes, preconstructed decks, tins and collections, with accessories alongside. Yu-Gi-Oh! is carried as sealed product. Recent Magic sets on the shelf include Tarkir: Dragonstorm, Foundations, Duskmourn: House of Horror, Bloomburrow and Outlaws of Thunder Junction, and a Star Trek set is set for presale.

The store buys Magic cards through a buylist, so players with a collection to move have a way to do it.

Wargaming is a real strength. The store stocks Games Workshop lines including Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, Kill Team, Warcry and Warhammer Underworlds, plus paints, terrain and wargaming mats. Games Workshop preorders are taken. The Warhammer 40,000 trade range is always 15% off. BattleTech and StarCraft inventory is also carried.

Beyond cards and minis, the shelves hold:

• Board games, including a selection of BoardGameGeek Top 100 titles and categories for family, party, strategy, cooperative and solo play
• Dungeons & Dragons 2024 products, Pathfinder, and unpainted miniatures for role-playing
• Dice sets, dice bags, trays and cases
• Card supplies: binders, sleeves from brands such as Dragon Shield, deck boxes, playmats and playmat tubes

Events and in-store play

The store hosts in-store play in its event space, with a schedule that includes incoming releases and holiday reminders. Players can submit a deck list ahead of time. Prerelease kits for Magic sets are sold for local pick-up and purchase only, as are some Magic booster products, so those are things to buy in person.

Store policies

Purchases can be returned within 30 days if the item is unused, in its original packaging and accompanied by a receipt. Only regular-priced items can be refunded, and sale items cannot. The store accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Shop Pay. A member rewards program and gift cards are available.

Hours and getting there

The store is at 407 Algoma St NW in Bemidji.

The local scene

Bemidji has other card options. Roy's Comics & Games and a Baseball Card World location are each about 2.2 miles away, and a second Baseball Card World is about 6.3 miles out. Collectors working across the area can pair a visit here with those stops, especially for sports cards and comics, which are not this store's focus.