Dragon Parlor Games

Dragon Parlor Games is a card and game shop at 1306 N Mullan Rd in Spokane Valley, Washington. It carries Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering alongside Lorcana, Flesh and Blood, Riftbound, Gundam, Heroclix and Warhammer, and it keeps a free playspace open during every open hour. It suits players who want a table to sit at any day of the week, and collectors with a pile of cards to sell.

What's on the shelves

Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon are the core card games, with preorders running across a wider range: Flesh and Blood, Riftbound, Gundam, Lorcana, Heroclix and Warhammer new releases all get their own preorder announcements, and a Star Trek set is open for preorder as well. Singles are sold for collectible card games.

The store also buys. Trade-ins are bid on collections of any size, with a percentage-based bid on every card down to $0.25. Collections should arrive fully de-sleeved, inner sleeves included, out of binders, and sorted into card storage boxes facing the same direction. Those submission boxes are not returned. Bundle boxes or two- or three-row storage boxes are the recommended containers; stacks, zip bags and undivided containers do not work, and the counter can supply boxes and room in the playspace to repack. Separating a small group of likely valuable cards from a large bulk lot gets the small group bid faster, since sifting a big submission takes longer.

Weekly play

The optional entry includes two booster packs of the player's choice, a promo pack goes to every attendee, and a Pokémon professor is on hand to teach newcomers.

Lorcana players have a weekly open play session on Saturday afternoons, where each participant receives two booster packs of their choice from what is in stock. The sessions started as a way to grow the local Lorcana community, with tournaments and prereleases a possibility as it grows.

Organized play and events

Pokémon is the store's most developed organized-play program. League Challenges run monthly as entry-level competitions open to players of all experience levels, and a quarterly step up brings tougher competitors and bigger rewards. Pokémon prerelease tournaments are held quarterly, letting players use cards from an upcoming expansion up to two weeks before its official release. Participation prizes go to every finisher in each of three age divisions, and slots are limited, so players should preregister once an event is announced. A valid Pokémon Trainer ID is required for the weekly perks and for all Championship Series events, and players 13 or younger need to be added as a child on a guardian's account to get one.

Magic runs a Commander League, and sanctioned events including it do not allow proxies. Role-playing game pods must be preregistered for a table and time slot. Miniatures tables are set up with Warhammer 40,000 terrain by default.

Store policies

Preorders and stock requests can be placed at the counter or by text, and no prepayment is accepted for either. Preorders open as soon as a set is announced.

All guests must disarm before entering, and weapons are not allowed in the shop. The code of conduct asks for respect toward the rules, other players, the games, the space, the staff and oneself, and failure to follow a policy can lead to expulsion. Playspace rules are specific:

• Furniture stays where it is; staff can rearrange tables on request.
• Players clean up their trash and tidy their space when leaving.
• No audio of any kind, including phones and video.
• Miniatures terrain stays on its table and is not mixed between tables.
• Table use should stay compact, with walkways clear and extra items stored under the seat or table.

The playspace closes on occasional dates, including June 27.

Hours and getting there

The shop is at 1306 N Mullan Rd, Spokane Valley.

The local scene

Several other card and game stores sit close by in Spokane Valley: Spokane Sports Cards is 0.9 miles away, Pixel & Pack Games is 1.4 miles, The Comic Book Shop is 1.7 miles, DJ's vintage sports cards is 2 miles and The Gamer's Haven is 2.1 miles.