Game Empire

Game Empire is a San Diego game store at 5037 Shawline St, in the Clairemont area of Central San Diego. It began as a stall at the San Diego Swap Meet in the early 1990s and has run as a full retail store since 1994. It suits tabletop players more than pure card shoppers: the shelves cover about 1000 games across board games, miniatures, role playing and collectible card games, with a stock of single cards for Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering players.

What's on the shelves

The store carries about 1000 games spread across board, collectible card, deck building, miniatures and role playing categories. Role playing shelves include Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder. Miniatures lines include Warhammer 40K, Warhammer Fantasy, HeroClix, Warmachine, Hordes, Star Trek and X-Wing. Classic games such as chess, along with dice, puzzles, accessories and hobby supplies, fill out the floor.

For card players, the store keeps a collection of single cards, and Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering are the card games carried. A separate trading service lets customers trade, sell and buy cards.

The store has long catered to wargamers, building custom model terrain pieces and offering miniature painting tips. Staff also teach customers how to play, a practice that goes back to the store's first days.

Events and play

Game Empire has a long record of hosting tournaments and leagues, and it has held some of the largest gaming tournaments in San Diego. The event schedule covers 40K, Apocalypse, Dungeons & Dragons, board game night, HeroClix, a historical society group, Magic, Pokémon, Warmachine and X-Wing. Specific days, times and entry fees for those events are not set out here, so a player aiming at one night should call ahead.

Hours and getting there

The store closes earlier on Wednesday and Thursday and keeps a short Sunday, so weeknight and weekend evening players should plan around the 9 PM and 5 PM closings.

History

The business started in the early 1990s with a vendor stall at the San Diego Swap Meet, where its knowledge of game rules built a loyal following. Weekend tournaments and teaching sessions grew popular enough to fill a local garage. The first retail store opened in 1994 in Mission Valley with an attached 2000 square foot game room for tournaments and events. In 2002 the business moved to a larger location in Clairemont, where it remains.

The local scene

Several other shops sit within about a mile: Discount Hobby Warehouse and Gamesync Gaming Center, each half a mile away, Comickaze Comics and Pop Culture Store at 0.6 miles, Collectors Cafe at 0.7 miles and Southern California Comics at 1 mile. For a larger show, San Diego TCG Con is 8.3 miles away, with its next date on November 21, 2026.