Matrix Cards and Games

Matrix Cards and Games is a game store at 1185 Hilltop Dr in Redding, California, spread across three storefronts and carrying more than 250,000 items. It is the longest-standing game store in Redding, and it covers a lot more than cards: miniatures, paints, board games, tabletop RPG books, dice and Gunpla all share the floor with the trading card stock. It suits players who want a full calendar of organized play, collectors who want to sell as well as buy, and anyone who wants to browse several hobbies in one stop.

What's on the shelves

The card selection covers Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece Card Game, Disney Lorcana and Star Wars: Unlimited. New releases and preorders are stocked, and cards the store doesn't have on hand can be ordered.

Beyond cards, the store carries over a thousand different miniatures, suited to tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons and to Warhammer, along with more than 1,000 paints. The board game section runs from classic family titles to euro games, puzzle games and newer strategy games. The Gunpla section is the largest north of Sacramento and still growing. Dice sets in a range of shapes, sizes and colors and a shelf of tabletop RPG rulebooks, guides and related novels round it out.

Buying and selling

The store buys used and new trading cards, including Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Disney Lorcana, as well as sports singles for top players. Quotes are given on request. Every dollar spent on purchases earns loyalty credits that can be applied to later product purchases.

Weekly play

The store runs events seven nights a week. The one recurring slot that is fixed on the weekly schedule is Lorcana on Sundays.

Midweek nights cover far more ground than the table shows, including Pokémon League, Pokémon Gym Leader Challenge, Friday Night Magic, Tabletop RPG nights, board game nights, Warhammer 40k, One Piece TCG locals, Riftbound locals and Grand Archive locals.

Organized play and events

Officially Sanctioned Events are hosted here, and the confirmed programs are Pokémon League, the Pokémon Gym Leader Challenge, Disney Lorcana and Star Wars Unlimited. Star Wars Unlimited play includes a Saturday series called Twin Suns Saturdays.

The late-October calendar shows how wide the schedule runs. It includes a Magic: The Gathering Reality Fracture Two-Headed Giant prerelease and a Reality Fracture Sealed Friday Night Magic, a Yu-Gi-Oh! Beyond the Brave premiere, a Star Wars Unlimited Home-Worlds prerelease, Pokémon GO and Pokémon VGC October League Challenges, and Beyblade locals. Miniatures players get a Sunday afternoon block for Warhammer, Warmachine and BattleTech, plus a Warhammer 40k round-robin tournament on Saturdays. Dungeons & Dragons runs through the Matrix Adventure League, with Pathfinder and Daggerheart nights as well, and miniature painting sessions are held on Sundays.

Space and amenities

The game rooms and an open gaming area are free to use, with no extra charge for any of the store's amenities. Some events, including the Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder nights and the Saturday Warhammer tournament, are held in the store's additional storefront spaces.

Hours and getting there

The store is at 1185 Hilltop Dr, Redding, CA 96003.

The local scene

Two other Redding game stores sit close by: Caption Comics about a mile away and Quarter Master Games about 1.4 miles away. Redding RC & Hobby is roughly 6 miles out, and Average Ape Comics and Games in Anderson is about 10 miles away.