Gamers need a place outside of their normal habitats, in front of a screen or cooped up in someone’s house. Gamers need social situations outside of trash talking online or with friends. Gamers should meet new people. Fortunately, gamers have a friendly, neighborhood game store in Amazing Discoveries.
It’s the kind of place a gamer can put down roots, growing into the community over the years until it’s hard to remember a time when going to the store wasn’t a part of the weekly routine. Non-gamers won’t quite understand the sentiment, but as soon as they’re converted, they will.
From a sales perspective, Amazing Discoveries has a lot to offer. For fans of Magic The Gathering, Amazing Discoveries is the only place worth going in Tucson. The store is always stocked up on new and old sets alike, has a massive collection of singles from all across Magic’s extensive history and takes trade-ins for good, fair prices.
Aside from Magic, Amazing Discoveries also stocks the World of Warcraft trading card game, the Pokémon trading card game and the Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game. What’s even better, for all three games there are weekly tournaments and drafts with a diverse turnout and competitive play.
For fans of more traditional board games, Amazing Discoveries also has a wide variety of board games you’ve probably never heard of. Dungeons and Dragons players are covered too, as the store has a bookshelf of player manuals to help veteran players and newbies alike.
More recently, Amazing Discoveries has expanded into the realm of tabletop, miniature gaming as well. The store has begun carrying popular games like Warhammer,both fantasy and 40k versions, and Warmachine.
The selection of miniatures is still pretty limited, but the space is great for playing — which any miniature gamer knows is the most scarce resource.
Amazing Discoveries is always running competitions too, for every product it offers. Friday Night Magic is a staple that most Magic players will be familiar with, and drafts and tournaments are held multiple times throughout the week for every card game. The store is also wrapping up a Warmachine league and starting up a Warhammer 40k escalation league, perfect for players just getting into the game.
But what’s most special about Amazing Discoveries is the community. The staff is more than willing to point novices in the right direction.
Store-goers are even better, as they are more plentiful and friendly. When employees are busy running the store, there’s always bound to be someone looking for a game — and that means a good learning experience.
While playing is the best way to learn, Amazing Discoveries also offers another great resource in the form of articles written by members of the community. Most, if not all, concern Magic The Gathering, since it’s the store’s most popular game. But every article is a gem and something that can help new players and veterans alike.
Aside from all that, the store has a lot of color to it — literally. The huge space is covered in gaming-related artwork, such as Magic mosaics and giant fantasy creatures. Amazing Discoveries’ big white walls are often being added to, and artists work while the store is open, meaning there’s a chance to catch the works in progress.
Whether or not you’ve played any of the games mentioned, venturing down to Amazing Discoveries won’t ever be a mistake.
BOX INFORMATION
2410 East Broadway Boulevard, 520-320-0338, hours 12-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 12-11 p.m. Friday, 10-8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
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