Guild Forge Games

Great people great atmosphere and even better games stopped in with my son and we had an absolute blast shoutout to the amazing workers there!

Yesterday was our first time going to this shop. We ended up spending the entire day there! Everyone was so kind, friendly, and helpful. It’s an environment that makes you feel like you’ve known each other for years. It felt like I was at a friend’s house. I ended up joining a MTG event I didn’t know much about, but Anthony, Robert, and a few of the players were so incredibly inviting and supportive. They helped me a ton and I had a lot of fun! We played DND later in the evening. Robert helped me make my character sheet and did a fantastic job explaining everything. Wonderful job being a DM! They are also super heavy about supporting small businesses and their local community, which I adore! They had shelves full of items from local artist and small businesses. Totally worth stopping in and having a browse for. The only thing I’m unhappy about is I can’t come more often because I live 3 hours away, lol. If you’re considering going, do it!!

They hosted a DnD introduction class at my local library that went really well. That inspired me to check out their weekly events and see the store in person. My boyfriend and I went to a board game social event today and it was fun! The staff is informative and very nice. The store has a wide range of neat items and I will be looking forward to coming back soon!

Save Vs. Excellent Community Hub. This is the D&D and TTRPG hub you've been hoping for on the east side. They have a core selection of Warhammer, Magic, and Pokemon. Their focus is on community tabletop gaming with a number of reservable tables, a regular schedule of tabletop roleplaying activities, and a vibrant and inclusive community. They have a two tiered membership system that gives you access to a number of benefits. At the higher level they have technology enhanced gaming rooms available to reserve. They also support local artisans, makers, and craftspeople by featuring products appropriate for gaming or similar geekdom.

GFG is honestly one of the most welcoming and all encompassing nerd spaces in the Cleveland/Akron area that I’ve been to and I’m so glad they’ve opened. I had a great time checking out the store and will definitely be back. They offer a variety of merchandise related to Pokémon, MTG, D&D, Warhammer and general nerd paraphernalia. What I found unique about this space is the owner (Anthony) prioritizes supporting local artists wherever he can, and I hadn’t seen that before in the area. Also, I learned he is an Army veteran and so it feels great to support a local small business representing that demographic as well. I was there for the grand opening event in the evening and they had a variety of free RPG games going on for their welcome event. One thing I noted is that one of the games was being GM’d by a female, which was pretty cool to see and not something I’d previously experienced at a game store (though to be fair I’ve only been playing about 5 years, so I don’t have quite of an extensive background as others). Some helpful logistical information if you have “new place” anxiety (like me) and are hesitant to check it out: There is ample parking in both the front and back of the building. The closest parking spots are 5ft or less from the doors. There is a single step up (~6in) to get from pavement to sidewalk at either entrance as well, and the front has wheelchair ramp accessibility up to the sidewalk. It was dark when I left and I noted that both parking lots had lighting and I felt safe in the area walking to my car alone. The seating in the main space is size inclusive (aka no worries about breaking it) with no arms on the chairs. The private room seating also has no arms but I was not comfortable that it could hold my weight as a very large individual. However, I was able to move a chair from the main area seating with no problem. Also their clothing merchandise is size inclusive, I saw up to 5XL with T-shirts and 4xl with hoodies. There are two bathrooms, one wheelchair accessible and they were extremely clean. The private rooms appear to be sound proofed so that could be helpful if you have noise aversions. The downside is you can only reserve those if you’re paying for the higher level membership (forged) but the memberships do seem to come with several other benefits (merch discounts, exclusive events etc) so that might be something to check out if that makes sense for you. They have two vending machines (one for bottled beverages, one with snacks) that take both cash and card. And I witnessed someone getting food delivered from door dash. Overall I’m really excited to come back and spend some time there and can’t wait to see what else they have in store for the future!