Black Diamond Games

Awesome place, the owner is really friendly. They host great gaming events, looking forward to the remodel and seeing what the place looks like. Also, great selection of games of all types

Owner thinks he is a business guru just cause he hasn’t ever had any real competition. All it would take to put his store out of business would be ANY other store with the same game space and sales floorpotential where the owner,
a) had real respect for his customers, as in, not talk to them then talk crap about them behind their back
b) didn’t actually tell spending customers that he just wished they played the games that made him more money
c) didn’t let his ego keep getting bigger every time he adds to his blog, just cause the same small group agrees with everything he says.
For everyone posting reviews saying that this is a clean store has a weird idea of clean. Run a white paper towel over their game tables and try not to puke.

Top notch board game store, very friendly staff as well. They are a shining example of how to have a clean organized store, it helps combat the whole dirty, smelly gaming store stigma. This place is clean, well lit, family friendly and they have a pretty loyal gaming community.
If you like gaming check it out for sure.

I had to buy some new upgrades for my computer at frys and saw black diamond games and figured I would pop in and buy a new game. I have worked retail for some time and I never understood not saying hi to someone new walking into your store. several «regulars» walked in after me and were greeted. I really did want to buy a new game but after looking around for a bit it was clear that no one really wanted to help. I’m not going one star cause it my only experience here and maybe its not always this bad.

I received awesome customer service here! I called once to see if the store carried the game I wanted, they did, which was a huge plus because no one else in town sells the game. The woman I spoke with was very pleasant and answered all my questions. I called again the next day for help finding the store and spoke with Sean. Again, all my questions were answered in a very pleasant, positive manner. When I came in to buy the exclusive game, Sean was a great help and suggested other cool games. I highly recommend this store for all of your gaming needs!

This place is huge and awesome! Massive selection and really helpful employees too, Sean was exceptionally friendly and knowledgeable and helped me find a new game called «dead of winter» that looks like it will be a blast.

They carry almost everything you can think of in terms of board games, card games, or tabletop games. I stopped by for a peek to see if they have Pokemon cards, and they do! They even carry box sets if you’re willing to drop some big bucks. They also have some game nights if your down for some social interaction.

This place is a gem for board games. Hubby and I went here to get a two player extension for the Catan base game. They have all kinds of board games old and new and we really regretted not finding this shop earlier given our love for board games. If you ever lose some game parts or coins you might be able to get them here. They have fancy game parts like dice with different designs. The guy at the billing counter here was very well informed about the games here and was quick to help with our questions. We got the stuff we were looking for and were really glad to discover this place. There is plenty of parking space because this shop is in a complex. Will go here again and again.

There are so many board games here! Plus, one of the few board game shops I visited where they have a discount section (what, board games, discounted?). Also the first board game where they have miniature TV screens featuring Tabletop, the web series on board games hosted by yours truly, Wil Wheaton (what a smart way to advertise board games)! I could just stand there and watch that show for hours.
If you’re ever in the area and are into board games, definitely check this place out!

We were looking for some expansions for Catan, and I was initially skeptical about the place. Once you enter the store though, I realized I couldn’t have been more wrong. They have every board game you can think of, from classic wooden chess, to all the expansions of Catan.(though admittedly they were light on seafarers).The store reps were super helpful, and actually knew about the games. Highly recommeneded :)

Unlike most game stores I have experienced, the store is clean, well-​organized and bright. I have politely received quality help when I have looked for it, but sometimes no one proactively reaches out (not a big deal for me since I usually know what I want). I usually go for RPGs and board games and only played there once (with no issues), so others’ experience may vary. However, I find it a great place and am comfortable bringing the family.

Echoing the previous sentiment of other reviewers. Charging 5 dollars for use of a gaming room is pretentious and is no way to encourage people to come to your store, game and make purchases. You leech people of money for just walking in.
Sure they have a good stock on product but with little to no product knowledge, it may as well just exist on a screen on say Amazon. If you don’t care to try and sell the games you stock then you won’t make any money.
The female employees are the only ones with any respect and genuinely care about making the customer happy. The male employees and the «owner» are pretty much as rude as any gamer who is between 20 to 35 years old can be. Have had friends been made to feel worthless because they made a call to enquire about the stock of certain items and the count and possible content of their buy list. I understand it can be a big list but there are certain details you can share about it and still keep the phone call short. Tell us how many items are on your buy list. If it’s under a certain number then maybe offer up the details of what they are. You claim it takes 50+ hours to run a game store. Sure, 50 hours divided amongst a half dozen to a dozen people and your looking at a lot of available man hours to divide to your businesses needs. You’d think a minute could be spared for courtesy.
The disdain from the staff that other reviewers have mentioned can be matched in my experiences. Went in a few times to peruse their common and uncommon boxes and get this scoffing response from the staff behind the counter when I go to make a purchase. As if to say that I’m not possibly worth the time it’s taking to ring up. The rabble that occupies the back room most of the time makes it generally impossible to bring small children like my little sister into the store. F bombs and derogatory remarks about women and homosexuals make it especially awkward.
Have over heard the owner outright disrespect the Magic players and the table top players. He even makes it clear in his blog that he does not like Magic. Here’s a tip, if it’s the bread and butter of your store, then maybe you should get on the train with everyone else and stop hating. Otherwise, be more accepting to other gamers.
Tried to write a genuine review on Facebook and the owner took it as an opportunity to argue with me and blame me for his businesses bad customer service. Had some people who, I’m guessing, are his friends call me out for being a troll. Even though in my review valid points were raised. It seems they are incapable of receiving and understanding criticism. Looks like I will be making the trip to Game Kastle in Fremont for major purchases and to Equilibrium for non-​magic gaming, better alternatives as well are House of Games in Danville and Eudemonia in Berkeley. At least they can attend their customers with some respect.
Overall, I expect the owner will see this and ultimately have very negative things to say about this review and myself. Probably citing me as a bad gamer and telling me that he’s glad that I won’t return to his store. He tried to «fire» me from the store over facebook even though I hadn’t been in the store for more than a year. Just shows you how petty he is willing to behave.

This review is mostly for the MTG events they run. I’ve attended two FNM events here. Unfortunately, I got really turned off to the place by the way in which the event is run. I have some minor gripes about the length of time it takes them not only to get an event underway, but also the «announcements» they do before they officially allow the event to start. My big issue was how long I’m having to get held at the store after the event is over. Firstly, they refuse to distribute prizes until each and every person is done playing. There’s no good reason for this. If they have one, rest assured it’s not good enough. My time is valuable. Secondly, I shouldn’t be coerced into cleaning up their store for them. I can understand them wanting people to pick up their trash when they’re done (which I always DO) and of course it’s fine to ask people to help out, but threateningly delaying the dispersal of prizes until all their trash is picked up and all their chairs are put away, by the people that come there to spend money to use the facilities, is unacceptable. Way to make me feel like a little kid in day care who has to put his toys away before I can go to recess. I figured maybe the individual running it was responsible for the childish rules, but on my second trip it was all run the same way by someone else, so this is apparently Black Diamond doctrine. I actually let them keep my prizes that time and left.
I would like to give this place a 1, but I feel that there are some redeeming aspects of it. It’s a clean store and looks nice inside. The girl that runs the register is nice. They have a big collection of merchandise. The location is pretty primo for Concord.
If you’re looking for a friendlier environment to play in that’s close by, check out Equilibrium Games down off Clayton. The place is WAY more laid back and, as a result, more fun.

I used to make the trip to this store from the north bay to shop their used rpg book section. I would always buy large stacks of material and find deals that made the trip worth it. Fair prices on used material as it should be in a retail store front. This last experience however was an eye opener. I go in and start flipping through the books and notice WOW the prices were top dollar if not over priced! I asked the cashier about it and he said they base the used prices on ebay and amazon prices. Seriously??? Your store is NOT ebay or amazon. If I wanted to pay those prices then I would just stay home and shop online. Which is what I guess I will do. And retail stores wonder why they are closing because of net sales. Well there ya go.

Cool place. The board game night is filled with sweaty guys throwing back Pepsis and playing Warhammer 40 000 (to be expected) and other mostly guys playing board games. Fun bunch if you can break into a group.
I went for one Friday Night Magic and they were great. No one flipped out when I forgot a rule or didn’t do something perfect. I had a great time losing!
Besides that, the place is clean and has plenty of space. Check it out!

This store is great! So many games and the staff is always happy to help. The prices are reasonable and the store is very organized.

Got cards against humanity expansions and the latest Archer game. Good selection! I’m a fan!

You could not do a better job of running a game store. Black Diamond Games is one of the most professionally run, friendly, well-​stocked game stores I have ever been in. Very much a gaming store «done right», IMO. Well lit, no odd smells, friendly knowledgeable staff. The back is set up for Open Gaming, and a nice selection of demo’s and Organized Play keeps it busy. I’ll definitely be back.

They have Cards Against Humanity here at reasonable prices. Don’t give those dirty price gougers on Amazon $ 149.99 when you can get it here for $ 30. Yes, there’s a bit of a mark up, but it’s not, you know, a 600% markup. Assholes.
But yeah! This place is great. They have all of the popular tabletop games and their respective expansions, even the ones no one plays (Traders and Barbarians? Really?)! If you’ve ever read about a board game on the internet that you’ve wanted to play with your friends, you’ll find it here.
I really like the way their store is laid out — casual games are in the front, whereas more «hardcore» nerds like myself will find D&D and MTG related crap in the back and towards the sides. So there’s something for everyone here.
Service is friendly, fast, and tolerant of stupid questions (I stood behind a «problem customer» for 10 minutes and was surprised the clerk didn’t just flip out. I would have). They’re also tolerant of good questions too.
We picked up Pandemic and Dominion and got a thumbs up of approval from the clerk. What a cool dude. I’ll be back.

I’ve been to Black Diamond Games about a dozen times now in the last 4 months and I finally am deciding to write a review.
Let me start by saying, I am new to playing MTG (Magic The Gathering) and am pretty fortunate to have a deck builders workshop close to home. I’ve visited 7 other shops in the East Bay during these four months to see what other magic shops are like. And my evaluation is this.
Black Diamond Games, in terms of being a descent MTG Deck building store is as follows,
2^nd best around when it comes to commons and uncommon.
The pricing for these is fair and they are organized by color which makes things pretty nice, but there are stores that go even further and loosely alphabetize the cards by color.
5^th best when it comes to rares and mythic rares,
There is a limited selection of these in their case and they are wildly over priced compared to other local stores.
They seem to always have a wide variety of boxes and sleeves, so BDG is doing good there.
And lastly, I do have to mention their customer service. I’ve gone in the morning, I’ve been there mid day and I’ve been there at night. No one has been rude to me or my companions per say, however there is a lacking of service in regards to customer attentiveness and product knowledge. Every other store I visited in the last 4 months in regards to MTG shops were
1. Super attentive and friendly
&
2. Vastly knowledgeable about their products.
I understand that Black Diamond Games deals in so much more than just magic, but Magic is something they are well known in the area for being an authority figure in, as BDG show cases cards at their front desk, protects and stocks MTG boosters and starter kits behind their counters and hosts weekly MTG games in their back room weekly, I would think it prudent that their staff would be more knowledgeable in regards to this game.
It seems that only the female staff really know anything about MTG and they have been very helpful in answering questions about their boosters, starter kits and have even given advice on how to build decks. I wish the female staff were on duty more often, they are rarely on duty when I visit. With that said, in regards to all of the male staff I have encountered, all they have been good for is explaining how to separate the singles I purchase from commons to uncommon.
To sum things up,
I only continue to go to this store for their common and uncommon selection of MTG cards and because it is by far, the closest store to my home.
But if your looking for even greater selections and great customer service and product knowledge of MTG, I recommend stores in the Castro Valley and Dublin
areas, based on my limited experience to other MTG stores.
Good Luck!