One Up TCG

Eight different TCGs share the counter at One Up TCG, a 14th Street mainstay where Tuscaloosa players hunt Pokemon singles and play until midnight.

One Up TCG sits on 14th Street a few blocks off the University of Alabama campus, and its hours tell you most of what you need to know about who shops there. The doors stay open until midnight on Friday and Saturday and until 10PM the rest of the week. That is a schedule built for students and second-shift workers rather than a nine-to-five retail crowd, and it makes this Tuscaloosa card shop one of the few places in West Alabama where you can crack a pack at 11PM on a Saturday.

The counter runs eight separate trading card games. Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering anchor the room, with Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece, Digimon, Flesh and Blood, Star Wars Unlimited and Union Arena filling out the rest. Sealed product and singles both live here, alongside sleeves, deck boxes, playmats and the usual supply wall. Anyone hunting Pokemon cards in Tuscaloosa will find sealed booster boxes and loose singles side by side, and the shop keeps a rotating spread of pop figures, plush and anime merchandise for people shopping for something other than cardboard.

Pricing draws the sharpest split in the shop's 4.3-star Google profile. A reviewer who came through in October 2025 found MTG cards and sleeves at MSRP and called the Pokemon shelf adequately priced, while an earlier reviewer complained about markups above MSRP. Worth knowing before you walk in with a specific number in your head, and worth checking the case yourself, since stock and pricing move week to week.

On timing: nothing opens before noon, and Sunday does not start until 2PM, so this is an afternoon-and-evening stop. The late Friday and Saturday closes are the best window if you want table time instead of a quick grab-and-go. Parking is street-side in a busy student corridor, which makes weekday afternoons considerably easier than football Saturdays.

Practical details: One Up TCG is at 506 14th Street, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401, and the store line is (205) 248-2173. They also run an online storefront if you would rather scan inventory before driving over.