Card Castle Games

Magic: The Gathering pre-releases, tournaments and a clean play area give Card Castle Games its niche among Columbus card shops, with board games on the side.

Card Castle Games works as two stores in one: a board-game shop with a notable selection on the shelves, and a Magic: The Gathering stronghold with room to sit and play. The Bethel Road location in 43214 is easy to reach from the north side, and reviewers keep pointing out how clean the store is, bathrooms included, which is not something every game store can claim.

Magic is the draw for most card players. Customers talk about a good in-store selection of singles, and one review describes the shop's pre-release event on a Saturday afternoon, praising the associate running it. Tournaments are mentioned as a regular part of the schedule, so a Magic player new to town can plan on finding a game. If you are looking for MTG cards Columbus players can trade into, this is a solid stop.

The store is honest about its range. Lorcana and Pokemon cards are on the shelves, but one regular notes that you should not expect to find everything there for those games, which makes this more of a Magic and tabletop destination than a Pokemon vault. Another customer says they keep selling cards here after other shops told them their collection was worth nothing, and appreciates being given straight answers instead of lowball offers when they do not know a card's value.

On the board-game side, there is a good spread, and occasional discounts show up. Visitors mention seeing titles they rarely come across elsewhere. The play area is a plus if you want to try a game before buying or run a pickup session with friends.

Hours are generous by card-shop standards. Google lists Monday through Saturday from 11AM to 10PM, with Sunday running noon to 6PM, so evening events are easy to work into the week. Find the shop at 803 Bethel Rd in Columbus, or check cardcastlegames.com before a trip to see what is coming up.