Portland has so many shops catering to the geeky among us that it feels like you canât throw a D20 without hitting somewhere that sells comics, video games, or board games. (Do I recommend going outside and throwing a D20 in random directions just to see what you hit? Sure! I also recommend shouting âCRITICAL HIT!â if that D20 nails someone in the eye.) You canât go wrong with most of these spots, but a few stand out.
More than any other American city I can think of, Portlandâs blessed with phenomenal comic shopsâhitting Floating World, Bridge City Comics, or Cosmic Monkey Comics is always worth your time. But one of the newer shops in town, Books with Pictures, is unique in that it works hard to be welcoming to everyoneâregardless of age, gender, orientation, or whether or not you have strong opinions about that time Aunt May almost married Doctor Octopus. (MAY! YOU COULD DO SO MUCH BETTER, YOU SWEET, SENILE OLD BIDDY!) Thanks to a successful Kickstarter, Books with Pictures recently moved to a great new spotâthe former Longfellowâs bookstore on Southeast Divisionâand with super-friendly and knowledgeable staff, youâre guaranteed to find something perfect for just about anybody. (Unless youâre looking for a wedding gift for Doc Ock. HE DESERVES NOTHING.)
Just off the main drag of St. Johns, the newish Final Form is a fantastic stop for video games and music, with a focus on retro gamesâyouâll find carts, discs, controllers, and consoles from the NES to the Wii U, and everything in betweenâalong with vinyl youâll be hard-pressed to find anywhere else. (Trying to track down a limited Mondo release, or the soundtrack for Snatcher, Hideo Kojimaâs long-forgotten cyberpunk game? Look no further.) Final Formâs a chill, welcome alternative to shitty corporate game stores, and I have yet to duck in and not walk out with something I didnât know I needed until I saw it.
For games with fewer pixels and more meeples, you canât go wrong with Southeast Fosterâs charming Red Castle Games, which carries everything from super-basic card games to ultra-rare Magic cards to the latest modules for Dungeons & Dragons. (Theyâre also great about stocking the fancy-pants limited-edition D&D hardcovers.) Red Castle also has you covered for dice (you know, for whipping at people and shouting âCRITICAL HIT!â), minis, and board games that range from pick-up-and-play fun for everybody, like Forbidden Island, to prepare-for-days-and-still-be-confused epics, like Scythe. (Hi. Do you actually understand Scythe? Can you explain it to me? Preferably in less than six hours?) A customer loyalty program andânaturallyâtables in the back for game sessions only make the place more welcoming. Hell, my D&D group hasnât met for months, but I still swing by Red Castle to check out whatâs new. And generally walk out with something Iâll get hours of enjoyment out of for years to come. I also glare at the Scythe box whenever Iâm in there.