On a quest for something different for you and your party to do while in Corvallis? Love game nights? Fantastic! Corvallis is your destination, with a variety of appealing choices for fun times, day or night!
How about trying some unique, immersive, interactive, or tabletop game experiences? These places offer distinctive options, from card games to escape rooms to playing a character in a whodunnit murder mystery over dinner, playing with puzzles or board games or retro video games to delving into the fantastic fantasies of tabletop RPGs.
Conundrum House is a one-stop club for all things mysterious and adventurous. Take part in their frequent costumes-encouraged events. With their Play All Day pass, you can access the extensive rentable collection of tabletop games, including board games (check out the CLUE collection), RPGs, puzzles (some are vintage, with mysteries written by murder mystery authors), and dinner party mysteries in a box. A feature is their event space, "The Saunders Room," a perfect setting for their bespoke dinner murder mystery featuring the Great Sage, Rosemary N. Thyme!
Conundrum House is located at 460 SW Madison Avenue, on the second floor. The entrance is in between Castor and Splendid Barre.
Learn more on their website and Facebook page.
Each of Escape Corvallis' five rooms has a theme with its own challenges. New to escape rooms? Start with their Got Brains room, which offers a zombie outbreak theme. The Repository of Extraordinary Challenges (REC) room has a steampunk vibe, Happy Hour feels like Las Vegas, and Spy’s Safehouse will have you rescue national-security information just in time! The newest room is great for kids' parties, created for 6-10-year-olds. This room features a secret door, and when the kids solve the puzzles (with hints as needed), it opens to the party room!
Escape Corvallis is located at 301 SW 4th Street, Suite 280, on the second floor with the ground-level gated entrance.
Learn more on their website and Facebook page.
Gamagora Geekhouse is the "geek store and a 21 and older members-only Geek Lounge." The retail section within this newly renovated space contains board games, graphic novels, role-playing games, dice, magnets, posters, puzzles, and more. The Lounge is for members only, has a bar and snacks, and offers board games, books, graphic novels, and RPGs that members can play at one of the many tables. Fun fact - their mascot is a unicorn. Be sure to ask the owners about it.
Gamagora Geekhouse is located at 108 SW 3rd Street, one door north of Kraken Cards.
Keep up to date on their website and Facebook page.
Guardian Games Corvallis, like their successful Portland and Aloha locations, offers a huge range of tabletop games and experienced staff. Their inclusive space offers events and games for all age ranges and preferences - whether you like Warhammer, Star Wars, locally created games, or the classics. Want to stay and play? They have a selection of demo games you can try out at their tables.
Guardian Games is located at 259 SW Madison Avenue, on the corner of Madison Avenue and Third Street.
Learn more on their Facebook page or website.
Do you love video games? Kontraband offers games for almost every console and a variety of peripherals. This retro game store beats the mass chain competitor on trade-in prices. While they specialize in vintage games, don’t be fooled - they also sell current titles (which the sales team will tell you they’ve tested to make sure the games are fun).
Kontraband is located at 1849 NW 9th Street in the 9th Street Plaza, near Key Bank and Benchwarmers Bar & Grill. The entrance is through the lobby you’ll see next to Starbucks and Ryko.
Kraken Cards, owned by game supply manufacturer Inked Gaming, features an open space where gamers can gather or compete in friendly events with their community. Play card games such as Magic, Pokemon, My Hero, Flesh and Blood, and more. In addition, the front of the store sells sports cards, collectibles, board games, playmats, sleeves, deck cases, memorabilia, and other gamer gear.
Kraken Cards is located at 114 SW 3rd Street, across from Wise Cracks Café.
Learn more on their website and Facebook page.
Walk in, and you’ll instantly know Matt's Cavalcade of Comics is different from all the rest with its massive collection of comic books - both mainstream and by local artists - and the walls filled with Funko Pops, possibly the largest collection in the state. Looking for a D&D game to join? Ask, and they’ll guide you. They also offer board games, cards, and random items appealing to "the geek in all of us."
Matt's Cavalcade of Comics is located at 2075 NW Buchanan Avenue, across the street from Fred Meyers.
Learn more on their website and Facebook page.
Article and photos by Stacey Newman Weldon. Gamagora Geekhouse logo via Facebook. Keep up with Corvallis news, events and happenings by signing up for our email newsletter.
