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Sentry Box
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11 am - 6 pm
Fri 11 am - 9 pm
Sat 10 am - 6 pm
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
7 reviews for Sentry Box
7 reviews in English
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Review from Sarah B.
11/25/2011
I nearly squeaked a bit when I heard about the Sentry Box.
EVERY game in print? EVERY? I didn't believe it. I'd looked at the standard 'games' places for Ticket to Ride for my husband and I... with no success. That's when I knew. I knew it was time for my first trip to the Sentry Box.
Now, fair warning, when you walk in you'll have to make your way through a hoard of people who are part of games meetup groups. Don't be intimidated though - just down those stairs is the answer to every single awkward dinner conversation!
We found Ticket to Ride (3 versions) no problem, and had to fight temptation to buy everything in the store.
If you're looking for a game and don't know where to find it, go here. -
Review from Wendy P.
4/9/2012 1 Check-in Here
What in the world is this place? I was across the street at Mikey's for lunch and figured I'd stop in since I was in the neighbourhood. I've always seen the Sentry Box. I remember the Yelp list popping up, but for the life of me I couldn't remember what it was.
If I knew more about games, I'm sure I'd be in heaven. But I don't, thus the three stars. How can I give it a higher rating when I don't really know that much about the subject? Granted, the rating may have been higher had someone actually approached me... but then again, maybe that's not how things work in these types of stores?
At any rate, I soooo wasn't expecting the store I walked into. First off, I thought it looked rather small from the outside, but when I walked through the doors, there was a half level up top with some tables (I'm guessing for games and tournaments and things?) and then a full set of stairs into a level below. This place is humungous! Games, games and more games. Game pieces, instructions, maps to things I've never even heard of. And then an entire back section full of books - an entire bookstore inside of the games store. Woah. The hieroglyphic sign on the wall was really cool though. I give the sign five stars.
I walked around to check everything out. This girl was overwhelmed. There's an entire subculture I know nothing about, and I'm pretty sure a lot of happens at the Sentry Box. Do I dare venture back? I think yes. I'm now curious.
April Underdog Challenge: 8/30Comment from Gordon J. of Sentry Box 4/12/2012
Thanks for the review. Usually, we do try to spot people who… More » -
Review from Dustin H.
You know those stores that seem to have something for everybody? Those stores that you can walk in with a big group of people of all different tastes and interests, and everybody will leave with an experience that put a smile on their face?
Well sadly, Sentry Box is definitely NOT one of them.
Yeah, this is a total niche market store, catering almost exclusively to a level of nerd-dom that almost assures most of it's clientelle spent many an afternoon inside a locker in their youth. But if you're one of those people, this place might as well have big pearly gates and a floor made of clouds.
Essencially the idea of Sentry Box is catering to the world of role playing, trading card, and certain niche board games. (We're not talking Scrabble or Operation here.) and if you're into that kinda thing there's a 90% chance this place has what you're looking for, most likely organizes playing sessions for you meet others of "your kind", and undoubtably have the most knowledgable and (usually) friendly staff you could ever hope to find.
Take myself for example. In high school, I got sucked into a trading card game that I hadn't played since... but after looking at a few cards of the latest expansion set, my curiosity was peaked, so I headed down to Sentry and into the lower level to the card desk. At the time, they had a tournament going on and the sole employee of this department was catering to one of the largest gatherings of players in the city WHILE running the desk by himself. He still found time to answer all of my naive, rookie-like questions, give me a bunch of great advice on how to get started back (I gave away all my cards when I gave up the game the first time), and gathered every item from their stock he thought might interest me and laid them all out on the counter for me to peruse at my leisure. I've been to a number of stores that handled these kinds of games over the years, and NEVER recieved that kind of service.
Now, as for pricing I can't really speak for the rest of the store, but as for the cards department I can say this much. If you're buying in small ammounts you'll pay pretty much what you would anywhere else... however, I've found that if you buy in the bigger product packs you will actually save a few bucks. It's much, but it's still a plus for 'The Box'
All in all, if you play these kind of games and haven't been to TSB... go. If you don't? Drop by and check it out if you're in the area. It's still a really cool store in a fascinating building that I can only describe as a library of all things nerd. Just don't expect to do a lot of shopping. -
Review from Mike A.
Calgary, AB
3/1/2011
Calgary doesn't do super well in the awesome indy shops category, but at least we have this place. I'm not into most of the things this place sells (honestly!) and I still feel welcome here and love visiting. Browsing at the Sentry Box makes me wish I were more into sci-fi novels and fantasy games.
I do like board games sometimes, though, and their collection of quality board and card games is huge, so if you're into german-style board games, check them out. -
Review from Jeanette B.
Edmonton, AB
12/5/2008 3 photos
I'm a geek, but not really a Sentry Box kind of geek. Even so, I still think this is one of the coolest stores I've ever been to. This store is huge, and it's definitely the largest one of its kind that I've ever seen. They carry all sorts of RPG games (including military), cards, and accessories. They have tons of models and little miniatures too.
The book section is rather large, and they sell everything from science fiction to fantasy. They even carry Harry Potter, if you're into the more mainstream stuff like me.
They have a lot of space here for people to play their games. The few times I've been here, there has always been some people playing either card or other RPG type games. I know they also hold lots of events that happen almost every day. You can check it out on their website: http://www.sentrybox.com.
I don't know if this matters much, but they sell chocolate bars and chips here too, so I guess if you're hanging out, you'll have something to munch on. -
Review from Linda S.
One of the best stores ever. You can find whatever you want here ... and if, in a very rare circumstance, the Sentry Box doesn't have it, you'll see that they'll order it in for you without a problem.
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Review from Chad W.
Calgary, AB
10/15/2008
The Sentry Box is warmly referred to as Calgary's best "nerd store". In this mighty location near the Bow Trail and Crowchild Trail intersection, they offer everything the gaming world could ask for. Shelf upon shelf of miniatures, models, paints, game books, fantasy novels, trading card games, and a fanatical assortment of RPG stuff will keep the geeks coming back.
Sentry Box even hosts large events, pulling crowds in from all over the city to partake in some serious game-age. Furthermore, they compliment their store by providing computer gaming and LAN connections. The latest graphics cards and the latest games can be found here -- an excellent place to come play with friends.
They have tables of all sorts and plenty of space. Of course, as will all other "nerd specialty stores", this place is a total rip-off.Comment from Gordon J. of Sentry Box 5/4/2010
Just a quick correction to this review. While we used to do… More »
