Small Business Saturday: Buy Games at a Local Game Store

Small Business Saturday falls on November 28, 2026, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. If games are on your gift list, it is a good day to buy them at a local game store. A good store teaches, recommends, special orders, and hosts the game nights that turn a box into a habit. The price may be a few dollars higher than the lowest online listing. What you get for those dollars is a person, a room, and a community.

The quick answer: buy at least one game gift from a local game store this Small Business Saturday. Ask the staff for a recommendation, ask about their events, and if they do not stock what you want, ask them to order it. Find a store near you with GAMA’s store locator or the Wizards of the Coast store locator.

What is Small Business Saturday?

It is a shopping day for independent, local businesses, held each year in the US on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. American Express founded it in 2010 as a counterweight to Black Friday at big-box stores and Cyber Monday online.

In 2026, the weekend lines up like this:

Many game stores run their own sales, raffles, or game demos that day. Check your store’s social pages or newsletter in the week before.

Why buy board games at a local game store?

Because a game store sells more than games. The box is the same box you could order online. Everything around it is different.

Someone can teach you

Most game stores have staff who play. Ask them how a game works and they can often show you, sometimes with an open demo copy right there on a table. For a gift, that matters. The person you are buying for will play a game you understand well enough to explain.

Someone can match the game to the person

A search page ranks games by sales. A store clerk can ask questions. Who is it for? How many people do they play with? Have they played Ticket to Ride or Catan? Did they like it? That short conversation is the best gift-buying tool there is, and it is free.

You get events and a place to play

Many local game stores host open game nights, learn-to-play sessions, tournaments, Magic: The Gathering drafts, and Dungeons and Dragons sessions. That is where a new game finds new players. A store that sells you a game and then gives you a table and a crowd to play it with is selling something no warehouse can.

They can special order

Do not see what you want on the shelf? Ask. Most stores can order from their distributors, often within a week or two. During the holidays, order early, since popular games can sell out at the distributor level as well.

Your money stays close to home

A local store pays local rent, hires local people, and sponsors local events. When it closes, the game nights and the tables go with it.

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Is it more expensive to buy games locally?

Sometimes, yes. Big online retailers discount popular games year round, and a local store often cannot match those prices on every title.

A few ways to think about it:

• The gap is often small. On a $25 card game, the difference may be a few dollars.
• Many stores have their own deals. Ask about loyalty programs, member discounts, used shelves, or Small Business Saturday sales.
• The service has value. A good recommendation saves you from buying a game that never gets played, which is the most expensive outcome of all. Cost per play, the price divided by how often a game gets played, shows why.
• Mix and match. Buy the deep-discount staples online during Black Friday board game deals, and buy the gifts that need a good pick from the store.

If you are tracking prices across both, compare against the usual street price, not the crossed-out list price.

Why does The Ludarium care about game stores?

The Ludarium does not sell games, and it never plans to. We plan to open a game lounge in Indianapolis: a membership space where people come to play together. A great local game store sells the box. A lounge gives people a reason to keep opening it.

We see stores as partners, not competitors. When someone falls for a game at a lounge table, the right next step is the store down the road. We explain that choice in why we won’t sell games, and we wrote about what lounges can learn from both models in what coworking got right that game stores got wrong.

If you are in Indianapolis, start with our guide to Indianapolis board game stores.

How do you find a local game store near you?

A few store locators make it easy:

• GAMA’s Friendly Local Game Store locator. GAMA is the tabletop game trade association. Its locator lets you search by city or zip code. It lists stores that are GAMA members, so it is a strong start, not a complete list.
• Wizards of the Coast Store and Event Locator. Finds stores that run Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons events. Stores that host those usually host board game nights too.
• Gamewright’s store locator. Shows retailers that carry Gamewright games, such as Sushi Go! and Qwixx. It includes big chains as well as small shops, so check which results are independent.

A plain map search for “game store” or “board game store” near you also works. Look for photos of play tables and an events calendar. Those are the signs of a store built around community, not just shelves.

What should you buy on Small Business Saturday?

Anything on your list, but a few kinds of purchases make the most of a local store:

• A game you need help choosing. Describe the person and let the staff pick.
• A gift for a new player. Our list of board game gifts for new players is a good starting point to bring with you.
• A gift card. It sends someone into the store, where they can get the same help. Our guide on what to buy with a game store gift card helps them spend it well.
• An event pass or entry fee. If the store sells seats at a tournament or a learn-to-play series, that can be a gift that comes with new friends.

How can you support a store beyond one Saturday?

Small Business Saturday is one day. A store needs the other 364.

• Show up to an event. Even if you buy nothing that night, a full table tells new players the store is alive.
• Order through them. If you know what you want, ask the store before clicking buy online.
• Leave a review. Name a staff member who helped you.
• Bring a friend. The best thing you can give a game store is a new regular.

A good game store is one of the few places in town built for strangers to sit down together. The game is the reason. The people are the point.

FAQ

When is Small Business Saturday in 2026?

Saturday, November 28, 2026, the day after Black Friday.

Do local game stores have Small Business Saturday sales?

Many do, but it varies by store. Check your store’s social pages or newsletter in the week before.

How do I find a game store near me?

Try GAMA’s store locator, the Wizards of the Coast store locator, or a map search for “game store.” Look for stores with play tables and an events calendar.

Can a local game store order a game they do not have?

Most can, through their distributors. Ask early in the holiday season, since popular games can sell out.

Stay close to the table

The Ludarium newsletter sends short pieces on games, game stores, and the people who play together. Subscribe to hear when the Indianapolis lounge gets closer, and to get the next guide before the next holiday.