Tabletop Game Shop Open to 9 pm Fridays: Game Post

Game Post, at 689 3rd Street in SoMa, is a compact tabletop game shop that bills itself as a place for games, gifts and gathering. It opens at noon from Monday to Saturday, stays open until 9 pm on Wednesday and Friday for game nights, and is closed on Sunday.

Game Post sits a few blocks from the ballpark and the Caltrain terminal, a location that makes it an easy stop for commuters heading home down the Peninsula and for fans killing time before a Giants game. The storefront is small, and the shop leans on its community: a Discord server, two Facebook groups and an online store keep regulars in touch between visits.

Diana has been candid about how the business got here. On the shop's support page she describes Game Post as a fairly young business that knew its first couple of years would be hard, then was forced to stop trading during the pandemic. She asked customers to help through gift certificates, which come in any amount and never expire, and through a direct donation link.

The online catalog shows how much is packed into the room. Categories include board games, deck-building games, party games, dice games, puzzles, role-playing games, collectible and non-collectible card games, miniatures games, paint, brushes and paint accessories. There are dice, playing cards, figures, toys and collectibles, plus greeting cards and plushies for the gift side of the counter.

Two sections are worth asking about if you are watching a budget. Game Post lists a Preowned and Dented Game category and a Clearance category, so a slightly crushed box can come home for less than a pristine one. The gift side is not an afterthought either: the shop has carried Pusheen plush, and in 2022 it said Pusheen purchases would support a donation to the San Francisco SPCA.

Miniatures players are covered too. Between the miniatures games, figures, paint, brushes and paint accessories, a wargamer can pick up a new squad and everything needed to finish it in one stop. Ask the counter before you go deep into a new system, since a small shop carries a curated slice of each line rather than every box a publisher makes.

The long Wednesday and Friday hours exist for play. Game Post runs Magic: The Gathering events, including Friday Night Magic, and lists them on the Wizards store locator. Pokemon players can find the shop's league on the official Play Pokemon event finder, and role-players sign up for Dungeons and Dragons Adventurers League and Pathfinder Society tables through schedules the store posts on Warhorn.

That prerelease also shows how the room fills. Seating was described as very limited, prepaid players got priority, and walk-ins could still pay at the door if a seat was left. Our advice is simple: if an event matters to you, pay ahead online rather than turning up at start time. The Discord Announcements channel is where new dates appear first.

Game Post took part in Free RPG Day on Saturday, June 27, with play starting at noon. The table list gives a sense of the staff's taste: a CBR+PNK scenario called Kaguya Protocol, the Vaesen Nordic horror quickstart, The Age of Vikings, a Dolmenwood quick-start with The Weaver and the Redcaps, and Terror in Tortuga for Pirate Borg. That is a strong mix of indie systems for a store this size.

For newcomers, those quickstarts are the right entry point. Each comes with pre-generated characters and a short adventure, so nobody has to buy a rulebook or build a character before the first session. Ask at the counter which of them are still in stock, and you can run a full evening for friends at home with nothing more than a set of dice.

Who is this shop for? It suits the SoMa office worker who wants a party game for Friday, the parent picking up a puzzle or a plush on the way to Caltrain, and the player who already knows which Pathfinder or Magic night they want. If you need a huge open play room with food, this is not it; Game Post is about the counter, the shelves and its event tables.

Game Post opens Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 12 pm to 7 pm, Wednesday and Friday from 12 pm to 9 pm, and Saturday from 12 pm to 6 pm, and it is closed on Sunday. The best window for browsing and a recommendation is a quiet weekday afternoon. Wednesday or Friday evenings are the time to see the play tables in action.

An honest note on timing: skip Sunday plans entirely, because the door stays shut, and do not count on a long chat at the counter while a Friday event is getting started. If you only have a Sunday free, Gamescape on Divisadero is open that day. Game Post also sells through its online Square store for orders when you cannot get there in person.

The Caltrain station at 4th and King is a short walk away, and Muni light rail serves King Street and the Embarcadero. From the shop, head toward the water and South Park, a small oval green ringed with cafes and office lofts. Continue to the waterfront for the walk along the bay past the ballpark.

On a game day the sidewalks fill quickly, so arrive early if you want a calm browse. Pick up a deck box or a new set of dice, then take the waterfront path north toward the Ferry Building. It is a long, flat walk with bay views the whole way, and it gives you time to read the back of whatever box you just bought.