Evolution Gaming

Evolution Gaming

541.338.4263

2475 Hilyard Street

Eugene, OR 97405

evolvegame at that google mail thingie

Evolution Gaming is located in a small strip mall a few blocks from the University of Oregon. The interior is pretty well worn, and the space isn't particularly large, but they have a good stock of board games, as well as a decent line of miniature war-games including WarHammer, WarHammer 40K, Flames of War, and the Privateer Press lines, including a strong supply of Monsterpocalypse. They stock a decent supply of Heroscape packages as well, and a full set of D&D products, including all the 4E manuals, and a few old school versions.

Their collectable card selection was somewhat weak; a small selection of mostly older Magic cards is stored in the front display case, but no singles were displayed, nor were any binders visible anywhere. They had some signage indicating that they stocked the current block of cards, but none of the actual booster packs or starter sets were in view anywhere that I could see.

The staff seemed decidedly disinterested in customers, at least those they don't know. When you enter the store you are greeted by a large black dog that seems to spend his days lounging like a door mat; stepping around him to enter the establishment proper is a friendly affair but, in the end, his mostly bored glance is about all you'll receive as a welcome to the store. The staff, at least on this Tuesday afternoon, seemed far more interested in keeping their game play moving along than they are with exchanging pleasantries with any new comers. I wandered around the store four or five times, taking pictures and examining stock before anyone offered a simple "Hello."

When I arrived, three guys were playing a card game while two others played a game of Flames of War on one of the large tables setup for miniature combat. The terrain selection seemed very good, and most of it was nicely painted. A small glass case in the back also shows off some of the local talent, and has several nicely painted GW figures and models from other lines on display. My pictures don't really do justice to the store layout or the available tables, but a video posted last year on the Oregon Daily Emerald provides some nice views of the store, and the tables, as well as some interviews with some of the locals.

The folks playing cards were fairly animated in their discussions, and you couldn't avoid hearing their banter throughout the store. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but they tended to lace their discussions with a fair amount of profanity, so if you're visiting the location with younger kids, be prepared for an F-Bomb or two. Since I believe the card players were staff members, I suspect that sort of thing is typical, but my visit was on a Tuesday afternoon, and there were no young kids in the store at the time, so perhaps they adjust appropriately.

The pricing on the items I looked at - from books to board games to Games Workshop miniatures - seemed fairly typical, and very reasonable.


While I can't say Evolution Games is worth making a special trip to, If you're looking for a place to stop in and pick up a few miniatures, watch a battle or two, or if you just want to wander around a game store for a bit, it's a nice little hole in the wall with a pretty strong stock of the most common gaming paraphernalia, including a full stock of paint and other modeling material. The biggest disappointment (for me) was the lack of Magic: The Gathering material. Thankfully, there's a comic store up the street that has a pretty aggressive display of singles, so if you're into Magic and miniature gaming, you can hit Evolution and then walk a few blocks to get your card game fix.