Photo by James Short.
The store on West Germantown Pike in East Norriton believes in bringing customers together face-to-face
Alternate Universes has been the spot in the Blue Bell area for the past two decades for veteran and up-and-coming collectable trading card gamers to call home.
The East Norriton family-owned chain, with stores in Holmes, Pa. and Wilmington, Del., specializes in trading card games, board games, and miniatures games at its well-lit and roomy facilities.
Each store offers tables for customers to use while playing favorites like Warhammer 40K, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic: The Gathering. It holds special events several times a month for its customers, such as pre-releases and big-prize tournaments.
Upcoming special events in Blue Bell, for example, include the “Digimon Evolution Cup” on June 2 at $20 an entrant, “Magic: The Gathering” Regional Championship Qualifier on Saturday at a 64-player cap, and “Magic: The Gathering” Moden Horizons III sealed pre-release tournaments from June 7-9.
Check out more special events and pricing on its website.
By James Short “Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering are our best-selling product lines,” said Pat Coyle, 36, whose father, Mike, 68, of Delaware County, owns the business. “The most recent sets, Twilight Masquerade and Outlaws of Thunder Junction, have both been very popular.”
Aside from trading card games like Pokemon, One Piece, and Lorcana, Alternate Universes at the Penn Square Shopping Center at 213 W. Germantown Pike, promotes role-playing games and miniatures like Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer 40K and sells card sleeves, binders and other accessories for customers.
“Our focus is on in-person gaming,” Coyle said. “The gaming world is mostly made up of playing online and you have no idea who you are playing with. We let you actually touch and talk to a real person about the games you love.”
Furthermore, Coyle said, Alternate Universes offers a venue to meet friends and have fun with common interests outside of the house.
By James Short 
By James Short 
By James Short “The human element,” Coyle said, “is very important to what we do and we try to foster a sense of community with the games we sell and being welcoming, friendly and helpful to everyone who comes through, regardless of their experience with our games.”
Alternate Universes also buys and sells single and bulk cards for Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon, starting as low as one penny per card for common cards and up to a $1 per card for very rare cards.
“We get to interact with passionate gamers in the area daily,” Coyle said. “What’s not to like? We love Blue Bell and couldn’t imagine not being a part of the community here.”
Follow Alternate Universes on Facebook and Instagram and visit its website here.
By James Short 
By James Short 
By James Short 
By James Short 
By James Short 
