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5 great geek shopping spots to check out in Vancouver, British Columbia

By Ian Goodwillie

BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA - DECEMBER 22: A view of metro Vancouver skyline at sunrise against the two pointed peaks aka "The Lions" on December 22, 2020 in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The Provincial Health Officer (PHO) has ordered that events and gatherings be suspended in order to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 through social contact and travel. The order lasts from November 19, 2020 at midnight to January 8, 2021 at midnight. (Photo by Andrew Chin/Getty Images)
BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA - DECEMBER 22: A view of metro Vancouver skyline at sunrise against the two pointed peaks aka "The Lions" on December 22, 2020 in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The Provincial Health Officer (PHO) has ordered that events and gatherings be suspended in order to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 through social contact and travel. The order lasts from November 19, 2020 at midnight to January 8, 2021 at midnight. (Photo by Andrew Chin/Getty Images) /
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Geeks love to travel as much as anyone else, and they’re always looking for new spots to shop. Before they’ve even bought their plane tickets, they’ve planned which stores they’re going to. That’s definitely a good idea when heading to Vancouver.

At any time of year, Vancouver is a great place to visit. But it’s a solid place for anyone looking to get away from super cold winters and who wants to buy their next collectible or missing comic book issue. Lord knows I quite literally do that everywhere I go.

Tazmanian Comics

There are a lot of great comic shops throughout Vancouver. Whatever neighborhood you’re spending time in, there’s likely one not too far away that’s worth checking out. But Tazmanian Comics should be high on that list.

This is about as classic a comic shop as you’re going to find in any city in North America. Located in East Vancouver, they’ve been in business since 1986. It’s a shop that has pretty much everything and anything you could possibly be looking for. Within reason, of course.

RPG Vintage Toys & Games

Vancouver, British Columbia
VANCOUVER, CANADA – APRIL 19: A woman walks her dog at low tide on English Bay’s Kitsilano Beach April 19, 2004 in Vancouver, Canada. Though Canada’s third largest city overall and British Columbia’s first, Vancouver has historically been thought of as the “terminal city”, the end of the line and the last remote town before the continent comes to an end at the Pacific Ocean. True to form there is no question about Vancouver’s remoteness, and the fact that adventurers lust after the lush wilderness that lays just beyond the city limits, running uninterrupted for 700 kilometers northwest to Prince Rupert. It is said that in Vancouver it is possible to ski in the morning, sail in the afternoon and take a sunset dip in the Pacific. However, Vancouver has now blossomed into one of the world’s most beautiful, livable and liberal cities. It is now more often thought of as the gateway to the Pacific Rim, the United States’ west coast, and to a significant number of international shipping lanes. In 2010 Vancouver will host the Olympics and one of Canada’s best kept secrets will be revealed to the rest of the world. (Photo by Joe McNally/Getty Images) /

There are always spots to looks for hard to find new toys. Comic shops like Tazmanian are always great places to start but sometimes you need a focused vintage toy store. And RPG Vintage Toys & Games is a good one, though their website isn’t great.

Located in Langley, RPG Vintage Toys & Games has a nice selection of vintage toys from a variety of eras. They seem to specialize in cars, but they also carry a lot of offerings from the Transformers as well as other classic 1980’s properties.

Press Start Video Games

Gamers can be an obsessive lot, particularly the ones who are into collecting vintage games, consoles and related merch. If you fit into that category, Vancouver’s Press Start Video Games in New Westminster is an incredible place to spend time.

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They stock an incredible selection of video games and consoles going all the way back to the days of Atari and Colecovision. The store even has vintage arcade cabinets, if you really want to proclaim how deep you are into this lifestyle.

Vancouver’s Drexoll Games

Vancouver, British Columbia
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – MARCH 27: BC Place and Science World emerges from darkness as part of the Earth Hour switch-off on March 27, 2021 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. On the initiative of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) hundreds of millions of people across more than 150 countries to turned off their lights for 60 minutes on Saturday night at 8:30pm local time in a symbolic show of support for the planet. (Photo by Andrew Chin/Getty Images) /

On the other side of the gaming spectrum are board games. A lot of people who live outside these geeky worlds assume that video gamers and board gamers are the same thing. There is some crossover but those statements will cost you in the wrong parts of nerd-dom.

For anyone interested in board games who is planning a trip to Vancouver, Drexoll Games is an absolute must stop. They have everything. It’s located in Kitsilano and not too far away from English Bay. This is an area you’re probably going to be in anyway, so stop by.

Halfmoon Manga & Anime

The genres of manga and anime cover a lot of ground, from stuff that children will love all the way to things that no one will ever be old enough to see. But for fans in Vancouver, one of the best stores around is Halfmoon Manga & Anime.

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Just off Marine Drive in South Vancouver, Halfmoon boasts having the largest selection of manga and anime in the city. Given everything they have in store, that might actually be true. Walking into this place definitely has a strong “kid in a candy store” vibe to it.

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