There’s something special about walking into your local game store. Maybe you’re picking up a game you’ve been waiting for, discovering something new, meeting friends, or sitting at a table with people who love games as much as you do.

On Saturday, November 7, 2026, we’re celebrating all of that with Game Store Day at 401 Games.

Join us at our Downtown Toronto and Vaughan locations for a day dedicated to board games, community, prizes, and most importantly, playing together. We'll have featured demo tables, as well as in-store promotions.

Whether you visit us often or haven’t stopped by in a while, Game Store Day is a great excuse to gather around a table and play.

What Is Game Store Day?

Game Store Day is an initiative from GAMA: The Tabletop Game Association, created to celebrate Friendly Local Game Stores (FLGS) and the communities that grow around them.

The idea is simple: bring players together for one big day to celebrate the stores that give tabletop gaming a home.

Game Store Day officially takes place on November 7, 2026, with participating game stores creating their own events and activities for their local communities. According to GAMA, the initiative aims to raise awareness of local game stores, bring more people into stores, and build excitement around tabletop gaming.

And the celebration is growing.

In 2025, 269 stores across the United States and Canada participated in Game Store Day, and 59% of participating retailers reported an increase in sales and/or foot traffic. For 2026, GAMA is once again bringing together retailers and publishers to make the event even bigger. 

This year, 401 Games is joining the celebration at both of our locations.

What to Expect at 401 Games

For us, Game Store Day is about doing what game stores do best: getting people together to play.

Throughout the day, you’ll have opportunities to sit down, discover games, and enjoy some time around the table. Bring your friends, bring your family, or simply come by and see what’s happening.

And, of course, no celebration is complete without a few extra surprises.

We'll have prizes and giveaways as part of our Game Store Day celebration, giving you even more reasons to join the fun.

Publishers are also playing a big role in Game Store Day this year. As part of the official 2026 program, participating publishers have contributed products to special Publisher Boxes distributed to participating local game stores. GAMA says these boxes can contain unique products, promotional items, new releases, and even pre-release materials for stores to showcase during Game Store Day. 

So yes, there will be more than just games on the tables.

Keep an eye on our social media as we get closer to November 7. We’ll be showing off more of what you can expect to see during the celebration.

Why Celebrate Local Game Stores?

You can buy a board game in plenty of places. A local game shop is probably the only place you'll find a place to play it.

Game stores introduce you to new games, provide an established community to meet up with, host events and tournaments, and give you the chance to meet other people who share your interests.

That community element is absolutely central to Game Store Day. GAMA describes the Friendly Local Game Store as "the heart of the tabletop community" and the 2026 campaign focuses on bringing retailers, publishers, creators, and players together. 

At 401 Games, we see that community in our stores every day.

It might be a group settling in for board game night, someone learning a new game for the first time, players meeting across the table at an event, or a customer walking in looking for recommendations and leaving with their next favourite game.

Game Store Day lets us celebrate all those little moments at once.

And you don’t need to be a board game expert to participate. If you already have a shelf full of games, great. If you’re still figuring out what kinds of games you enjoy, that’s great too.

The point is to play, discover something new, and have a good time with the community.

Come Play With Us

We’ll be celebrating Game Store Day at both 401 Games locations, so you can join us wherever works best for you:

401 Games Downtown Toronto
401 Games Vaughan

The celebration takes place on:

Saturday, November 7, 2026

Expect games, prizes, giveaways, and plenty of reasons to spend some time around the table.

We’ll be sharing additional details as Game Store Day gets closer, so follow 401 Games on social media for updates and previews of what’s coming.

- Cindy