This shop has really bad customer services. I purchased a Pokemon product and then found another retailer with the same product but £15 cheaper. I emailed the company 10 minutes after placing this ord... See more
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Avoid these clowns at all “costs”. They’ll use your money as a temporary loan then cancel whenever they feel like it (pre orders to be specific). Not sure how they’re still running but hopefully not a... See more
Been using this shop wherever possible for years. Excellent staff service and communications, safe packaging, and the events they run (pre-pandemic) are fantastic and really help build a community f... See more
Absolutely disgusting from Rules of play. placed an order fridays 30th april, they cancel the order on monday 3rd May to then restock the cancelled item at 5 times the price, telling me due to... See more
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Company details
Written by the company
The Board Game Shop. Serving & advising customers, selling games and creating experiences since 2011.
Contact info
29 Castle Arcade, CF10 1BW, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- 029 2022 1695
- games@rulesofplay.co.uk
- rulesofplay.co.uk
Customer service is great
Customer service is great, orders arrive quickly and in excellent condition. I changed address whilst waiting for a pre-order and was able to change it without any hassle. Excellent shop.
Scammers
I placed a pre order for a highly desired item. The price of the item went up due to an announcement. The shop then accused me of being a scalper just so they could cancel my order and relist it at a higher price. I took a chance with this buyer but don't make the same mistake as me and avoid these scammers.
Great
Great, friendly customer service and a very good selection of board games. Recommend this local business
Uwu best boi
Uwu this is one of the best nerdy shops, often feel intimidated and too shy but felt right at home there thanks to the staff. Have an amazing range.
To sum. Uwu best shop ever
Pure and simple scalping their customers
Had my order cancelled 3 days after money taken from my account, due to unforeseen circumstances. So i thought id go back and check the same item and low and behold its back online lest then 5 minutes after my cancellation for £500. 5 times the price I purchased for. This was no pricing error The £100 i paid its clear to see they are a company scalping and trying to rip off their customers. So if you’re relying on ROP to fulfil a limited release for rrp I wouldn’t bank on it.
Looking at other reviews seems like they have a habit of doing this. I will be uploading photo proof when i work out how this is not a fake review!

Reply from Rules of Play - The Board Game Shop
Avoid these at all costs they cancel and relist for 5 x the price
Placed an legit order with this company on friday for a booster box costing £100 F&B 1st ed. Recieved order confirmation money left account and cleared. 3 day later recieved a cancellation email with the reason ‘due to unforeseen circumstances’ I believe they meant unforeseen PROFIT. As you can clearly see they are now at £500. Literally 5 minutes after cancelling they was relisted at 5 times the price. Absolutely disgusting avoid this shop at all costs! Il attach my order cancellation as proof!

Reply from Rules of Play - The Board Game Shop
Scalping Card shop cancels £100 order to restock at £500
Absolutely disgusting from Rules of play. placed an order fridays 30th april, they cancel the order on monday 3rd May to then restock the cancelled item at 5 times the price, telling me due to unforseen circumstances, i will also be taking this to trading standards! as of now there are 6 boxes available for £500 so i assume theres 5 other people this has also happened to. its good to see these so called store ripping off customers/parents trying to buy cards for their children to open.
good to see this on their page too
Rules of Play
The Board game shop. Serving & advising customers, selling games and creating experiences since 2011.
what a lovely experience created!

Reply from Rules of Play - The Board Game Shop
Competitive Prices and Quick Dispatch
I've made two orders from this site in the last six months. Prices are competitive, dispatch was timely and stock levels were good. My only complaint would be that Royal Mail is the only choice for delivery.
Terrible Customer Service
Agree with all other responses below. Customer service is terrible. Never respond to e-mail and never answer the phone. My pre-order was never in stock, have had to start a claim in the small claims court to get a refund. Avoid at all costs.
No stock for pre-orders
Listed a product for pre-order (a popular product), when I enquired about whether they will have a stock to cover all pre-orders (all other sites weren't taking them) they replied saying yes, then immediately took the product off for pre-order.
The only saving grace is they refunded the pre-orders.
Cancelled Order No Explanation
Taking a stance against scalpers by scalping the market themselves! Rude customer service who cancelled all orders at RRP once they realised they could make more
Cancelled and refunded my order only to…
Cancelled and refunded my order only to put the product up at a higher price (£52 up to £80) minutes later. As bad as scalpers.
Won’t shop here again
Horrendous customer service. Games dispatched more than one week after order was made (not pre-order either). Because of this I missed the chance to receive this in person so waited another two weeks till I was able to open the parcel. One game arrived damaged - contacted seller and said damage policy no longed applied (because apparently I took the shrink off before I saw the damage and many weeks have passed), even if I still managed to contact them within 30 days of purchase. Had to escalate to PayPal (UPDATE: apparently I can return the game for refund but I HAVE TO PAY FOR the return postage of the WHOLE PARCEL). As a regular buyer of board games I have shopped at many other online retailers before and never had such bad experience. No reason to shop here again. Poor business decision on their part too.
Fantastic
Managed to find the product I wanted in stock when it was sold out at many others (or horrifically overpriced!). Ordering online was easy, delivery was prompt and when I had a query it was answered quickly and politely. So happy to have found this place!
A great independent board game retailer
I've placed a few orders during lockdown from Rules of Play and they've all arrived promptly and in great condition. Missing my trips to their lovely little shop this year, but glad to be able to keep buying from them. For an independent store, they do a great job keeping their prices competitive with the big boys.
A review of only the web shop. Judge for yourself.
A review of only the web shop. Judge for yourself
I have placed 2 orders with Rules of Play.
The first, 2 of the 3 items ordered, arrived.
The second, 0 of the 4 items ordered, were dispatched.
On both occasions the reason was stock glitch error
Really nice board games and good…
Really nice board games and good people. Hold good events and met alot of good friends. Would recommend for both of those aspects alone.
Love rules of play
Love rules of play. Great selection of board and card games which I have bought from their store. They also hold some really nice events, shame the Monday gaming night has stopped now however.
Outstanding selection of games
Outstanding selection of games, friendly and knowledgeable staff, great shop altogether!
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