Archive for the ‘Store Info’ Category

Alternate Universes 20th Anniversary Celebration – October 15th-21st

September 11th, 2023

Alternate Universes 20th Anniversary Celebration October 15th-21st

On October 15th, 2003, Alternate Universes opened its doors to the gamers of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Now, twenty years later, we have three stores in the Philadelphia area, an online store, and a wonderful thriving community. We have seen generations of gamers walk through our doors. We can only hope that over the years we’ve given the community something close to what you’ve given us.

Since your twentieth birthday only comes once, and many stores like ours don’t make it to this point, we want to celebrate in a big way. That’s why we’re announcing our weeklong 20th Anniversary Celebration!

From October 15th–21st, we’re celebrating 20 years with the following:

A BIG 20th ANNIVERSARY SALE!

20% off EVERYTHING – excluding booster boxes, singles, entry fees, Magic: the Gathering – Doctor Who Commander decks, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Age of Overlord. Everything else will be on sale. Everything. Else.

BOOSTER BOX GIVEAWAYS DURING WEEKLY TOURNAMENTS!

We’re giving away a booster box at EVERY weekly tournament that takes place Oct. 15th–21st.

This applies to ALL of our local tournaments, for ALL of our games, regardless of the number of participants. This includes Lorcana. Each booster box will be given away to a random player, each will be a box of the latest set of that game, and only people playing in the tournament will be able to win.

SPECIAL 20th ANNIVERSARY TOURNAMENTS!

Alternate Universes' 20th Anniversary Celebration MTG Chaos Drafts

MAGIC: THE GATHERING – CHAOS DRAFTS

Sunday, October 15th @ AU Wilmington
Saturday, October 21st @ AU Blue Bell

Registration opens: Noon
Drafting begins: 1 pm

$30 entry

***Limit 48 players per event!***
Preregistration is open now! Visit or call AU with your card to preregister.

These drafts are special, because not only are they Chaos Drafts, they are Chaos Drafts that will each include a BOOSTER PACK OF REVISED in them! You may choose to open and draft with this pack, OR keep it sealed and instead use a “pack of Revised” that we constructed specially for the event. We’re also including the Revised pack regardless of the number of participants.

Other rare packs include Visions, Fifth Edition, Weatherlight, Sixth Edition, Prophecy, Invasion, Fifth Dawn, assorted Collector boosters, and MORE!

One lucky player will also win a Commander Masters Set box, and four other lucky players will win Secret Lairs. We’ll also have more giveaways for sleeves and playmats!

PRIZES
3 – 0: $40 store credit
2 – 0 – 1: $30 store credit
2 – 1: $20 store credit

Alternate Universes' 20th Anniversary Yugioh PS5 Tournament

YU-GI-OH! – PS5 TOURNAMENT

Saturday, October 28th @ AU Holmes

Registration opens: Noon
Tournament starts: 1 pm

Format: Advanced Constructed

$30 entry
Each player will get 6 OTS Pack 23 for entering

Yu-Gi-Oh! has always been a staple game for us. We love Yu-Gi-Oh! We’ve held Yu-Gi-Oh on Saturday at Holmes for years and years. Please join us on Saturday, October 28th for our celebratory Yu-Gi-Oh! PS5 Tournament. This means you can also win a Yu-Gi-Oh! box if you attend our regular tournament on October 21st.

The first place winner of this tournament will win a brand new Sony PlayStation 5, the standard edition that includes a disc drive. Other Top 8 finishers will have their choice of Age of Overlord prizes or OTS Pack 23 prizes. Two lucky players will win boxes of Age of Overlord, more lucky players will win OTS Pack 22 door prizes. And we’ll be giving away sleeves and playmats, too!

PRIZES
1st Place: BRAND NEW Sony PlayStation 5 (standard edition)
2nd Place: 2 booster boxes of Age of Overlord OR 40 packs of OTS Pack 23
3rd & 4th Place: 1 box of Age of Overlord OR 20 packs of OTS Pack 23
5th-8th Place: 12 packs of Age of Overlord OR 10 packs of OTS Pack 23

Pokemon League at Alternate Universes Holmes Starting October 7th

September 27th, 2023

Pokemon TCG League at Alternate Universes Holmes

Pokemon League is coming to Alternate Universes Holmes! Join us at AU Holmes EVERY Saturday, starting October 7th, for our FREE official Pokemon League!

Pokemon League at Holmes will run every Saturday from 3-6 pm. These casual-style events are a great opportunity for Pokemon TCG players to get together with others in the Pokemon community to play, trade, or just hang out!

Here is the full Pokemon League schedule for all three of our stores:

Alternate Universes Holmes
Every Saturday (starting Oct. 7th)
3 pm – 6 pm

Alternate Universes Blue Bell
Every Sunday
12:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Alternate Universes Wilmington
Every Sunday
Noon – 3:00 pm

Disney Lorcana Organized Play at Alternate Universes

September 8th, 2023

Disney Lorcana Organized Play at Alternate Universes

Disney Lorcana Organized Play
Lorcana League and Lorcana Tournaments
Every Week at Alternate Universes

Alternate Universes is part of the official Disney Lorcana Hobby Store Program and Organized Play program! That means every week, we hold Disney Lorcana League and weekly tournaments at each of our three locations!

If you want to see Lorcana succeed and thrive, one of the best ways to help is to attend your local events, and bring your friends, too!

Lorcana League

Lorcana League is a fun, FREE weekly event where you can earn League Points to win prizes, and be a part of your local Lorcana community!

Lorcana League times are as follows:

Wednesdays 6 pm @ AU Wilmington
Thursdays 6 pm @ AU Blue Bell
Fridays 6 pm @ AU Holmes

As opposed to tournaments, Lorcana League is a free casual-style event, designed for players to hang out and play low-stakes games with one another at their leisure. Players earn 1 point for attending, 1 point for just playing a match, or 2 points instead if they win a match! Matches should be best 2-of-3. During League, players are responsible for finding their own matches with one another, as opposed to a tournament where players’ pairings are calculated for them. Players can earn a maximum of 10 points during one League.

A League round is 4 weeks of Lorcana League. A League season is 12 weeks of Lorcana League, or 3 rounds.

Prizes are awarded based on point totals after each round, and more prizes are awarded at the end of each season!
• Players with at least 3 points at the end of a round each get a random League promo card, and three of those players are randomly chosen to win a Lorcana pin.
• The player with the most points at the end of a round gets to pick two different promos, plus a Lorcana pin!
• At the end of each season, the 6 players with the most total points each get Lore counters, and random players with 8 or more total points at the end of a season each get Lorcana pins!

Weekly Lorcana Tournaments

Lorcana weekly tournaments take place every week during Lorcana League. That means you can attend Lorcana League AND play in the tournament, too!

Weekly Lorcana tournament times are as follows:

Wednesdays 7 pm @ AU Wilmington
Thursdays 7 pm @ AU Blue Bell
Fridays 7 pm @ AU Holmes

Registration opens at the start of League, one hour before the start of the tournament.

Entry fee: $10 ($15 if using store credit)

Format: Constructed, best 2-of-3 matches, 3 rounds maximum. Prizes are awarded based on a player’s win – loss – draw record after 3 rounds.

PRIZES
3 – 0: $40 store credit
2 – 0 – 1: $30 store credit
2 – 1: $20 store credit

Store credit is awarded on a reloadable AU gift card, and is redeemable at any of our three stores!

Alternate Universes Store Hours, Weekly Schedule, and Tournament Prize Structures!

May 28th, 2021

Alternate Universes logo

Up-To-Date Store Hours, Weekly Schedules, and Tournament Prize Structures

Come to any of our stores and enjoy free open play any time of day, any day of the week! Bring your friends to play some games, or make new friends when you visit! Our stores are outfitted with tables and public restrooms, and are regularly cleaned. Masks and hand sanitizer are available at the counter for anyone who wishes, and we encourage our players to wear masks while in the store.

We buy and sell single cards everyday! We are always happy to look at Magic: the Gathering, Yugioh, and Pokemon cards that you’d like to sell. Feel free to bring your cards in anytime! If you have a large or particularly valuable collection, please call and make an appointment so we can sit down with you and give your collection proper attention. If you have any questions about whether we’d be interested in buying something, feel free to ask!

EVENTS RUN WEEKLY

We hold weekly tournaments for Magic: the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, Flesh and Blood, Digimon, One Piece, Cardfight!! Vanguard, Dragon Ball Super, and more! We also have days set aside for games like Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer 40,000! Join us for Friday Night Magic, and weekly MTG Drafts!

We also hold special events most weekends! Special events are typically larger events, such as Magic Regional Championship Qualifiers or Yugioh Premiere! Events (aka Sneak Peeks) with a larger attendance and often bigger prize payouts. Information on these can be found on their own posts on our website, typically several weeks prior to the event.

Read below for our up-to-date hours, weekly event schedule, and unified prize structures for ALL of our weekly tournaments.

Updated 9-4-23


STORE HOURS

Alternate Universes Holmes

Sunday: Noon to 6:00 PM
Mon – Thurs: Noon to 10:00 PM
Friday: Noon to 11:00 PM
Saturday: Noon to 9:00 PM

Alternate Universes Blue Bell

Sunday: Noon to 6:00 PM
Mon – Thurs: Noon to 10:00 PM
Friday: Noon to 11:00 PM
Saturday: Noon to 9:00 PM

Alternate Universes Wilmington

Sunday: Noon to 6:00 PM
Mon – Thurs: Noon to 10:00 PM
Friday: Noon to 11:00 PM
Saturday: Noon to 8:00 PM


WEEKLY EVENT SCHEDULE

WEEKLY EVENTSSundayMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday
Holmes1 pm
Digimon
2 pm
Vanguard
6 pm
D&D Night
7 pm
Battle Spirits Saga Tournament
6 pm
MTG Commander
6 pm
Warhammer 40K
7 pm
One Piece Tournament
7 pm
Yu-Gi-Oh! Advanced format & Time Wizard (Edison)
7 PM
Shadowverse: Evolve Tournament
6 pm
MTG FNM Commander
6 pm Lorcana League
7 pm
MTG FNM Modern
7 pm Lorcana Tournament
1 pm
Yu-Gi-Oh! Advanced format
Blue Bell12:30 pm
Pokemon League-Style Play
1 pm
Yu-Gi-Oh! Advanced format
6 pm
Warhammer 40K
7 pm
MTG Modern Mondays
7 pm
One Piece Tournament
6:30 pm
MTG Commander
7 pm
Digimon
7 pm
Board Games
7 pm
MTG Pioneer
7 pm
Yu-Gi-Oh! Advanced format
7 pm
Battle Spirits Saga Tournament
7 PM
Shadowverse: Evolve Tournament
6 PM Lorcana League
6:30 pm
Vanguard
7 PM Lorcana Tournament
7 pm
Dragon Ball Super
7 pm
Flesh and Blood TCG
6 pm
MTG Commander
7 pm
MTG FNM Draft
7 pm
MTG FNM Legacy
Special Event Day
WilmingtonNoon
Pokemon League-Style Play
7 pm
Yu-Gi-Oh! Advanced format
7 pm
Digimon Card Game
6 pm
Warhammer 40K
6 pm
Warmachine
7 pm
Flesh and Blood TCG
7 pm
Shadowverse: Evolve Tournament
6 pm
MTG Commander
6 pm Lorcana League
7 pm
MTG Draft
7 pm
Battle Spirits Saga Tournament
7 pm
Lorcana Tournament
7 pm
One Piece Tournament
7 pm
MTG Modern
6 pm
MTG Commander
7 pm
MTG FNM Draft
7 pm
MTG FNM Pioneer
Special Event Day

TOURNAMENT PRIZE STRUCTURES

Moving forward most of our weekly events for all of our games will use these entry fees and prize structures.

Weekday events will be 3 rounds regardless of the number of players.
Weekend events will be 4 rounds as long as 10 or more people enter (otherwise 3 rounds)

We no longer have playoffs for weekly events. Instead, at the end of the tournament, each player gets a prize based on their win – loss – draw record.

This allows us to keep our weekly tournaments short and sweet, while still offering fair prizes regardless of the number of players in attendance. For example, if we run a weekday tournament with 30 players in attendance, we could expect about 4 players to earn the 3 – 0 prize payout, and about 11 players to earn the 2 – 1 prize payout. The event stays only three rounds, and everyone gets to go home at a reasonable hour!

Yu-Gi-Oh! weekly tournaments are the exception, since Konami requires Official Tournament Stores such as ourselves to award booster pack prizes and not store credit.

Weekday Tournaments (except Yugioh) – 3 rounds
Entry: $10 cash / $15 store credit

3 – 0: $40 store credit
2 – 0 – 1: $30 store credit
2 – 1: $20 store credit

Yu-Gi-Oh! Weekday Tournaments – 3 rounds
Entry: $10 cash / $15 store credit

3 – 0: 7 $4 Yugioh packs
2 – 1: 3 $4 Yugioh packs

MTG Drafts – 3 rounds
Entry: $20 cash / $25 store credit

3 – 0: $40 store credit
2 – 0 – 1: $30 store credit
2 – 1: $20 store credit
All other records: 1 Draft booster of current set

MTG LOTR Drafts – 3 rounds
Entry: $25 cash / $30 store credit

3 – 0: $50 store credit
2 – 1: $25 store credit
All other records: 1 LOTR Draft booster pack


Weekend Tournaments (except Yugioh) – 4 rounds
Entry: $10 cash / $15 store credit

4 – 0: $50 store credit
3 – 0 – 1: $37 store credit
3 – 1: $24 store credit
2 – 1 – 1: $16 store credit
2 – 2: $8 store credit

Yu-Gi-Oh! Weekend Tournaments – 4 rounds
Entry: $10 cash / $15 store credit

4 – 0: 10x $4 Yugioh packs
3 – 1: 5x $4 Yugioh packs

Alternate Universes Holmes, Blue Bell & Wilmington are now WPN Premium Stores!

July 3rd, 2020

We are proud to announce that Alternate Universes Holmes, Blue Bell, and Wilmington have ALL officially been designated WPN Premium Stores!

Thanks to the hard work of our employees and the dedication of our community, all three Alternate Universes locations have officially become WPN Premium stores. Over the past months, we’ve been working hard to improve our store and thus your playing experience with us. Our Blue Bell store has been remodeled with new paint, carpets, bathrooms, tables, signs, monitors, and more. Only about 5% of WPN retailers have become WPN Premium stores. Achieving this status means that we’ve reached a point where our store provides one of the highest quality gaming experiences you can get from any LGS, and it’s not just because of our looks. It’s because we as a business are committed to providing a very high quality experience to our players. When you come to our store, you can expect a clean, professional, friendly, and fun environment. And now that we’ve reached Premium status, we’ll be able to make your experience even better. We’ll be able to hold exclusive events when they’re available, and offer exclusive products and promos. You’ll notice a couple of other changes around the store as time goes on, and as we continue to work closely with Wizards of the Coast.

Thank you to our community. Without our thriving, enthusiastic, and all-around wonderful community of players these past 16 or so years, we wouldn’t have been considered for this achievement. Whether you have been with us from the beginning or have just learned about us this year, thank you! We look forward to continuing to provide the best gaming experience that we can, and we hope that you’ll continue to join us.

Join The Alternate Universes Discord Server!

March 27th, 2020

Discord app logo

>>> CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR DISCORD! <<<

We made an official Alternate Universes Discord server!
We are excited for you to join our community!

Come connect and chat with gamers from all 3 of our locations, set up times to play the games we sell, or interact with our helpful and friendly staff to answer any questions you may have!

Welcome to Alternate Universes!

March 13th, 2010

Welcome to Alternate Universes!

Collectable gaming cards, miniatures, board games, and more!

Serving the Greater Philadelphia area since 2003

We are a family-owned game store with three locations in the Greater Philadelphia area, plus an online store! Come in and play your favorite collectable card or miniatures game at our clean, well lit facilities! We sell Magic: the Gathering, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer 40K, board games, gaming accessories, and more! Each location is outfitted with plenty of table space for free open play every day. We also buy & sell single cards for Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh! & Pokemon at each of our stores. Stop by and say hello!

We buy your Pokemon, Magic: the Gathering, Yugioh, and One Piece cards!
Click here to learn more!

CLICK HERE FOR OUR ONLINE STORE

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