About Us
Alternate Universes is a family-owned tabletop game store and your premiere tabletop gaming destination in the Greater Philadelphia Area. Originally founded in 2003, we now have three locations: Holmes, PA; Blue Bell, PA; and Wilmington, DE. Plus an online store!
We specialize in trading card games like Pokémon, Magic: the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! , and more. We also sell Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer 40K, and board games, as well as gaming accessories like binders, deck boxes, sleeves, dice, play mats, D&D miniatures, and Citadel paint. We buy cards every day, too.
Each location has dedicated play areas where we hold weekly tournaments and special events for most of our games. We also offer free open play every day, as long as there is table space available. No need to schedule ahead—just stop by and play!
Alternate Universes started in a 1200 sq ft store along MacDade Blvd. in Holmes, Pennsylvania. In 2013, we moved to a larger location in the MacDade Plaza Shopping Center, where AU Holmes is still located today. As we gained knowledge, experience, and a loyal customer base, we expanded our product selection and continued to grow!
The store is founded by Mike Coyle and supported by our family, friends, and community members. When you shop at Alternate Universes, you're not just supporting a local store—you're joining a thriving community that has been growing for over 20 years. We hope you'll join us!
Our Mission
In our ever-digitizing world, Alternate Universes has consistently remained a physical store where all gamers can come to meet, play, and engage in the games they love. However, we also maintain a strong online presence. You can visit our website store to buy cards or go to our Discord server to get more information about our events.
We are proud to have been serving the community for over twenty years. Thank you to everyone who has shopped at our store for all these years!
Our Locations
Alternate Universes Blue Bell
Our second location opened in Blue Bell, PA in 2007. The Blue Bell store has grown to become our flagship operation. In 2017 we moved it to a 2400 sq ft store in East Norriton, PA on W. Germantown Pike but in 2025 we moved back to where it began in Blue Bell with an even bigger 3500 sq ft location.
Alternate Universes Holmes
Opened in 2003 along MacDade Blvd., the Holmes store is where it all began! In 2013, we moved to a larger location in the MacDade Plaza Shopping Center, where we continue to serve the community to this day.
Alternate Universes Wilmington
In 2013 we saw an additional opportunity to expand and serve a new gaming community by opening a third store in north Wilmington, Delaware. In 2022 we moved this store to a larger venue right next door to our original one. The new location is 2000 sq ft and has seating for 80+ players.
A Personal Story
When the store opened, I was 15, playing the Dragon Ball Z card game, and still in high school. It’s wild to see the store come from where I would hang out after high school with my friends to a business that I actively help run.
I am 36 as of writing this, and the store is still a big part of my world! It is my career, I met my wife here, and now I am the father of the next generation of gamers with a daughter who was born in 2022 and a son on the way. I want to keep bringing what I love about the store to new people.
For me, the store was a hangout, a place to play and compete, and even if I was working there, a place that I always looked forward to going to. I loved the experience of meeting new people every day and finding new games to play physically on a table. There is nothing that comes close to the human interaction that the trading card game world brings. I want to continue to make the store the place that I loved as a kid and still do as an adult.
– Pat
Growing Up with AU
If the year we opened was 2003, then I was probably 12 at the time my Dad made the decision to start the business. I remember my brother, my mom, my dad, and me sitting around in the kitchen while my dad discussed his future, being newly freed from his last job. He was thinking of opening his own business, and I remember my brother excitedly trying to convince him to open a game store. It didn't take much before my Dad said ok. That's also when we got our name. It was my Mom's suggestion. Alternate Universes. Because every game is like its own universe.
I remember going to AU every day after school, and doing my homework in the office. I remember the annual AU BBQ we used to hold every year at AU Holmes, where my dad would cook burgers and hot dogs for free for anyone who wanted one. I remember when we used to have pinball and a couple arcade games that we'd rotate out every now and then. And I remember for years travelling all over with my Dad, to vend at Yugioh Sneak Peeks and Regionals in hotel ballrooms and convention halls, until eventually the torch was passed onto us to run them ourselves.
Throughout the years, AU has been a constant fixture in my life. And I know I'm not alone.
– Sean