Where to play the Gundam Card Game in Dublin

The Gundam Card Game is the newest game on our calendar and the one that surprised us most. It came out in 2025 from Bandai, the people behind the One Piece Card Game, and it brought in two crowds at once: One Piece players who wanted a second game with rules they half knew already, and Gundam fans who had never touched a card game and wanted to put Char in a deck. Friday night is where the two meet. This is the guide to it.

The game, in plain words

You build a deck around the mobile suits of the Gundam series. Units are the suits, Pilots go into them to make them stronger and unlock their abilities, Commands are the one-off tricks, and Bases are what you are defending. You win by getting through your opponent's shields, which is their life, and the pairing of a Unit with the right Pilot is where most of the decisions are.

If you have played One Piece, the shape of a turn will feel familiar: a resource that grows each turn, attacks that your opponent can answer from hand, and a deck of 50. If you have not, the starter decks are a complete game in a box and the rules fit on one sheet.

Standard. The constructed format and the only one that matters right now. A 50-card deck built from the sets that are legal, plus the resource cards. Friday is played in it.

Store tournament. The official Bandai event, the same structure as our Saturday One Piece tournament. Short rounds, friendly, weekly.

The Friday store tournament here

Every Friday at 7pm, running to 10pm. It is €8, walk in, no booking, all welcome. Standard one-on-one, bring your own deck. A starter deck is fine for your first few weeks, and the people who turn up with one usually have something of their own by the end of the month.

Our events are listed on Bandai TCG+, the official app, and on our events page. The Magic draft runs on the same Friday night at the next tables, so the room is full.

What a first Friday is like

You arrive a bit before 7 and pay at the counter. There are usually a few people already there sleeving up or arguing about which Pilot belongs in which suit. At 7 the pairings go up and you sit down for your first game.

Games take about twenty minutes, so you get a few rounds in over the night against different people, with a coffee in between. If you are new, say so at the counter. Someone at the tables loves this game, and the series, more than is reasonable, and will happily talk you through your first attack and the moment you realise you should have kept a Command in hand. By the third Friday you will have an opinion about which faction you are, and that is the real start.

Buying cards

Starter decks are the way in; ask at the counter for what is in this week, because Bandai product arrives in waves and sells out between them. After that, most people want a few specific Pilots and Units for the deck they are building, and that is singles. We do not have Gundam singles online yet, so ask us at the counter and we will tell you what is in the binder and where to get the rest.

If you are selling rather than buying, ask at the counter and we will go through the cards with you.

Other places to play in Dublin

Gundam has spread quickly for a game that is barely a year old, so there are a couple of other nights in the county. Days and times are from the shops' listings on Play TCG Ireland on 15 October 2026, so check before you travel.

• Gamers World, 1 Jervis Street, Dublin 1. The city-centre option. Gundam on Saturday at 12pm.
• Underworld Gaming, Belgard Square West, Tallaght. Gundam on Friday at 7pm, the same night as us.
• Board & Brewed, 75 York Road, Dún Laoghaire. Us. Friday at 7pm.

If you are south of the city, the DART stops a few minutes from the door, and Friday here gets you Gundam and the Magic draft in the same room.

Where to start

Buy a starter deck, come on a Friday, play your rounds. It costs €8, you need nothing else, and by ten o'clock you will know whether the game is for you. If you already play One Piece on a Saturday, this is the easiest second game you will ever learn.

We are at 75 York Road, Dún Laoghaire, open till 11pm on Friday. For the rest of the week, One Piece is on Saturday and Star Wars: Unlimited is on Thursday.