From the Web*:
Punch-Out Gaming has been a fixture in Forest Lake since 2014, started by identical twin brothers Mike and Eric who originally sold games out of their house before opening a proper storefront on South Lake Street. Over a decade later, the shop has grown into one of the more well-rounded gaming and collectibles destinations north of the metro, with an inventory that spans retro consoles and cartridges (Atari through Switch), video games new and old, Pokémon cards, Magic: The Gathering, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh, Dragon Ball, sports cards, action figures, plushies, and more. They also buy — offering cash or store credit for used games, consoles, and trading cards.
The Pokémon selection is a particular draw. Punch-Out markets itself as carrying one of the largest Pokémon inventories in the Midwest, with singles (graded and ungraded), sealed product, booster boxes, and accessories all represented. Across nearly 900 Google reviews, the store holds a 4.5 rating, and the praise is consistent: enthusiastic staff, solid organization, and a genuinely fun atmosphere — especially on busy days when card tournaments or events are running. The shop is also a sanctioned Pokémon League location, hosting weekly play nights for the TCG crowd. Birthday party room rentals with gaming setups are available as well, making it a popular destination for families.
That said, not all feedback is glowing. A handful of reviewers on Google and Yelp have flagged pricing as a pain point — particularly on trading card trade-ins, where some customers felt the store’s buy prices came in significantly below market value. Sports card pricing has also drawn criticism from some as being on the high end. And while the vast majority of customer service reviews are warm, there are a small number of more serious complaints on record — including at least one account from early 2026 involving a family who reported being made to feel unwelcome, with the owner reportedly not stepping in to defuse the situation. These incidents are a minority of the overall review record, but they’re worth flagging in the spirit of fairness.
On balance, Punch-Out Gaming has built a loyal local following and earned its reputation as the go-to spot in the northern suburbs for retro games and Pokémon. If you’re heading in to trade, it’s worth doing a little homework on current market values first.
*From the web descriptions are provided via an AI tool analyzing available information online from website, reviews & social media profiles.
Our Take:
Punch-Out Gaming from my recollection is one of the more aggressive stores when it comes to promotion on social media–meaning I’m pretty sure I discovered them through seeing an ad on Facebook (and I don’t remember ever seeing any other stores do promoted posts). That’s not a bad thing. However, despite the fact that I do end up going through Forest Lake at least a few times a year, I never made it a huge point to stop–partly because it wasn’t in the part of Forest Lake I was going through, but also between the name (invoking video games), and what I remember seeing most of on their social media (TCG posts), it just wasn’t a priority. Even the day I finally was in Forest Lake with a little time to spare, I figured I would snap a pic and move on–I almost completely missed until I was just about to leave the parking lot that the secondary window of the store did say ‘Sports Cards’ on it, so I decided to go in to check it out.
Upon walking in, it IS abundantly clear that games and TCG is the main focus–initially I thought it was just one small case of sports cards, but when I finally got back to that part of the shop, I found that it was more than I had expected–certainly not a full-blown sports card shop, but enough to pique my interest. And much to even my own surprise, given that I allegedly don’t really collect any more, I decided to grab a few packs when I noticed they had some packs of 2020-21 Upper Deck Series 2 at an all too reasonable price. And even if the gentleman that checked me out was more into video games or TCG, he did correctly wish my luck with my Kaprizov hunting (alas, no Kaprizov’s were found).
