A board game café is a type of café in which patrons play board and card games while being served food and drink. Customers usually pay an entry fee or rent a table in order to access a large library of games and instruction from the staff on how to play them. Many board game cafés also sell the games.[1]
History
Board game cafés seem to have begun in South Korea; in 2004, Seoul had 130 board game cafés.[2] This was followed by many other large cities in East Asia, and by 2012 there were estimated to be more than 200 cafés in Beijing.[3] Many of these cafés offered 24 hours of gaming, instructions from staff and free drinks for around 30 yuan.[3]
While it was not the first board game café in North America, Snakes and Lattes in Toronto, established in 2010, is often credited with proliferating the idea of board game cafés to various entrepreneurs in the city and the western world.[4][2][5] These include Draughts in London,
Clientele
Board game cafés often cater to a wide audience of all ages, particularly to people unfamiliar with the hobby.[13] They tend to be more successful in attracting newcomers to board games than board game hobby shops, although they are also frequented by experienced hobbyists. Customers in board game cafés can include dating couples, groups of students, as well as veteran regulars.
Asia
India
Board game cafés in India were becoming popular in early 2020, with the establishment of The Board Room and The Board Game Lounge in Chennai, Creeda BGC (2015) and Pair A Dice (2017) in Mumbai, Dice N Dine in Bangalore and Board'em in Gurgaon. Shasn, Mantri Cards, Manifesto, and The Poll: The Great Indian Election Game are Indian board games that feature in many of these premises.[14]
Iran
According to Polygon, privately owned businesses such as board game cafés have become "safe havens" for Iranian youth against the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (often referred to as the "morality police"), and board game cafés in particular were said to "provide excellent escapism". Dressage Café in Tehran is one such establishment which involves playthroughs of Dungeons & Dragons and Mafia as well as a library of mostly Iranian board games.[15]
Europe
North America
Canada
Snakes and Lattes, a chain headquartered in Toronto, is one of the largest board game café chains in North America. Originally, Wi-Fi was intentionally not available at the first café.[39] In 2014, the chain opened the board game bar Snakes and Lagers,[40] later Snakes & Lattes College, which offers alcoholic drinks as well as coffee.[41]
In 2018, YouTuber and animator Domics opened Domics' GG Gaming Café, a board game café in Mississauga.[42]
United States
See also
- Cat café
- Internet café
- LAN gaming center
- Amusement arcade
References
- Jeff McArthur. The Exciting Rise of Board Game Cafes Nerdist, 26 August 2016, retrieved 10 October 2022^
- Tristan Donovan. It's all a game : a short history of board games. Atlantic Books, 2018^
- Board games cafes offer web break in China The Independent, 20 February 2011, retrieved 9 October 2022^