The Rising Culture of Board Game Cafes

Board game cafes have only been in Ireland since 2016. About six pubs in Dublin, Ireland offer board games for entertainment while hanging out with friends or family.

While the practice of the board game cafe culture is rising in Ireland there are still concerning issues that Ireland could work on such as ensuring the pieces of the game aren’t missing. 

Oftentimes we see the board games aren’t kept torn, defected or untidy.In Asia, however, board game cafes are very different.

In South Korea, board game cafes offer beers, snacks, non-alcoholic beverages, and even a staff or waiter who acts as a game expert. This game expert will teach you the mechanics of a game, the rules of the game and, at the same time, ensure the experience in the cafe is an enjoyable one.

In Malaysia, there is a well-known board game cafe called Meeples. It is a European Board Game cafe who are the leading board and card games promoter and distributor in Malaysia. 

Meeples Cafe allows members and non-members to play whichever board or card games for about 20 Malaysian ringgit (€4) for the first two hours and a payment of four Malaysian ringgit (€0.81) for every subsequent hour. 

The cafe acts as a place for reunion with friends, a place of getting to know new people and sometimes not only large game associations but groups as small as college game societies would host events in such cafes. 

Board game cafes in Asian countries are known for the board games they offer and the service they provide. The cafe has a system to entertain guests while earning a profit.

The culture is vast and growing. The idea of Snakes and Ladders and Monopoly is no longer how people imagine board or card games to be like.

Board games are now evolving to be optional for a player to play that game by him or herself or should they choose to play with a large group of people, the choice is theirs. 

Cork-based board game designer Robin David, who created the award-winning board game, Moveable Type, was unaware of such culture until he went to Singapore. It was then Robin found his passion for board game design. 

On the GrandDesigners podcast he said “first of all I didn’t realise such cool board games existed, I thought it was just like Scrabble and Monopoly, those kind of games, but it’s not. There are thousands and thousands of board games and some of them are really really unique, cool and interesting and do really weird things. 

A lot of the modern ones are fast and really interactive. So it was an amazing discovery to kind of like (to think) this is a really really cool little circle of fun that I never knew existed before. So I got involved and I thought I could make something like this and I could try to make some games.”

According to David, getting into the world of board games certainly has its barriers. The reason given was that many may not know the different types of board games available and where they could find them. 

“There is definitely a barrier there in entry to board games. It’s a huge field and they are all kind of like very very different and it can be a bit scary and intimidating. Like where do I even begin? I want to play board games but where do I begin?” 

He suggests that this is where board game reviewers like Actuallol YouTube channels could come in handy for those who wish to learn what games to play with what crowd.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions and current circumstances, board game pubs are closing down. The Cork-based Tabletop Cafe, which was very famous for its board game services has shut its doors as a direct result of the lockdown. 

The cafe announced its permanent closure in June 2020. However, the cafe currently runs an online retail store for purchasing games online.

Robin said that board or card games are evolving to cater to any individual with different interests. 

He understands that people play games for different reasons. While some may like puzzle solving games. Some love strategy games, some may even love games that require sheer luck, like Uno, maybe.

“It depends why you’re playing a game. I play games because I like puzzles and I like the mechanical interactions and things. But some people like games because they want to drink beer and talk and tell jokes while doing something” he said. 

With that in mind Robin has created printable games that could be played as a single player. Keeping in mind that with Covid, friends or even family may not be able to play with an individual because of restrictions.

• Board games
• cafe
• games