Tired of the same old coffee shop routine? Roll the dice at a board game café to shake things up.
At board game cafés, guests can play board games (usually for a fee) while enjoying food and drink menu items. From quick card games to popular tabletop games, these cafés have huge game collections. Whether you’re a hardcore strategist, a casual board game player or someone who just loves a cozy spot with good company and great drinks, these cafés are the perfect place to challenge friends and have a good time.
Hexagon Board Game Cafe
Originally starting in Edmonton, Hexagon Board Game Cafe opened its first Calgary location in 2016. Located in Kensington, the café has more than 1,000 board and card games to choose from, including Uno, Anomia, Mysterium or Dungeons and Dragons. Guests pay $4.50 per hour and per person at the end of the game session. There’s an alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink menu to pair with bites like the turkey pesto panini, a sausage roll or chocolate pretzels.
200, 1140 Kensington Rd. N.W., 403-209-2881, shop.thehexcafe.com
Metal Galaxy Social Games and Bistro
Metal Galaxy Social Games and Bistro has spent 20 years in the gaming industry. The café has a large curated selection of over 200 board games to play for just $5 per person for the whole day. The café also specializes in collectible card trading games like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Magic the Gathering. Metal Galaxy regularly hosts game nights and tabletop tournaments for games like Dungeons and Dragons. The bistro has dishes like hot dogs, pizza and paninis.
4660 Macleod Tr. S.W., 403-253-1414, metal-galaxy.com
ShoeBox Games & Cafe
Starting as a small farmers’ market booth selling card and board games, ShoeBox Games & Cafe opened its current location in 2016. The café has a minimum cover fee of $3 per person for the whole day, which gives guests full access to the entire board game and beginner trading card game collections. ShoeBox also hosts regular events and tournaments. And if you get hungry, the café offers a food menu where you can get delicious dishes like sweet and savoury pies or Belgian waffles.
509 McKnight Blvd. N.E., 403-475-7217, shoeboxgc.com
D6 Tabletop Café
D6 is a popular spot for many board game enthusiasts with a vast selection of more than 500 games to play for a fee of $11 per person for the whole day. Play games like Unmatched or Pandemic, or explore the game library (categorized by genre and difficulty) to discover new games. The café hosts multiple monthly events like game developers nights or miniature painting lessons and hangouts. If you work up an appetite while you play, try creative drinks with game-inspired names like the Druidcraft with matcha and carbonated peach soda or the Eldritch Blast with Coca-Cola and espresso. D6 also has food offerings like salmon cream cheese bagels or carrot cake.
112, 2323 32 Ave. N.E., 587-436-5929, d6tabletopcafe.com
Bowness Arts
Bowness Arts offers more than just board games — it also sells an assortment of physical media like books, DVDs and vinyl records, as well as puzzles and collectible trading cards. Sit and play any of the board games in its collection for a cover fee of $3 per person. Bowness Arts hosts weekly board game tournaments every day of the week. Guests can pay $8 to participate in tournaments for games like Magic the Gathering or Warhammer during set play times. During your game, chow down on one of the four sandwich options or grab an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink.
6326 Bowness Rd. N.W., 403-288-4926, bownessarts.com
Y Not Today Board Game and Bingsu Cafe
At Y Not Today Board Game and Bingsu Cafe, guests can access the café’s entire collection of interactive games, puzzles and board games for no cover fee with a minimum $6 purchase from the café’s menu. Y Not Today specializes in bingsu, a Korean shaved ice dessert, and also serves a variety of other drinks and bites like bubble tea and cheesecake. The café hosts board game nights like Friday chess nights, as well as events like paid paint nights and crochet lessons.
4339 Macleod Tr. S.W., 403-345-7108, ynottoday.ca