{"id":2147,"date":"2019-03-25T09:00:31","date_gmt":"2019-03-25T09:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/?p=2147"},"modified":"2019-03-25T13:38:40","modified_gmt":"2019-03-25T13:38:40","slug":"a-place-at-the-table-board-game-cafes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2019\/03\/25\/a-place-at-the-table-board-game-cafes\/","title":{"rendered":"A Place at the Table: Board Game Caf\u00e9s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Good afternoon board gamers! I was sitting at home the other trying to decide what I wanted to write about. I started thinking about newer trends in board gaming. One of the trends that came to mind is board game
caf\u00e9s. Since I\u2019m not familiar with board game caf\u00e9s, I reached out to some online friends who either already own and operate a board game
caf\u00e9, Kathleen Miller of House Rules<\/a> in Hudson, NY, or are in the process of starting a board game caf\u00e9, Bill Giles of The Innkeeper\u2019s Table<\/a>. This blog may be a little longer than normal, but I hope you will find it interesting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s start off with the basics. A board game caf\u00e9 is a place where you can go and play board games with friends and have some food. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wondered how Miller and Giles found themselves in the business of running a board game caf\u00e9 or starting the process. Miller had originally been thinking of creating a restaurant focused on high quality comfort food. Living in a foodie town and having a career in the retail wine industry lead Miller to wanting something a little different. After poking around on the internet in 2016, Miller was led to the idea of having a library in a bar which, in turn, reminded her of her stock of board games. \u201cFrom there,\u201d as she says, \u201cit was a quick and easy jump to board game caf\u00e9 .\u201d After some months of research, she had a business plan in places, and a little over 10 months after that, House Rules was open for business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Panoramic view of House Rules courtesy of Kathleen Miller. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Giles entry into the world of board game caf\u00e9s was a little different. He got the idea from a friend who mentioned that it would be fun to partner up and run a board game caf\u00e9. He let the idea percolate for a couple of years before deciding to go ahead and do it himself. He has been hosting gaming events since college and loves being a facilitator for other people to game even more than he loves playing games.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Concept art for the upcoming board game caf\u00e9, The Innkeeper’s Table.
<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

You may be thinking why should I go to a board game caf\u00e9 when I can just bring my board games to any bar and play with friends.  \u201cBoard game caf\u00e9s are more approachable than gaming or hobby stores. They are set up like restaurants, which is a familiar environment to most people,\u201d says Miller, \u201cIt\u2019s about creating communities around gaming. It\u2019s more than just providing a space or bringing games to a bar.\u201d When I asked Giles about the appeal of board game caf\u00e9s , he expressed a similar sentiment to Miller, \u201cA good caf\u00e9 will have staff members who can talk to customers and get an idea of what sort of game they are looking for, and even teach the customers to play. It makes board games a lot more approachable if you don\u2019t have to dig through a rule book. Their job is to aid the customer in selecting the right game(s) for their group and facilitate the entire gaming process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I may live in small town Michigan, but I consider myself to be a fairly decent board gamer. I\u2019ve been playing board games for a few years now. But I\u2019ve never been to a board game caf\u00e9 myself. I think the closest one to me is in Grand Rapids, which is just a tad far to drive just to play board games. Since I\u2019ve never been to a board game caf\u00e9, I wasn\u2019t really sure if this was a market that would apply to me, or if this type of establishment is geared more towards newer gamers. Miller assured me that every board game caf\u00e9 is different, and some are designed to attract hard core gamers while others have more of a broad focus. She also says that, \u201cEvery caf\u00e9 is definitely working to bring new gamers into the hobby through demos and gaming events.\u201d  It is reassuring to know that whatever your level of gaming, there is something out there for you when it comes to board games and board game caf\u00e9s . As someone who plays board games pretty frequently, I\u2019m starting to see the appeal of game caf\u00e9s . It could give me the opportunity to try out some different games to see if I liked them or wanted to play them again. Let\u2019s be honest, it\u2019s not fun to drop some money on a board game only to find out that you hate it after just one play. I\u2019m comfortable enough in my style of game play that I generally know what I\u2019ll like, but sometimes I find a game that I didn\u2019t think I would like until I actually played it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since I was talking to Miller and Giles about board game caf\u00e9s and their thoughts on them, I couldn\u2019t resist asking them what types of games they liked to play. Here is what they like to play: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personally, I really enjoy games with heavy theming. I\u2019m a sucker for pretty components and a lot of story. I love stories, whether theyre the ones that show up as an integral part of a Ryan Laukat game like Near & Far or Plaid Hat\u2019s Dead of Winter or they\u2019re the stories of the gamers enjoying each other\u2019s company. But gameplay is definitely still important. When it comes to mechanics, I like cooperative games a lot, and I\u2019m a big fan of engine building and deck\/dice\/bag building games. <\/p>Bill Giles from The Innkeeper’s Table<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t have a single favorite style. My tastes are varied and include modern social games like Telestrations, as well as old-school classics such as Diplomacy and Risk. At any given time, I can be found working on one of the various D&D games that I run (5th Edition or 5E) or putting together a group for another system like Fate. <\/p>Kathleen Miller from House Rules<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The seating at House Rules. Photo courtesy of Kathleen Miller.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Board game caf\u00e9s seem to be popping up throughout the country. So, if you\u2019ve never been inside one, then I\u2019d suggest stopping by and checking one out. You never know; you just might find a new hang out spot or even a new favorite game. I know if one ever shows up close to me, I\u2019ll be giving it a try. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019d like more information about the Miller\u2019s caf\u00e9 or to keep up to date about the progress of Giles\u2019 caf\u00e9, please follow these links: House Rule\u2019s Caf\u00e9<\/a> and The Innkeeper\u2019s Table<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Good afternoon board gamers! I was sitting at home the other trying to decide what I wanted to write about. I started thinking about newer trends in board… Continue reading <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":2182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[272,277],"tags":[257,280,292],"class_list":["post-2147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-a-place-at-the-table","category-blogs","tag-a-place-at-the-table","tag-blog","tag-board-game-cafes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2147"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2185,"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2147\/revisions\/2185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}