London is getting a new board game cafe with 1,000 games

A new board game cafe is set to open within weeks at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford.

Board game cafe chain Draughts has announced a third location, with plans to open in “Spring”, following its locations in Waterloo and Hackney.

The Stratford venue, which will be a board game cafe slash restaurant slash bar, will span more than 4000 square feet. It’s expected to have room for almost 200 players, with 150 sat indoors and space for an extra 40 on a terrace with views over the WaterWorks River (which joins up with the River Lea).

Draughts’s third location hasn’t been added to its website — because it’s not open yet — but the two existing locations give you the perfect preview of what to expect.

The board game business maintains a library of more than 1000 titles, and you can have a rifle through the entire lot over at the Draughts website. As you’d hope there are some deep cuts in there, including many picks from our best board games round-up.

How a board game cafe works

Entry costs £7.50 a person, or £9.50 during peak hours, and that grants you access to as many board games as you like for up to three hours.

Coming with the family rather than friends? Under-12s get in for free (because they can’t truly appreciate the ins and outs of Twilight Imperium yet) while 13-17 year-olds get in for half the cash.

Draughts also serves food. Its menu consists of burgers, nachos, tacos and snacky sharer plates, including a decent range of options for vegetarians and vegans.

The bar is well-stocked too, offering wines and cocktails, and beer on tap including a House Rules lager. Or if you like to treat a board game cafe more like an actual cafe, coffees and teas are on the menu too.

We’re still waiting to hear on the exact opening date of Draughts Stratford, but you can book in at Waterloo and Hackney right now. The business has been around since 2014, when it opened what was dubbed London’s “first board game cafe” in Haggerston. Its Waterloo venue, which opened in 2018, is found by Leake Street’s railway arches.

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