Foodie and gamer paradise: Board Game Cafés

With students on a momentary break from all the homework, quizzes, and exams, they might be looking for ideas on where to spend their precious free time. Enter the board game café: a place to dine, relax, and play board and card games to your heart’s content. Board game cafes have been steadily becoming more popular in the Philippines as hang-out spots where people can bond over food and games, and just generally have a good time.

Taking advantage of this craze, I decided to visit three board game cafes for the very first time to review their food, and find out what makes each unique and worth going to.

Exile on Main Street

It took me a while to find this hidden gem, which I had never noticed before. Just a hop and a skip away from DLSU, with an entrance located along Leon Guinto, Exile on Main St. is a restaurant that holds board game events from time to time, for a fee. It’s a safe haven for students, artists, and people who’re looking for a unique dining experience.

The restaurant may be a bit small, but it’s cozy and it has that authentic Filipino feel, with quirky décor that sets it apart from other restaurants. One of the walls, for example, is covered in artworks made by previous patrons. They also have a small bookcase filled with books that you can borrow if you’re looking for a way to pass the time. Posted near the door is a declaration of everything Exile stands for as a place that encourages creativity and imagination, which just about sums the restaurant up—Exile really is a place where you can relax and be yourself.

Visit Exile for the food! Their food tastes like they pour their very heart and soul into it, and they serve it at a reasonable price. They make most of their menu from scratch! A must-try is their trademark “Stopover chicks,” succulent pieces of chicken wings that are dipped in one of three delectable flavors of sauce. Another is their ice cream, which isn’t just bought from any supplier—it’s homemade, deliciously creamy, and perfect for the summer heat.

Plaza Café

I visited Plaza Café on a weekend afternoon, and found the place peaceful and quiet. It’s a long way from the usual crowded cafes and restaurants. It’s the perfect place for you and your friends to sit back, relax, and enjoy a round of Monopoly without worrying about the place getting too noisy or suffocating.

Situated in a hotel behind the old Greenbelt in Makati, Plaza Cafe doesn’t look like a board game café at first glance. It looked much like a regular café, with helpful staff and a wide selection of appetizers and snacks to choose from. Like Exile, they also have a shelf filled with magazines, books, and newspapers for the avid reader. The main difference is that you can rent board games any time you visit while you eat at large and spacious tables that have room for both your food and your game. Stay at Plaza Café for the casual atmosphere that’s ideal for playing games and chilling with friends, and their food that’s not too heavy and perfect for munching on while you’re playing.

Puzzles Café

This one is pretty popular. It’s also probably my absolute favorite. Puzzles Board Game Lounge has two branches, one in Paranaque and a newer one in BGC. I visited the BGC branch on a weekend, and was immediately struck by the atmosphere. Right away, you could already tell that it was a board game café. There were shelves lined with all kinds of board games and card games, and the place was filled with families and barkadas enjoying their meals over a fun round of whatever it was they were playing.

Their “Stay and Play” deal is a good start if you want to check out their board games. For a fee of P100, you can rent out their board games and play for as much as you’d like. No fees you have to pay by-the-hour, just an initial payment—and then you can practically play until the café closes, if you like. You can also buy board games from them that aren’t available in stores nationwide, like the popular and politically incorrect Cards Against Humanity.

If you’re mainly here for the food, you’re in luck. Puzzles Café serves a wide variety of snacks and appetizers that are very tempting to munch on while you play. Careful about ordering too much food if you’re planning on staying, though, because you might just end up getting surprised by the bill, which can grow if you aren’t paying attention to what you’re ordering! Be mindful too when you’re visiting Puzzles on weekends, because I’ve been told it can get pretty packed!

Stay and play

It’s easy to see why board game cafes are such popular hangouts. They give you hours of memorable fun and entertainment while snacking on delicious food. The cafes I visited are just three of the dozens of this kind, which are popping up all around Metro Manila. Next time you’re looking for a place to have fun, why not visit a board game café?