The duo expects the release of half a dozen more in the next couple of years. It became a hive of ingenuity for hobbyists.ĭesigners such as Stephen Sauer and Daryl Andrews workshop their products in bull sessions that have helped yield two games now on the market, The Walled City and Caffeine Rush. for designers to sound-board ideas and test-play their fledgling games. Soon after it opened in 2010, Snakes & Lattes began hosting monthly gatherings - often into the a.m.
“The Snakes & Lattes café is certainly most prominent, (but) I didn't come close to seeing everything.” “Toronto has a thriving board game scene,” said Gil Hova, a New York-based designer who recently visited the GTA. It hosts tutorials and high-stakes tournaments - the winner of a Carcassonne battle headed to Essen, Germany, for the international championships last October, placing in the top 20. Snakes & Lattes, which has expanded three times in the past five years, invites customers in for a $5 cover charge. And it’s much better than staring at a screen,” says Jared Kennedy, 16. “It’s just a great place to get out and talk to people. hotspot simmers with life and coffee 16 hours a day, drawing people of all ages and backgrounds within its exposed brick walls. “We have a massive number of board-game bars and cafés compared to cities in the U.S.,” says Aaron Zack, head of operations for Snakes & Lattes, Toronto’s board games mecca. Related: Why board games are thriving in the digital age And Neto is the newest convert in a growing congregation of board gamers who now have their pick of at least eight game-stacked temples in which to practise their faith.
W.Ī-Game is the latest outgrowth of Toronto’s newfound role as king of board-game café culture in North America. “I’m here to play, learn English and make new friends - except on the board,” says Neto, who’s been coming to A-Game Cafe since he arrived in the country, a few months after the sleek board game hub opened on Queen St. Geraldo Neto rolls the dice under the pot lights at Toronto’s newest board game café.Īccompanied by four friendly strangers and the hissing espresso machine at A-Game, the Brazilian ESL student hurls himself into the world of Catan.