Whether you’re a regular board gamer, you have fond memories of a youth filled with endless rounds of Operation and Buckeroo or you’re a new convert to board games by the mere achievement of having kids, Coffee & Dice café and bar is a unique venue where you can turn your hand to more than 500 different titles of all types, themes and levels of difficulty.
Come, stay a while and master a new game with a group of friends or bring the kids and fill a whole afternoon test-running their birthday present ideas.
Convenient setting
Coffee & Dice is set in a stunning new-build development on Christchurch Road less than half a mile from the Sovereign Shopping Centre in the Boscombe part of Bournemouth. It’s 0.3 miles from Pokesdown Train Station just along the same road and just over a mile from Vitality Stadium in King’s Park, home of the town’s Premiership football club AFC Bournemouth.
While some cafés might give you the sense they’re rushing through your order before dispatching you back out the door, Coffee & Dice would rather urge you to stay and enjoy the games. If there’s a title you’ve always wanted to try but never had the patience with or the money to splash out (some of these games retail for nigh-on £100) just pop into Coffee & Dice any day of the week, from 10am to 11pm and give them a proper go.
Welcome walk-ins
Each player pays £4 for unlimited access to all board games, plus expert support from the team for anything from setting up a technical kit (I’ve still not got to grips with Mousetrap!), to explaining rules, to discussing tactics.
You’re welcome to just drop in – there’s no need to book a table unless you would like to throw your next function or event here and then, by all means, feel free! There’s a dedicated section that can be reserved for your occasion while keeping plenty of room for walk-in visitors. The venue will comfortably hold 50 visitors and still have plenty of room for elbows, stacks of play money, character pieces, props, snacks and board game boxes!
Open to all
Because the venue is a new build, the venture has been a complete labour of love by the passionate team to create an approachable, friendly yet classy environment where you’d feel welcome walking in and comfortable enough to spend the afternoon. The proprietors have an incredible knowledge of a wide cross-section of games titles and took the time to test their mettle on the convention circuit to make sure their business idea was viable before taking the plunge
True to its name, there is a vast selection of coffees and hot drinks, cold drinks, wines and beers to enjoy at Coffee & Dice, freshly prepared by the team’s baristas. The food menu comprises wraps, sandwiches and paninis, a mouth-watering section of cakes and pastries freshly baked by a local supplier plus ideal munchie-combatting snacks like popcorn, sweeties and crisps if you don’t want to take time away from your winning run to eat anything more substantial!
Experts and exclusives
While it’s somewhat of a shrine to those classic board games such as Ludo and Scrabble which never grow old, Coffee & Dice is also a platform for launching and exploring new titles, with events showing off and sharing new releases and some games yet to hit the shelves.
Keep an eye on the events pages for special evenings hosted by game designers, exclusive competitions and conventions too.
Coffee & Dice launched in May 2017 with the support of a ‘Kickstarter’ campaign – a crowdfunding initiative to raise money for the venue’s unique features such as purpose-built ‘gaming tables,’ with a handy shelf under the table top to store the box and the 500+ and counting stock of board games.
You’ll find labels of thanks in some of the boxes where some of the games have been donated to this project – it truly is a labour of love and already has a lot of support from the local community. If you’re resigned to never using a certain title again or your family has grown out of another why not bring it down, donate it and spread the joy?!
Whether you’re an established board games guru or just looking for somewhere different to while away a drizzly afternoon, you’re guaranteed a warm welcome and a whole world of entertainment at Coffee & Dice.
