This is the part that I am most excited for and that needs a little longer explanation.  Board game cafés are a very European and Canadian concept that are gaining in popularity across the US.  The Kitchen Table at Relish will be the second one (that we know of) in North Carolina—the first is Well-Played in Asheville that opened in 2017. 

 

My own family rediscovered board games just around a year ago and I cannot wait to share the experience with others.  No lecture intended; but so many of us, myself included, spend so much of our time connected to people only through technology.  Finding ways to spend time just talking with no screens has become a bit illusive.  But playing board games sets the stage for some of the best conversations about life and learning and they are also perfect ice breakers that can encourage a group to find common ground. 

 

The games themselves have improved SO MUCH since the heyday of Candy Land and Monopoly.  If you haven’t tried a “gateway” Eurostyle game like Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, Sushi Go, Dominion, 7 Wonders, or Pandemic you may not know that modern board games are now less about random luck and more dependent on strategy, friendlier competition, and even cooperation.   

 

We already have a library of over 300 games that we have been sacrificing ourselves to learn to play—including the old standbys (like Scrabble, Life, and Sorry) to the newest releases (like Root, Century Spice Road, and Scythe).  We will have trained “gametenders” available to help you choose a game that is a good fit for your group and teach you how to play it.  For the first year, all games will be free to play (we’ve got to get you hooked, right?) but eventually we will need to charge a nominal game playing fee to help us cover the cost of upkeep on the game library (replacing those inevitable lost pieces and buying the latest games).