Bard and Bear Games Cafe to open Friday
Cover fee of $5 allows access to 750-plus games
When Megan and Steven Edmonds first met, the pair immediately bonded over the joy of playing board games.
Steven admits he hadn’t played a lot of games, but Megan’s family were devotees and they quickly taught him the ropes, he said.
Soon enough, the majority of his world revolved around games — he was playing them, selling them and working at Hamilton’s Mancala Monk as their head games guru.
Come this week, Steven and Megan will soon add another feather to their caps as they open their own board game café, the Bard and Bear Games Cafe, on James Street North.
Reminiscent of the now-closed Gameopolis, Steven said players will each pay a $5 cover fee for unlimited access to their games library. The café is also planning to serve coffee, locally sourced foods as well as a selection of craft beer and local wines.
Megan said in paying homage to its interior, which is designed to feel like an old English pub, with a nod to fantasy, they’ll also be serving mead.
“(Players) will find it to be a very comfortable, familiar space,” Megan said. “We didn’t want to make it so heavily themed to something like Dungeons and Dragons that it would be inaccessible to people who aren’t super nerdy like the two of us.”
Steven said they got the space back in August and after a lengthy wait for a building permit — which came in days after their wedding — they got to work renovating it in mid-October.
“We’ve been going non-stop since,” said Megan.
Megan said one of the most timeconsuming tasks has been preparing the 750-plus (and growing) board game collection that will fill the café.
Their offerings range from classics like Clue, Perfection, Candyland and the Game of Life to more niche games such as Aeon’s End, Railroad Revolution, Betrayal at House on the Hill and Neta-Tanka.
There will be something for everyone, said Steven, who noted that the games range in complexity, interest and group size.
And to reduce their environmental footprint, a majority of their games have also come to them second-hand — either through Kijiji finds or used stores such as Value Village.
“At least 60 to 70 per cent of our board games are used,” Megan said.
“We were able to save something like 600 games from the landfill.”
Steven said they’re hopeful the café will give people another option for an evening out downtown as well as create a new space where board game lovers can get together.
The central and west parts of the city have been without a board game café since Gameopolis closed permanently in November 2020.
“We were very sad to see them go and by no means are we replacing them,” said Megan.
“But we’re very pleased to be able to offer another space to play games.”
Steven said as they work through opening and if the pandemic allows it, they’re planning to host community events as well as evenings dedicated to Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop games.
As the Bard and Bear is considered a café, vaccination passports will be mandatory for all those planning to get their game on, added Megan.
“We want it to be a community space,” said Steven.
The Bard and Bear Games Cafe is located at 237 James St. N. It is set to open Friday.