5 perfect places to play board games in London

If the phrase ‘Let’s play Seven Wonders’ means more to you than a Fleetwood Mac-related DJ request then you’re going to be pretty darn excited at the prospect of Draughts, a bar and café with more than 800 board games available to play at customers’ leisure.

Entry is £5 per person, but that buys you unlimited play and, crucially, the help of a ‘game guru’, who’ll offer guidance on which will suit your group best and how the rules work. The library includes everything from Articulate and Cranium to newer (and more complex) classics Carcassonne and Pandemic. Food, craft beer, ale, cider and wine are on sale all day.

You don’t always have to plan your game session ahead of time. London now boasts several board game cafés, but Scenario’s the only one to boast game-themed cocktails. The cosy downstairs has plenty of consoles, but it’s their library of over 100 board games that will have you stuck there for hours.

Beautiful Norfolk Square Gardens, tucked just off the main road in front of Paddington Station boasts formal lawns, floral beds and ornamental shrubs. Also, a giant chess set. Will playing with rooks that come up to your knee help your strategy? Possibly not, but at least you’ll get a bit of fresh air out of it.

The wonderful Clarkshaws brews its beer in this Loughborough Junction co-op, and these monthly events are a chance to challenge your pals to a, well, challenging game while you drink your way through the beers.

This Richmond games café has a selection of 505+ games (at last count) plus a bar serving everything from beers to absinthe. On a weekday the first two hours are free providing you buy one drink an hour, then afterward it costs just £2 per hour to play. At the weekend, it costs £5 per hour.