But what if you don’t have a table big enough? Or you haven’t got enough friends? Or your parents don’t think should STILL be playing with silly games at your age?… Ignore them. All of them.
Give your board game habit the attention it deserves and take it for a day out to one of Manchester’s Finest favourite game friendly hangouts.
Ziferblat
It means clockface in German and Russian. The sense of community is alive and well at Ziferblat where you’re charged 5p a minute and everything is free.Yes free, you’re just charged for the time you’re there. They have tea, coffee, crumpets, toast, water, biscuits, spreads and lots of cake.
What’s really awesome about this place is that it’s really open and really communal, but you must remember to wash up after yourself (I forgot)! You can sit at a table or laze around on one of their many comfy sofas. I’d say for this place it doesn’t really matter what size your party is or what you’re playing, you’re guaranteed to find a suitable place to play as it’s plenty big enough to accommodate whatever you want to take there.
Ziferblat, Edge Street Manchester or Media City
Nexus Art Cafe
Can’t recommend this place enough, not only is it underground, hidden away from the busy hustle of Manchester’s Northern Quarter but it is plenty spacious with sofas and chairs to support whatever game you want to bring along. It has lots of little nooks and crannies that if you’re quick enough you can pretty much snap up for the day or night. Both if you’re playing Dungeons and Dragons.They boast a great menu of sandwiches, cakes, cold drinks as well as British staple tea and coffee, so you can pretty much pitch up, get your games out and settle in for the day. I’d say parties of around 5 or 6 would be more than enough.
Another cool thing about this place is that it’s next door to a shop that sells hundreds of board games. So if there’s a game you fancy and they have it, why not get your friends together, get the game you want and play it straight away at Nexus Art Cafe.
Nexus Art Cafe, 2 Dale St, Manchester, M1 1JW
Cosy Club
A little busier than some of the other places on the list and they serve alcohol. I’d say it’d be perfect if you and a friend wanted to take a two player game (of which there are many) order some food and have a few cold ones over a couple of hours before moving on somewhere else. It’s such a warm atmosphere too, like a family living room with a roaring log fire – if that family lived in a privately owned manor house with an obsession for chairs, tables and their own well-stocked private bar that is.
Cosy Club, Manchester, M4 3TR
Soup Kitchen
Large and spacious but you’re on long benches like a mess hall. What’s really great though is that you can sit and stay as long you want. They have delicious food, coffee cakes and a bar. It can get fairly busy at lunchtimes and toward the evening on a Friday, you may end up sitting next to someone you don’t know but it’d be perfect for if you and three of your friends wanted to play something for a couple of hours. You never know, you may even make a friend that wants to play too!
Soup Kitchen, 31-33 Spear St, Manchester, M1 1DF
HOME
Couldn’t have a ‘places to play board games list’ without mentioning HOME. I mean it’s perfect, perhaps not for bigger groups but they have three levels each with a bar that serves coffee, snacks and alcohol for you to just sit at, eat, drink and play some board games.They don’t have couches as some of the other places mentioned do so I’d say around 3 or 4 is enough. The ground level can get quite busy, but head upstairs and find somewhere to sit and you’re good for as long as you can stand to get beaten tirelessly at your favourite game.
So even if it’s dusting off your Scrabble board or playing Manchester Monopoly, get out there and have some fun. My advice is to get some practice in before Christmas, then you could do what I do and pretend like it’s your first time playing it so your beginner’s luck completely runs out and you get thrashed anyway.
HOME, 2 Tony Wilson Place, Manchester, M15 4FN
