You see your enemy’s army approaching. They’re creeping closer and closer until… BAM! You roll a 5 and wipe out their cavalry.
This is a common occurrence at Berkeley’s newest café. Having recently opened on September 24, 2015, Victory Point Café has claimed the title of the Bay Area’s first game board café.
What’s a board game café, you ask? Well listen up, because these twists on the pedestrian coffee shop are quickly growing in popularity.
Photo by Isabel Wang
Board game cafés provide a new take on the traditional café by providing hundreds of board game options for customers to play.
Inspired by the successful Snakes and Lattes in Toronto, the owners of Victory Point Cafe, Derek DeSantis and Areg Maghakian, decided to try their luck at opening their own board game café in the Bay Area.
Photo by Isabel Wang
DeSantis explains that they both love coffee, beer and board games and wanted to create a space where people could enjoy all three.
While an alcohol license is still in the works, the option of 800+ games and artisan coffee is more than enough to satisfy any potential gamer.
Customers pay $5 for unlimited access to the board games, with options ranging from the traditional Monopoly to the more alternative Agricola, DeSantis’ personal favorite.
And if you’d rather be studying than playing a rousing game of Scrabble (said no one ever), the café provides a relaxing environment for schoolwork.
Photo by Isabel Wang
Victory Point Café also offers a variety of treats to indulge in, ranging from sandwiches to soft pretzels to homemade cookies. But what we really got excited over was the original idea of “snack bowls” (think gorp without the effort of hiking).
Currently, there are four options including the Spicy Wasabi (pictured below). DeSantis said he liked the idea because they’re, “not too messy and easy to snack on while playing.”
Photo by Isabel Wang
Our favorite snack bowl was the Triple Chocolate — with chocolate granola, chocolate covered fruit and chocolate bar. We don’t know how any chocolate addict could resist.
None of the other food is made on premises, because the owners choose to support local businesses.
The sandwiches are from Soop, another Berkeley eatery; the pretzels are baked by The Salt Point Pretzel Company in Oakland; the baked goods are made by Batch Pastries of Berkeley and the coffee comes from Artís Coffee, also based in Berkeley.
Photo by Isabel Wang
If you’re passing by, make sure to stop in for a cup of their coffee, which is made using the Clever full immersion dripper. They currently have three different roasts available and homemade vanilla can be added for an exotic twist.
Photo by Isabel Wang
The attractive combination of good food and fun games at Victory Point Café ensures my return, perhaps next time with enough people for a rousing Pictionary marathon.