Board game enthusiasts and others in search of entertainment have a new option available to them in Guelph.
Snakes and Lattes board game cafe, a small North American chain, opened an Upper Wyndham Street location late last week, providing people a place to play, safely socialize and expand their game knowledge.
“We’re looking to really deliver an experience to our guests,” said manager Bradley Sivyer. “If people want to come in and play the games they know and don’t really need our help or assistance, that’s perfectly fine. But if you’re coming in here … and you want some experience with something a little bit different or more in depth, that’s what we’re here for.”
Guelph is now home to the chain’s seventh spot, with three in Toronto and three more south of the border.
A soft opening was held last Friday, with hours on Saturday and Sunday as well.
“It went pretty well,” Sivyer said of the public response. “It definitely gave me some excitement, some hope that as we get word of mouth out and some things going that we’ll be successful here.
“It might not have been the busiest first few days, but that’s not really a concern for me. As long as we build on it and keep going, it’s going to be good.”
Patrons are charged an entry fee, which gives them access to nearly 500 board games. They can sit and play for as long as they want, or until the cafe’s hours are done for the day. Food and beverages, including the alcohol variety, are available for purchase.
Snakes and Lattes is closed Monday and Tuesday each week, with largely evening and nighttime hours on other days. It’s open at 4 p.m. each days, with Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday closures at 11 p.m.
On Fridays and Saturday nights, the doors remain open until 1 a.m. the following day.
There are three colour-coded levels of game complexity available for patrons – green for the types of games people are most familiar with or are easily understood for newcomers, yellow indicates returning players won’t likely have any problems and red “homework games” which require some pre-planning.
“It’s more of your in-depth, really intense strategy or campaign-style games,” Sivyer explained of red label games.
After use, games are put into quarantine for a while, based on public health guidelines at the time.
The location, 99 Wyndham St. N., is not new to board game enthusiasts. It was previously home to The Boardroom which shut down in 2019.
“I’m extremely thrilled that it has finally opened up,” Mark MacKinnon, who was among the original owners of The Boardroom, said of seeing Snakes and Lattes open. “Guelph needs entertainment venues and board game cafes are fantastic – they are great value for the money, they connect the community.
“All the reasons I wanted to open the board game cafe in the first place, even though I can’t run it, they still exist.”
As city councillors and downtown business owners, MacKinnon and fellow co-owner Rodrigo Goller found themselves in a conflict of interest on various issues, so they convinced the rest of the ownership group to approach Snakes and Lattes about taking over the business.
The Boardroom shut down in 2019, with plans in place for Snakes and Lattes to open within a few months.
“Then all that COVID stuff happened,” said Sivyer.
“They planned to do this pre-pandemic and had invested so much into it already. At a certain point, you’ve got to decide to go,” he said when asked why the decision was made to open now. “They committed to this location and had already put a lot of work into it before the pandemic hit.”
With an eye toward bringing down the cost for regulars, plans are in the works to create a membership program, Sivyer said, with efforts underway to establish event nights and regular events as well.
For more information, visit https://www.snakesandlattes.com.
