The Best Bars for Board Games in Sydney
Have a pint. Enjoy some music. Annihilate your friends.
Say 'wanna play a board game?' in Australia and most people usually mind-glance over their childhood bookshelf stack of Monopoly, Risk and Pictionary. Maybe there are a few awkward memories or some vague association with being a terrible strategist.
Those feelings can be discarded because we're adults now, we can play whatever board games we want, wherever we want and we can drink while we do it. There are few things more enjoyable during an Antarctic vortex than huddling over a crisp pale ale and board game in a warm pub.
THE LORD DUDLEY HOTEL
This thirty-five-year-old family-run pub looks like it's been transported from an English country street corner. Inside it's similarly unpretentious; there's an old timber bar circled with puffy green stools, a fireplace and a herd of pillowy couches that look like they've been aged to perfectly match the human posterior. Look around the lounge for sets of Scrabble and Connect Four and behind the counter for a Young Henrys natural ale and a wagyu beef pie.
236 Jersey Road, Woollahra, 9327 5399, www.lorddudley.com.au
THE LITTLE GUY
It's almost as small as the name makes out. Get there early and secure one of the back rooms before it's completely inundated with Glebians. Once your couch and tabletop have been conquered, delve into the bar's extensive and well-researched craft beer list. If you want to go for something local, try Port Mac's Wicked Elf. If you haven't brought your own fancy games, grab Balderdash from the house stack, it's rather silly.
87 Glebe Point Road, Glebe, 8084 0758, www.thelittleguy.com.au
BITTER PHEW
If your favourite board game is Risk or Monopoly, then Bitter Phew is the pub for you. Not because it stocks Monopoly or Risk, but because every Monday the bar brings an incredible range of amazing board games that people who enjoy Monopoly or Risk have never played. Let's just say if Top Gun was the only movie you'd ever seen, it would be your favourite movie. Along with having an enviable cast of craft beers, you can also supplement your board game enlightenment with Griffin Jerky or a portly masterpiece delivered from Mr Crackles.
1/137 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, www.bitterphew.com
AUSTRALIAN YOUTH HOTEL
Upstairs is what they call the Nude Room, a historical tip of the hat to the brothel that once operated there. It's a whole lounge of velvet seats all enveloped by a wall-spanning collection of vintage nude art. It's like being in a sexy aquarium; you can enjoy all the captured sexiness without ever having to dive in. Where else would you rather play board games? We recommend bringing two things to the fireside tables: a beer, preferably a White Rabbit dark ale, and some board games — the house lot are missing some vitals.
63 Bay St, Glebe, 9692 0414, www.australianyouthhotel.com.au
THE HENSON
Marrickville's shrine to gentrification isn't harbouring a good selection of board games; in fact it's hardly harbouring any at all. What it does have is ample space, great pub food and an atmosphere that would welcome both a quiet game of cards and riotous friendship breaking campaign of Cattan. Also, depending how liberally you classify the board half of board games, you can take part in the pub's Tuesday dart competitions.
91 Illawarra Road, Marrickville, 9569 5858, www.thehenson.com.au
VENUE 505
Every Monday at 505 has two things: impromptu jazz jams and board games (a combination we'd like to see much more of). The artist-run venue unsurprisingly does both elements well. The jam sessions often include hugely talented interstate and international musicians and the in-house board game selection is large and good quality. If the small venue's range of craft beers hasn't distracted you from crafting a perfect solo strategy, get a boozy affogato to steer it home.
280 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills, www.venue505.com
DUCK INN PUB AND KITCHEN
The Duck Inn is one of the most un-pub feeling pubs we've ever seen. It's somewhere between a well-financed club house and an artful home. That's what makes it such a nice place to balance a Jenga stack (they once ran a month-long Jenga tower comp) or to rearrange a jumble of letters on a Scrabble stand.
74 Rose Street, Chippendale, 9319 4415, www.theduckinnpubandkitchen.com
SPAWN POINT SMALL BAR
Spawn Point Bar doesn't have many board games (just Cards Against Humanity and Adventure Time-themed Monopoly) but we felt like it needed to be included in this list for the simple reason of its magnificent nerdiness. We mean that in the most sincere and flattering way. We love that you have almost all of the Nintendo gaming systems, we love that you stock Sonic 1 and 2 and we love that we can drink Peronis, James Squires and themed cocktails while we play.
Basement, 199 Clarence Street, Sydney, www.spawnpoint.com.au
Top image: - Flickr CC.
