Tabletop games have had something of a renaissance over the last ten years or so. Gone are the days of staring forlornly at your grandmother’s old copy of Monopoly, the only piece on offer the iron, or a wooden peg from an entirely different game. The collective desire to return to physical, social gaming away from the bright gaming screens, and the accessibility of online crowdfunding has seen the market explode. Just last year, Kickstarter saw over $88 million raised - nearly double that of the $46 million raised by video games.
Started by David Smith - the purveyor of Notts geek favourite haunt Mondo Comico and gaming pals Steve Raine and Matt Pritchard, The Dice Cup Kickstarter campaign launched at the end of May 2015. They reached over a third of their funding goal after a mere 24 hours.
With a venue secured and their soft launch a month or so ago, their official opening night at the start of March was an event my partner and I didn’t want to miss. We were met at the door David Smith and given a quick tour. Filling the old art supplies shop opposite Vicceh Centre bus station, The Dice Cup has a huge range of games, arranged by player number, duration of play and difficulty, from quick fixes, all the way up to multi-hour, multiplayer exploration games. It should be noted that they do also have a decent range of family classic games, so you can bring your Luddite nan.
During their funding, The Dice Cup partnered with Geeknson a UK-based furniture company making lovely felt-covered tables especially for boardgamers - tables dotted around The Dice Cup’s upper level. The felt tables give a lovely premium feel to the experience, only somewhat marred by the wide variety of crumbs and stains they’ve picked up from a few careless panini-eaters (I actually saw one lad trip and lob his cob all over the floor and table).
We opted for a quick and easy two-player game called Patchwork, David explained the rules and hung around for the first few turns just to make sure we were doing it right and having fun. An ideal game for the length of a cuppa, we had a quick walk around before jumping into our next game, the stunningly designed Machi Koro, which we had so much fun playing that I’ve been instructed to acquire it immediately.
Downstairs, the slightly utilitarian cafe has as much in the way of soft and energy drinks as coffee variety - though respect to them, they source their beans from the lovely chaps over at 200º. The default food on offer is vegan, which means that every fussy bugger can eat there - although I’m sure you wouldn’t be kicked out if you snuck in a bit of salami.
Bolted onto the side of the cafe is a decent sized gaming shop selling everything from spare polyhedral dice, through a fair few favourite boardgames, all the way up to the huge models used in the Star Wars X-Wing tabletop games. If you discover a new favourite on your visit, chances are that they have it in stock or can get hold of it for you if it’s available.
If you’re looking for a little more than a casual gaming sesh with your mates, The Dice Cup are organising and providing venues for a raft of tournaments and RPG campaigns from Magic: The Gathering to Dungeons & Dragons.
While well kitted-out games and accessory-wise, the place did feel a bit half-done, with little in the way of décor and soft-furnishings, the walls still the same beige as the artwork shop, not a lot of art on the walls and big, open windows made it feel not entirely welcoming. The games are there, the cafe is functional, the store’s packed to the gills, hopefully the atmosphere is just the last piece (ahem) to be finished off.
While the success of any board games venue is surely more about how much time visitors spend focusing on the games at hand and having fun with their friends, The Dice Cup needs to get their venue sorted out and looking well nice to become the gamer’s default choice because down on Maid Marian Way, the Ludorati Café Bar will be hot on their heels. Nottingham has for the last 1,148 years survived without one specialist gaming cafe, the second is planning to open this weekend.
It might come to a race to the bottom, with The Dice Cup charging £5 per person for at least 4 hours of play but discounts for members, and Ludorati Café Bar going in at £1.60 an hour each or £5 for a full day.
Can not one, but two gaming cafes survive in Nottingham? Catering to the raft of new games and gamers over the last few years, pop-up tabletop gaming nights have been popular staples at pubs, cafes and even shops across the city from Lee Rosy’s and Ocean State Tavern under Annie’s Burger Shack to Friday Night Magic at Waterstones and Hearthstone Fireside Gatherings at the NVA. There have been as many gaming group casualties as there have successes.
That said, I hope it’s not a zero-sum game, there are enough tabletop gamers in Nottingham and the audience is only getting bigger.
The Dice Cup, 70 Mansfield Road, NG1 3GY
The Dice Cup website
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