Well Played Board Game Café — Restaurant in Asheville

This place is amazing BUT warning to people prone to overstimulation!

I went here when they still had their tiny old location and became obsessed with them for a while. Now at this new location it only seems better.

The food is AMAZING. I always have to get at least one snack and steal a nibble from friends. Their floats are so good. The names of their mixed drinks are adorable

They have such a crazy selection of games to choose from. If you play it they most likely have it. There's a wall in the back absolutely FILLED with more board games than you could play if you tried. I found a few cool games that are crazy expensive usually (looking at you mansion of madness) that you can play if you get their game pass.

It's best to come early so you can make the most of your game pass for the day.

If you just need a place to meet up and play together this place doesn't charge you for the game pass. Instead you can spend all that money on their tasty food and drinks (Soft drinks that are from the tap are unlimited!)

The only reason I can't give a full 5 stars is because it gets so crazy loud in there. The new building is great for them clearly. Higher capacity, more game storage, bigger kitchen, etc. The problem is that it echos in there a bit and when a lot of people get excited about gaming (like all of us do) it tends to get a bit overwhelming. There have been many occasions where we came in and it was practically silent but when we left at closing time I was a shell of a person because I was having such bad sensory overload.

If you're prone to sensory overloads I would STILL suggest trying this place out at least once. I usually pack a sensory bag to keep my hands busy and take plenty of bathroom breaks to take a breather since it's so quiet in their restrooms. It's MUCH quieter in the early hours while everyone is asleep or at work so keep that in mind if you need a sensory friendly place for you and your friends. I enjoy this place too much to not continue coming back over and over even though I struggle at the end of the day so that should say something about how much I absolutely...

3.1/5.0. PROS: +Ranging complexity game selection (HiHoCherio to Orleans) +$5 isn't bad if you game for several hours like we do +Downtown and close to the parking lot

CONS: -Atmosphere can be very loud -Food is average pub food (unlike wicked weed) -Some staff are unwelcoming and unprofessional -Busier times will have you standing for the one restroom -Poor beer selection and expensive

I really wanted to like this place but each experience kept getting worse. The first time was our mistake for trying to play Five Tribes on a small table. The second time, we were harassed by employees on our game selections. For instance, we picked Castles of Mad King Ludwig from the library, a fairly simple game, and one of the staff came up to us asking if we knew this game was "complex" and took more than an hour to play? Yea, we know, that's why we picked it (keep in mind, we had just finished a game Dungeon Pets). The last time we went was the worst. We again waited for a larger table to play a game on (most games we play require more space than the small tables they offer) and the staff are never happy about this. We both ordered food and coffee, and only my friend got her food. Now, I told the person who gave my friend her food that I'll wait for mine. Next thing I overhear is our waitress talking to her (manager?) coworker, RIGHT NEXT TO ME, literally arm's distance away, how she didn't hear me order food when I explicitly asked for extra pickles. She didn't rectify the problem by asking if I had ordered food or not, but instead immaturly ignored it. Overall, I would have had a better experience if the staff were better trained. Some gamers just want to game, let us be. Thanks.

Conclusion: I will be back to test new games before purchasing them for my own sprawling library, just not on busy days and I wouldn't order food again. Cool...

For those that don't know, board gaming cafes and bars are a growing international rage. Well Played is Asheville's local version of the international experience. True to most experiences in Asheville, these folks do a great job in the hosting department.

First of all, the cafe offers a large and diverse library of board games that are laid out in an easy to understand system - on the left are "classic" games (think Uno, Chess, etc...) that ease into casual games (simple to learn, quick to play) that grow in complexity until they reach the far right and are marked with red dots (several hours to play, 1-2 hours to learn how to play).

If any of that stresses you, just know that they have a Game Master on staff whose knows all the games and is there to help answer any questions you may have. The staff is also constantly training on games and can be called on in a pinch.

As for the general review, the staff is super friendly, the space is open and airy, and they serve light café fare and have a few beers on tap. The space is very family friendly, offering a wholesome space for folks to go out and get a little face to face time in while exploring downtown Asheville. A day pass runs 5$ and allows visitors to come and go as they please. That means you can get coffee and a card game in, dine at your favorite dinner space, and return for a rematch after.

The only downside I see is the food and beverage selection is a bit sparse and could do with a bit of upscaling, but given that the café is still very new, I imagine those aspects will tighten...