In 2014 I moved to Oxford to make a new start. 2013 had been a tough year in more ways than one. Oxford seemed like a great place to start a fresh after everything that had happened. My sister was already there and I could get to London within an hour from Bicester North. Oxford is a beautiful city and a popular University town. I was thrilled to discover Thirsty Meeples, the Board Game Cafe Oxford.
I was over the moon when I found out about Thirsty Meeples Board Game Cafe through Twitter. Thirsty Meeples is a great place to play games, as well as to meet new people. Thirsty Meeples is the only board game cafe in the UK and has over 1000 games that you can choose from to play. Tuesdays is open game night, which means that you can just rock up and join someone!
For a game session, you pay £3.50 and bring friends or turn up to open game night to meet people. The food and drink in the cafe is great – I really recommend the milkshakes!
Great Board Games to Start off with!
Thirsty Meeples Board Game Cafe Oxford – Interview
Me and my sister went to an open game night on Tuesday to meet a few new people and learn some new games. We played one board game and one co-operative card game with fellow gamers Yanit, David and Nick.
The board game that we played was Ticket to Ride. This is an easy family board game which has a little strategy behind it, but is not too difficult. The aim is to build as many train tracks across America as you can to join your routes. But remember that any routes that you do not complete will cost you penalty points!
The co-operative card game that we tries was Hanabi. If you are not aware of what co-operative card or board games are, they are games in which you have to work together as a team to win against the board or reach a goal. In Hanabi, the goal is to produce a firework display by playing the correct colours and numbers in the right order. Hanabi was quite freaky, because you have to have your cards facing outwards. You can only figure out what cards you have by the clues given by your team mates, so it is a test of memory!
Thirsty Meeples Board Game Cafe Oxford – Food and Drink
If you just want to pop in for a visit and to eat or have a drink (without playing) you can do so provided that it is not busy and not all of the tables are booked for gaming. Weekday afternoons are best for this. Remember that you can also visit to shop – board games are on sale at Thirsty Meeples.I highly recommend…
- Red Velvet cake – Beautiful and tasty. But the portions are rather large so if you are not too hungry, consider sharing!
- Green tea – The tea at Thirsty Meeples is presented to you with a tea timer to ensure perfect brewing time for red, black and green tea.
- Peach Milkshake – Super!
You will be pleased to know that Thirsty Meeples have now got a licence so you can order from a variety of ales and alcoholic beverages.
Open Games Nights and Tornaments at Thirsty Meeples Cafe
Tuesday evening is open games night, so you can literally rock up and join some randomers who are playing something you fancy! If you are going on another day to play, make sure you have a group organised and it is best to book a table in advance.
They have tornaments for the leading strategy games such as Netrunner, Dominion and Ticket to Ride. Practice in advance as competition is tough, and make sure that you register.
You might also like to read about my Appa Plush!