'It's a beautiful space' - why board gamers love Sheffield

For many families Christmas is the time of year to dust off the Trivial Pursuit or Monopoly game hiding at the back of the cupboard.

But for a growing number of people board games are a year-round passion - and with three cafes dedicated to the pastime Sheffield's board gaming community is better served than most. So how has the city become a hub for hobbyists?

Sheffield's first board game cafe, The Treehouse, was opened by Ruth Haigh and her husband Andy in 2017 after they noticed board games had been "dominating" their social lives.

"It built up quicker than we were expecting at the start - it definitely seemed like there was some untapped demand," Ms Haigh said.

She said the number of students in the city was "hugely important" to the sector but, over the years, more families had been coming in as original customers went on to have children.

Regular Poppy Smith still goes to The Treehouse every two weeks with her husband Tom, eight years after their first visit.

"You can't help going back," the 33-year-old said.

"I think people might have a bit of a misconception if you've never been to a board game café... but it's amazing, it's a beautiful space.

"You're not on your phone, you're not thinking about work or your list of chores, you're just living in the world of that game for an hour or two.

"It's an escape."

Ms Haigh said she hoped there was "space" for all three of the city's board game cafes – the others having opened in 2024 and 2025 – and that "everyone does really well".

"I think the market grows itself if you can get enough people through the door - and our approaches are all slightly different."

Matthew Nagy and his wife, Kitti Szep, opened the second, the Gamers Guide Café, in August 2024, aiming to serve vulnerable groups.

The couple are both neurodiverse and hoped to make the venue "welcoming to the kind of people that we are".

"The downside of that is these also tend to be the groups who don't have a lot of money to spend," Mr Nagy said, but he added they were not "very money-focused".

"It is all about giving a space for people that don't have one," he added.

They are hoping to convert to a community interest company, making the business eligible for public funding to run events for charities and autism support organisations.

Mr Nagy said: "[Board gaming] is something with clear structure and clear rules, but they also get to be with people at the same time.

"We're getting a lot of these groups already."

Despite the fact they have not been hiring, Mr Nagy said more than 500 people had sent in their CVs.

"People just want work in a board game café," he added, "people like running [them], and there's always a chance you might make it."

Simon and Gina Shepherd, the most recent newcomers, opened Dice Box on the aptly named Shepherd Street in July 2025.

The couple hit financial trouble during the pandemic and had to sell their house, and later discovered the franchise.

Mrs Shepherd, who had to stop working as a beautician during lockdown, said: "We both wanted to change our lives somehow, but just didn't know how."

She believes board game cafes are becoming more popular because people are "always on the phone, scrolling".

"It's a nice escape from that - you very rarely see people on their phones in here," she said.

Mr Shepherd said: "We've hit the ground running - it's not been a slow build, we've just gone, 'whoosh, here we go', which we weren't expecting."

The couple said each café had something different to offer a range of people, from casual players to more in-depth hobbyists.

"It's a big city, there's enough people to go around," Mr Shepherd added.

The wider hobby genre – including board games, card games, role-playing and table-top miniatures – has become "much more mainstream" in recent years, according to Jim Freeman, owner of Patriot Games.

The venue started as a stall on Castle Market more than 30 years ago, and later became one of 50 game shops in the country. Now, it is one of thousands.

It functions as a shop and events hub rather than as primarily a café like the other businesses, but Mr Freeman said they were all "aiming at same thing - we want more people playing more games".

He put down the number of gaming venues in Sheffield to "human psychology".

"It is just a really good place to be if you're a games fan… all of these places make us better catered for gamers than most cities," he said.

"The more people know the area has more of them, the more people go there, because they know they will be able to find something that they're looking for.

"Then people become part of the hobby, then have the dream to run their own store, and when they do, they don't go far."

Years ago, the shop used to be subject to people "shouting abuse through the door", he said, because it was "such a different thing for people to be spending their time doing".

But times have changed, and the Patriot market stall of 30 years ago having grown into an 11,500sq ft premises "tells you quite a lot".

"It's more universally accepted now as an activity, rather than some weird underground thing that only nerds do that 'normal people' wouldn't want to go near," he added.

"I think there's been a shift in the perception of gaming and people's interest in it, and long may it continue."

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