February 11, 2021 – Board Game Cafes, a huge trend in the world that has been exploding over the last decade, like many other industries have take a a huge hit during the Covid-19 Pandemic. In case you are unfamiliar, this is a local brick and mortar establishment in your town that may be a coffee shop, bar and/or restaurant that happens to own a few hundred to a few thousand board games that you can just pick up and play in any quantity and order for a small cover charge. As you can imagine, combining an already social gathering with an activity that requires lots of people touching the same things, doesn’t exactly work with our current times.
Many board game cafe owners are doing something about this. Los Angeles Board Game Cafe GameHaus is one of them. Established in 2013 and located in Glendale (It’s around the top right of the LA for those unfamiliar), GameHaus was the original Board Game Cafe in the city and above all else, it has always been the type of place that cares about its local community. Just ask any of the regulars that have been coming for years. They have a very impressive collection of board games and a nice little kitchen with lots of options but always truly specialized in amazing baked goods.
When GameHaus first had to close their doors, they leaned more on their kitchen. Each week they started doing pies and cookies! On Monday or Tuesday, they announce two flavors for the week, reaching out to their social media community. As long as you got an online order in by Thursday, you could come to the curbside pickup Saturdays from 12pm – 4pm. They didn’t just serve their customers though, they also took this opportunity to try and do something good. They would produce big batches of pies, giant chocolate chip cookies and most recent cheesecake bars to bring to first line workers protecting us all during the pandemic. For a company that has clearly been thrown in a tough spot by all this, it was so great to see them selflessly giving back whatever they could.
AND THEN CAME THE NEW BOARD GAME OPPORTUNITY
As they continue to produce pies and other goods, they have just announced their next offering. Game Haus has launched a board game subscription service. Check out their announcement below. With these interesting times ahead, it is great to see them being proactive with doing what they can.
Now instead of playing games at our location, customers can subscribe to our new service which allows them to borrow games from our library. Titles offered range from family classics like Sorry, Clue, and Risk, to party games like Exploding Kittens, Time’s Up, and Taboo, to more recent popular strategy titles like Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Mysterium. Subscribers can request and reserve games online, pick them up directly from us, and enjoy them in the safety and security of their own homes. A maximum of two games can be checked out at any given time, for a duration of up to two weeks per game. Games may be picked up or dropped off on Tuesdays between 5:00 and 9:00 PM, and Saturdays between 12:00 and 5:00 PM. All games that have been returned will be quarantined for a period of three days before being made available to other customers.
Subscriptions are $30.00 a month, with a special Valentine’s Day deal of $20.00 for the first month for anyone subscribing by Saturday, February 13th. GameHaus also offers a duo of pies and other assorted treats which can be special ordered and picked up each Saturday; flavors are announced weekly through our social media channels and on our website.
Go To The GameHaus Site For Sign Up Form and More Info
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW (IF YOU LIVE IN LOS ANGELES)
- You can have any two board games at a time for $30 a month, curbside pickup (tues & sat) and game quarantine for safety.
- You can buy pies for around $27 – $30, as well as, a rotating selection of other baked goods weekly.
- Follow GameHaus on social media (Facebook | Instagram | Twitter) to show support and get updates.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW (IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE LOS ANGELES)
- Figure out who your local board game cafe is, support them.
- If they are down and out, show them this article which will clearly inspire them because of how well written it is.
- You can still support Los Angeles’ GameHaus by following them on social media (Facebook | Instagram | Twitter).
Board Game Halv is located in Los Angeles, so this story is near and dear to our heart. They did not pay us to write this nor do we have any financial stake in their success, but we do care about them and want them to survive. Supporting local establishments like this are so important, especially now. Please find your local board game cafe and see if there is anything you can do to show your gratitude for their existence!
