Ohhh, the Thirsty Meeples! An absolutely OUTSTANDING board game cafe. My experience may be colored by the fact that it's the first one I ever went to and I was super enchanted by the idea...but nevertheless, we had an absolutely incredible time on all our visits. Their cocktails are amazing (try the Brazilian Monk for a decadent dessert drink) and they have snacks and coffee, too. Really impressive collection of board games for all skills, ages, and interests. Staff are fun and friendly and make great recommendations. If you're looking for a great way to spend the night with pals in Oxford, look no further. I miss this place. read more

We love boardgames, so Thirsty Meeples seemed a natural choice for myself and a couple of board-gaming friends. Proper treasure for geeks, the place offers a vast selection of games to choose from! Moreover, the staff is extremely helpful and offers you games to play depending on your preferences. It's especially cool that they are happy to explain the rules! Lovely food and drinks and relaxed atmosphere. Make sure you book - the place is always busy! read more

Thirsty Meeples Board Game Café - Social Clubs Near Me - Oxford, OXF

Thirsty Meeples is a great board game cafe based in the heart of Oxford - the perfect spot for a bit of geek-out time! :P As soon as you walk into this place you will be amazed by the amount of board games they host. The selection they have is literally mind-boggling, with full walls covered from floor to ceiling. The format here is pretty simple - it's £3.50 to sit and play if you're buying any food or drink, and £5 to simply come and play the games. Be careful with this, though - I worked out that it was actually cheaper for me to get a fizzy water and play, than get nothing and play, so be clever about doing the maths before you miss out. The staff were great - really friendly and helpful. The man that served us let us know that if we were struggling to choose a game (which I imagine is a regular occurance in somewhere so well stocked) that he'd be happy to help us pick one and explain the rules for us. We'd actually come with a specific game in mind, but it would have been quite fun to take him up on his offer and let him randomly select something for us. In terms of the food and drinks here, my party had the smoothies and a few sandwiches, all of which were raved about. The smoothies, in particular, were apparently really delicious! This is a great spot to come and relax and have some fun with friends! It does add up to be a little bit of an expensive trip out, if you are having a regular lunch on top of the per-person fee, but I'd say it's worth it for a great atmosphere and some brilliant board game fun! I'd for sure go back here! :) read more

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A real shame, charged us for no show even though we were shown to our tables ... £30 I'll never get back. Such a shame and really ruined our morning! read more

This place is wonderful! It is a board-game shop/cafe with a passionate, friendly, and charming staff. They allow you to book a table (Do this a day or two in Advance!) and you can play came for 6 pounds each for each 3 hours. They also sell many of the wonderful games that are available to play. The staff is extremely knowledgeable and excited to share their expertise and help you find the right game for your group based on your interests, age, preferences, group size, and time allotment. Many of the games are cool indi games you may not have seen. They will go over the rules with you in a clear way and answer any questions you may have during play. It is an easy and inviting way to find your new favorite game. I HIGHLY recommend checking this place out if you have the time. read more

This is a new-ish spot right on Gloucester Green in Oxford, and what a fab little spot it is. Thirsty Meeples is a board game cafe (with delicious snacks and coffee!) + board game shop with a great selection. Not only is a great spot to pick up board games or expansion packs from an independent shop (plus you don't have to wait for Amazon shipping!), but it's also a great place to waste a few hours with a fellow game geek. Now I just need to find a place like this in London! read more

This place is just the coolest. I wish we had one in Newcastle, we had a brilliant night here! Three hours flew by. You pay a cover charge (4.50 or 6 for adults, depending on if you get food/drink or not), and you can stay three hours. They'll even let you stay longer if they're not busy, but if they are you gots to go. They have over 2000 games, and they absolutely line the walls. Games as far as the eye can see. Book in advance - we got a prime Saturday night slot and had a great time. We got delicious cake (some lush banana chocolate chip loaf thing) and wine and beer, and played a bunch of games we'd never even heard of. The servers are all board game geniuses and will explain everything to you, all the rules, before you play. A few times we asked for a specific game, then our server brought it along with two others that were very similar, and we usually ended up playing one of the new games instead! If I lived in Oxford, I'd be here all the time and take out of town guests. It's a total crowd pleaser! read more

Came here on Saturday for a few hours with some friends, and absolutely loved it. The menu is PERFECT for gaming, the staff are so friendly, and the game walk-throughs we got were really helpful. I can't recommend this place enough. I'd say you should definitely book in advance. You do have to pay, but it's less than a fiver for each person and the range of games plus the knowledge and expertise of the staff makes it more than worth it. read more

Just had a coffee. Friendly staff, cozy spot. TONS of games to pay and play by the hour.

The staff here are amazingly friendy and helpful. Recommended to book a table and buy a drink or snack which reduces your table rental fee. My companions, who had been here before, steered us away from ordering food. A game lover's paradise. read more

While planning for our trip to Oxford, my sister and I were determined to check this place out. We love board games and we couldn't just ignore this place. We were only here for a couple days, but we managed to play games for a few hours before they had to close up. But even though we had such little time here, we were not disappointed. First thing anyone would notice when walking in here is the fact that they have SOO MANY GAMES! Really, there are just too many to pick from and I had no idea what I wanted to play. They're organized fairly well and if you can't find a specific game, ask the staff. Oh yeah, let's talk about them. From what we could tell, they're the ideal people to run a cafe like this; they're very friendly and they know the games pretty well. They saved us a lot of time by recommending games and explaining the rules whenever we asked. They seem like people I'd want to play games with but unfortunately, they couldn't sit down for a couple rounds. Oh well. We also took advantage of the discount by buying a drink for each of us. I honestly forgot what I ordered (it was recommended by one of the employees), but I know it was good enough to keep me satisfied while playing games! All in all, we had a fantastic time playing games and chatting with the workers. Great service, great selection of games, and a good enough food and drink selection - I would definitely come back here again. yknow.. whenever I choose to go to Oxford again. read more