Kingmakers - Short North

Kingmakers Board Game Parlour is a great venue for date night or an evening out with friends. By paying a $5 Library Fee, visitors have access to over 250 different board games, instruction and tips from Kingmakers staff - Board Game Sommeliers. To apply to be a part-time sommelier you must be able to confidently teach at least 30 board games!. 

Kingmakers has games you might have played as a kid like Monopoly, Candyland, Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble and Clue. They also have games you've likely  never heard of like Lemming Mafia, Nuns on the Run, Barista the Game, Merchant of Venus and Those Pesky Garden Gnomes. While you play, you can enjoy beer, wine, specialty soda, tea, coffee or a soft pretzel from Brezel (unfortunately the pretzels are not gluten-free, though I anxiously wait for someone in the Columbus area to bake delicious gluten-free soft pretzels!).

Kenneth and I visited Kingmakers about two weeks ago. I told our Kingmakers Sommelier that we enjoy playing Clue, but since it's a four player game we don't play it very often. He told us how to play Clue with only two people (you both get waaay more clues) and recommended we try Mr. Jack, a two player game which is similar to Clue. In this game, one person is Jack the Ripper and the other person is the inspector trying to catch Jack. There are eight rounds for Jack to either escape Whitechapel or to be caught by the inspector. 

What made the game even more appealing was that the characters in the game were from the Sherlock Holmes series. Sherlock, John Watson and Inspector Lestrade hunting down Jack the Ripper! One of the other characters is named John Smith, which Whovians will know as one of The Doctor's aliases! I'm pretty sure there is some fan fiction floating around the internet with this same character list. Playing the game reminded me of Clue and a bit like binge watching the BBC's Sherlock, Doctor Who and Ripper Street on Netflix. 

We had a lot of fun! I won a few times and Kenneth won a few times. I enjoyed a latte (I'm sure my ability to caffeinate after 5pm and still fall asleep before 11pm won't last forever so I take advantage when I can) and Kenneth had a soft pretzel (which I only resented him for while he was eating it - you're forgiven now, husband).

I love the decor and ambiance of Kingmakers. It reminded me of playing board and video games in my parents basement as a kid, which makes sense since Kingmakers is in a basement (and it's cold, like a basement - bring a sweater!). I can't decide if my favorite thing about the decor is the bright teal and cool gray paint adorning the walls, the charming mismatched furniture or the board games as wall art. The chalkboard menus are great too!

At Kingmakers, the 'House Rules' are as follows:

• Have fun - create memories.
• Be a kid – try new things.
• Don't like a game? Ask for another.
• It's just a game.
• Even my mom gets carded here. Please show ID if you want to drink.
• Speakin' of my mom, ignore her advice - play with strangers.
• Treat the games like your boss owns them – because mine does.
• We give you tips because you give us tips.
• 9 out of 10 doctors recommend washing your hands before playing games.

Check out Kingmakers soon and let me know in the comments what game(s) you played! I'm very curious to know about the rules for Those Pesky Garden Gnomes and Lemming Mafia!

You can follow Kingmakers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! To celebrate International TableTop Day, an international celebration of games on April 5th, Kingmakers will host their own special game day right here in Columbus.