HAVERFORDWEST could be the latest place to catch onto the growing trend of cafés dedicated towards board gaming, as a new pop-up is coming to the town.

Fair Play Board Game Café will be coming to HaverHub for a pop-up evening of table top fun on Friday, April 27 between 2pm and 11pm.

The brains behind the evening are Owen Hart, a teacher at Redhill School, Arthur Brooker who organises the annual Breaking out of the Gallery art exhibition, and Ashley Swift, who has previously hosted a series of board game evenings at the Pembroke Yeoman pub on Hill Street.

“It would be amazing to have one in our area,” said Owen, “my question, by having the pop-up night is whether there is an appetite for it.”

Over the last decade board game cafés have popped up in London, Bristol, and many other large cities in the UK.

There are also board game specialist shops in Cardiff and Swansea which host play evenings, but Ashley and Owen believe are no permanent board game cafés in Wales as of yet.

“It is kind of something which has become quite trendy and cosmopolitan, and I would love to see if there is a want for it in a rural area too,” added Owen.

The duo have assembled a range of board games including old family favourites, alongside a range of newer games.

Western Telegraph:
Azul, a new, tile-based puzzler of a board game which will be available at the pop-up café.

These include games for all the family, like the pair-matching game Dobble, as well as more complex, strategy-based games that can be played for hours, like Inis, a four-player game based on Irish mythology.

“This is helping to revive a hobby that used to be popular in the 70s, and now it is going through a new golden age,” said Ashley.

He added that the pop-up evening is intended for people of all ages, from families and retirees, to those who might want to go out on the weekend but not spend their time in the pub or the club.

The pair hope to take the format on the road across Pembrokeshire in the future, and will be back in Haverfordwest for festival week this July.

For more information about Fair Play Board Game Café’s pop-up evening visit the Fair Play Board Game Café Facebook page.