across the board game café

a winnipeg "must see". what an amazing concept! i went to see what all the buzz was about and had such a blast getting to know new games at across the board! as we entered, a server took us to a table and explained how the concept worked. we could choose any games we wanted to play and if we needed any advise on choosing a game or needed any games explaining to us. we played a quick game of the ol' favorite "mastermind" while we waited for the rest of our party to arrive. as our party arrived, we were munching on the "dice bowl" a delicious "across the board" specialty and were dying to try out "takenoko" where we grew bamboo for the panda then co-owner olaf's wife came along and showed us how to play - it seemed complicated but it didn't take us long to get the hang of it and then we were playing like pros! by then we were getting peckish. it was really hard to decide on one of the gourmet pizzas, as they were all so unique and so we chose a couple and shared them. we chose the crazy bbq chicken, which was a delight and the taj ma-hot - a not too spicy pizza combining some of my favorite ingredients (curry sauce, chick peas, pineapple and cilantro) with others to make it a taste sensation! . the beer went down well, as did the homemade smoothies - my favorite being the "monopoly" we had to play the cow dealing game we'd heard about, and after a quick tutorial we had hilariousfunbattling it out to get the most sets of farm animals - but the highlight of the night was giant bombeleo- but to find out more you just have to go and check it out!

great atmosphere, great food! makes for afunevening with friends, staff are knowledgeable and happy to suggest games based on your preferences. lots of delicious options on the menu ranging from entrees to snacks. love it!

great food, great times with family and friends.. what an amazing idea. a comfortable and exceptionally friendly atmosphere combined with delicious food and a unique concept. the perfect place to gather with friends and remind yourselves why you liked them in the first place. disconnect from the phone and ipad and engage and share a game and laughter. the incredible array of board games - many of which you will never have heard of - a friendly host will guide you through the how-to's and then you're off on an adventure - building railroads, growing and eating bamboo, trading on the black market. the vietnamese sandwich is to die for. and it's lovely to be able to have a glass of wine or beer as well. kids are welcome too. across the board game cafe is highly recommended for afunlunch or evening out.

i’ve now been here twice and every time i love it. so many games to choose from and the sitting fee is reasonable for 3 hour time limit. the menu isn’t anything spectacular but it’sfunand has a wide selection. the staff are super knowledgeable and friendly. overall a great place to spend time.

my friends and i visited across the board on a sunday afternoon. we had so muchfunplaying all our old childhood games. i really wanted to like the food because i love the concept of this place! we were looking forward to ordering from the dinner menu but when we arrived we were told we could only order from the lunch menu. nothing appealed to us so we each ordered something small. i had the caesar salad and it was not very good. my friend said her soup was gritty. however, the sangria was really good. next time i’ll come at dinner time or else eat before i go.

stopped here for a quick bite and they had an interesting menu which should satisfy both adult and child... and games for the inner child! i had the king of tokyo noodle bowl and they didn't hold back or go skimpy on anything. the beef was tender and the miso broth was delicious. full of flavour and lots of veggies, but not overwhelming. side caesar and mouse trap for the kids were perfect for a quick bite. i can't wait to try a few more of the items on the menu and come back with friends for a game night with cocktails! great idea for a casualfunnight out and looking forward to the veggies rolls and pizza next time.

good food! i had a manitoba sandwich which was excellent and a snack mix which also had nice flavor to it. would recommend any of their desserts as they are always lovely. had lots offunhaving lunch and playing a game! i would make the suggestion though that if your bill is over a certain amount, you wave the game fee of 5.00$ per person. would encourage people to come more often.

if you're in the city with friends and you don't have anything else to do on a weekend, drop by across the board at the exchange district to play boardgames. choose from the latest games or the classics, they will probably have it. $5 cover charge for 3 hours offunand access to their library of boardgames is a steal. better to make reservations though as they are fully booked on weekends. we were only able to get a table because another customer cancelled. we will definitely come back again. their dessert selection are from lilac bakery. i ordered the cheesecake, just your average cheesecake, enough to satisfy my craving. come here for the experience.

to sum up: super slow service and food delivery at a relatively high cost.funboard games. lots of variety. don't order food, just go for a drink. trash food service nice atmosphere.


this place is great in theory. i have been here twice and have stayed for the full three hours both times. the first time i went we played ticket to ride which was an okay game. we ordered food and it took over an hour to receive it, after being told that they were all out of chili, baked potatoes and about two other menu items (which left us with about two choices) at 1 in the afternoon on a weekday... the cafe was also dead and they had four people working in the kitchen. the food wasn't bad but the portions are minuscule. sandwiches are about 8$ a pop and you basically have to get a side soup or salad which is an additional 4$. include this with the 5$ cover charge and now you begin to regret asking out that little cute redhead on a date to "this cool new game cafe". that being said, the cover charge makes total sense because of the amount of board games they have to choose from. the second time i went the food took even longer. even less people were there than the first time, and our entire table of 12 people ordered two different types of sandwiches. you'd think that they would make all of them at once no? they instead served them several at a time in 15 minute intervals. many people were done their food by the time another person received their's... it seemed as if the staff was working as slow as possible. they forgot about my food completely so i received my food one hour and thirty minutes after arriving. absolutely ridiculous. there is nothing wrong with the game portion of the cafe, however no one wants to go to a cafe to play games while eating a meal. i would much rather eat first then play, but that is impossible because of how long the food takes. you then have to pause the game to eat which makes it boring when you return to the game. this coupled with the relatively high cost, this place is bound to go out of business. my recommendation: only go there to have a drink and play. never, ever, ever order food. also, no nachos. or snacks at a board game cafe??? i'm feeling a 1 on the food service and a 4 on the atmosphere.

great atmosphere! reallyfunfor a date night but eat somewhere else first and just grab a beer and a snack at this place. don't plan dinner here because you will leave hungry. awesome staff though!

fun night "in". my friends and i love it here, and so does most of the city as it seems. place is always packed, so take advantage of their reservations (by phone or website). nice idea for an outing that still feels like staying in. cheap too, as they only charge a $5 sitting fee. you could easily spend hours here so that is a bargain. they have tons offungames, and the owner olaf, is very knowledgeable and helpful. want to try something you're not familiar with? friendly staff are trained to know how to play every game so they can teach you. game recommendations: cash n' guns and king of tokyo.

haven't tried a lot of their food, but what i've had has been very good. i loved their salsa fresca; so fresh and light. unfortunately it looks like they took it off the menu. (if you're reading, atb, please bring it back!!!) if you're looking for an assortment of snacks over a meal, the across the boards are the perfect choice and a good variety to share as a table, with meats/cheeses/crackers and more. the chutneys are delicious! their popcorn is also made to order and they've upgraded with more flavours.
as for beverages, their smoothies are fresh and not too sweet. (but again, it seems they have removed them from the menu. bring them back atb!!) and they are also licensed, so wine/beer/spirits are available.

bottom line: cute place, good food. if you like games, you'll love it here.

the concept of this place is awesome! great price for hours offunand there is a huge selection of games to choose from. the menu had the perfect options for food you would want to eat while socializing (gotta try the bean dip!). i'm hesitant to go back due to bad service though. being a server myself, i can understand saturday nights being busy, but when there are only 10-12 tables in your establishment and 5+ servers there is no excuse. when we first arrived we were told that a table would be cleared. stood and watched a gentleman take 1-2 glasses at at time to the kitchen, probably took him 10 minutes to clear our table. we were seated and waited at least 20 minutes for anyone to come over to us. i had to go up to the counter to ask if we order up there and was snapped at by our waitress "i'll be over when i can." ok... thanks for stopping by at least to say i'll be with you in a moment. anyways waited another 15 minutes to order, and was impressed she didn't need to write anything down for our large table. well that was a mistake since none of us got the right order (2x of two different items, wrong drinks, missing drinks). she never came back to check up on us, until an hour later to tell us it was last call. usually i can let a few things slide being from the same profession, but this was brutal and she seemed to mess everything up with no apologies. hopefully my next visit will be better one.

aking over for long-time occupant, the fixx, across the board game café sits in the heart of old market square. whereas fixx was a hub for bureaucratic power lunches, board café targets a laid back crowd, in for a healthy lunch, or ready to spend the day with some board games. for $5, you get access to their game library for the rest of your stay—and a considerable library it is. by my count, they have over 600 games at your disposal. not to geekify myself too much, i spent some hours playing dungeons & dragons in my pre-university days. this would have been afunplace to spend time with a few glasses of wine and some all-day gaming. sadly, i grew up and there’s very little time for games—but lots of time for food!

reallyfunplace with great food and craft beer.