Шаблон:Infobox restaurantDraughts is a board game café business based in London, and the first board game café in the city.[1][2] As of October 2022, the business owns two cafés, one in Hackney and one in Waterloo. The establishment serves craft beers as well as coffee and snacks.[1] A library of board games are available at both venues, and customers may also buy games from the café.[3]
Its clientele includes board game hobbyists as well as families, young professionals, and couples.[4] Draughts hires staff with hospitality experience to serve drinks and teach customers how to play the games.[4]
History
The business was first founded under a railway arch in Haggerston, Hackney by Nick Curci and Toby Hamand in 2014, aiming to stock 500 board games on its premises.[1] The creation of the cafe was funded by bank and government loans,[1] as well as a Kickstarter campaign.[5][6]Шаблон:Better source needed It initially charged a flat rate of £5 for a full day, with a reduced fee of £3.50 for members.[1] It followed Thirsty Meeples, the first board game café to open in the UK,[2] and was inspired by the Canadian board game café Snakes and Lattes.[4]
The Waterloo café opened in 2018, located underneath another railway arch on Leake Street.[7] At this time, the Hackney location was host to over 800 board games.[4]
In October 2019, the Hackney café moved from under a railway arch in Haggerston to a building on Kingsland Road in Dalston, a venue that was twice the size of the previous establishment, able to house 180 guests and over 1000 games.[8]Шаблон:Better source needed[9] The entry fee for non-members had been changed to allow four hours of gaming, instead of a full day.[9]
