Game Point, a Board Game Cafe, to Launch at Bongo Java East

Bongo Java impresario Bob Bernstein is turning his East Nashville location into a "board game cafe" in addition to its current identity as a coffeehouse.

The board game venture, Game Point, kicks off this Thursday, Oct. 26, at Bongo Java East at 107 S. 11th St. in Five Points. Bernstein and his partner in the board game component, Richard Keuler, are assembling a library of hundreds of games for Game Point participants to enjoy.

Games will be available whenever Bongo East is open (7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Tuesday; open until 10 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, until 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, and until 10 p.m Sunday).

A big feature of Game Point: Experienced game coaches will be on hand to help facilitate the fun. (Getting some brief coaching makes trying a new game a lot easier than deciphering the rules sheet in the bottom of the box.) Coaches will be on hand after 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and after 2 p.m. on weekends. 

On the beverage side, Bernstein has secured a beer license (he’s working on a permit to offer wine, as well), and he plans to serve the hugely popular High Gardens kombucha on tap. Coffee, sodas and tea will also be available at the family-friendly Game Point events.

Bernstein says he was inspired by board game cafes that are springing up all over the country. (A joint in Toronto called Snakes & Lattes is cited as a progenitor of the trend.) In some cities, people stand in line for one or two hours to get into the board game party. Bernstein says he visited cafes in Austin and St. Louis as part of his research.

Game Point will feature all the classics, like Monopoly — although that one is actually considered a bit archaic in its single-minded real estate acquisition theme. Nowadays people like games with a cooperative element.

“ ‘Board game’ is a catchall phrase for a lot of different things,” says Keuler, who says he's been actively playing and learning about board games since 1999. In 2006 he founded a popular annual convention for game fans, Tennessee Game Days. This year it attracted more than 700 people.

“Modern board games take all kinds of forms,” Keuler says. He adds that what people like about games is that they're an activity “that greases the wheels of social interaction,” helping people meet and get to know each other.

Bernstein also notes that playing games, particularly ones with complex strategy, can be good for families — kids can pick up a lot of skills, including “all kinds of ways to think outside the box.”

Unlike in some cities, there’s no cover charge for Game Point, but Bernstein says he encourages patrons to buy some food or drink while they play, just to help pay for replacing the games when they wear out over time.