A new Centretown café that uses the quintessential board game night to attract customers provides a sound example of a novelty establishment with an unsustainable business.
The opening of Monopolatte in Chinatown last month means that Ottawa residents can now go to the local café and pay to play a game alongside their dessert and latte. The café boasts both new games and classics and is self-proclaimed as “Ottawa’s only Board Game Café.” From Battleship to CandyLand to Settlers of Catan, Monopolatte has more than 750 games to choose from.
But there is a flaw in this marketing. Though the designation of an exclusive board game café may be new, the idea of meeting to play games is not. It has long been a tradition for families and friends to have game nights at a home, or to play a board game to pass the time on a rainy afternoon.
Monopolatte seems to be counting on this tradition of families and friends taking time out of their busy schedules to sit down and play a board game together. The website even uses the fact that the café will offer “good company” as one of the main reasons to come visit.
Although this type of café is new to Ottawa, it is not the first of this kind in Canada. Toronto has the popular Snakes and Lattes, a board game café on Bloor Street West. On Trip Advisor, the café earned four-and-a-half stars out of a potential five based on 24 reviews. Most reviewers only had good things to say and often said they felt at home.
This is all well and good, but the sustainability of such an establishment comes into question when customer reviews describe a home-like feeling as the main selling point. Eventually they will decide it is more economical, not to mention more comfortable, to just stay at home and continue to play their own board games for free. What is needed in this nostalgic service market is something that can’t be easily accessed independently.
SpinBin, another novelty establishment on Dalhousie Street in the ByWard Market, does just this. It’s a ping-pong bar and offers a service that isn’t readily available to the average Ottawa resident.
For those in apartments or small houses there isn’t always room for a ping-pong table so it seems likely the bar has sustainability and longevity. People are drawn to the new and exclusive. Going to a café to play a game that is available at home doesn’t necessarily fit this bill.
Until board game cafés can offer something above and beyond the classic board game night, the business won’t be sustainable. It seems unrealistic to assume customers will continue to come to a café for a unique experience, when they can do the exact same thing at home for a fraction of the cost.