Despite the rise of screens and social media, the board game market is experiencing a significant upswing in America. It’s expected to reach an estimated $4.84 billion by 2027, an incredible rise from $7.2 billion in 2018. The combination of nostalgia and the desire to interact face-to-face with other people has caused more and more board game cafes to pop up around America in recent years, but Omaha got ahead of the trend.
Speilbound Cafe (3229 Harney St) has been a Omaha hub for all things board games since 2014, when owner Kaleb Michaud decided that his board game marathons—which ballooned to 55 people and could last 15 hours—had outgrown his home. Plus, he saw the way communities thrived for entire weekends at gaming conventions; could he recreate that atmosphere every day?
After conducting research about similar businesses (especially Shakes and Lattes in Toronto), Michaud opened Spielbound just outside of downtown Omaha. The cafe, which offers annual and monthly memberships along with day passes, has more than 3,600 games available to play, ranging from basic games like Jenga and Scrabble to involved multiplayer thrillers.
“I love having a place where I can go to. I don’t have to be at home,” Michaud said. “I can go meet friends and family and have access to so many games so quickly. Comfortable tables, comfortable space, comfortable drinks and food and just have a good time together.
“Sometimes I want that deep challenging strategy time. And sometimes I just want, ‘OK, let’s give this a fun try,’ and just have rip-roaring laughter ensue. That brings me great joy to have a space like that.”
Board games have proven to enhance fluid intelligence and fluid working memory and slow the effects of dementia, two reasons Michaud is so passionate about helping Omahans find more ways to play. But what excites him most is seeing the relationships and communities they build. Board games can not only strengthen bonds between people who know one another, but they can also bring together people of different genders, ages, races, and walks of life that may otherwise never meet one another.
And that’s something Michaud has seen happen again and again inside Spielbound.
“From families coming here on a regular basis to those who start as a first date and continue on to friends who meet on a regular basis, we see all types,” Michaud said. “I love when they make coming to Spellbound a part of their calendar. That’s exactly what I set out to do: make sure there’s a space where people feel comfortable and want to come and be in.”
To create that welcoming environment, Spielbound sells coffee, local beers, and cocktails, as well as a limited menu of pizzas from local restaurant Tasty Pizza. And if you’d prefer to play at home rather than in the shop, Spielbound sells more than 1,000 games in both its brick and mortar and online store.
Michaud loves helping people find new games. He still remembers how he felt the first time felt playing Settlers of Katan in 1996; it was like a new world had been unlocked. And with thousands of options at Spielbound, he gets to pass that feeling along to his guests.
“People say, ‘I didn’t know there were games like that!’” Michaud said. “Whether it’s the mechanics of the game or the themes and the art, the style, putting things on your head, you name it, there’s such a different world now than there was in the early days.
“Even though the word ‘board’ is in there, it doesn’t mean anything about it is boring.”
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