Hongdae board game café for two: Hero Board Game Cafe

While visiting Hongdae, the weather was so hot that we looked for a board game café instead of going where we had originally planned. At Hero Board Game Cafe Hongdae Branch 1 (히어로보드게임카페 홍대1호점), in the heart of Hongdae, the two of us played games, ate snacks, and stayed for nearly three hours.

Where is it, and how much does it cost?

The café is on the second floor of the building at 31-10 Wausan-ro 21-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, about a seven-minute walk from Hongik University Station Exit 9. The hours listed in the original post were 1 PM to midnight on weekdays and noon to midnight on weekends.

The prices listed at the time of my visit were ₩6,000 for unlimited weekday use, ₩3,000 for one hour, and ₩2,000 for one hour for students. For staying a long time and playing several rounds of one game as we did, the unlimited weekday rate felt less burdensome.

Do you need a reservation? What can you do while waiting?

Naver reservations were available. It was fairly busy even at 6 PM on the weekday I visited, so I would recommend reserving before visiting. The original post also introduces it as a place where there can be a wait on weekends.

When I entered, there were two clean arcade machines, a PlayStation, and a pool table. The pool table, PS5, pocket billiards, and arcade games were listed as free to use while waiting, so there was something to do during a wait.

Is it easy to choose a game if you do not know board games well?

There were many board games, and they were neatly organized. Each game had a beginner, intermediate, or advanced label beside it, making it easy to choose by difficulty.

What were the floor-seating room for two and game explanations like?

We were shown to a floor-seating room where we removed our shoes. It had curtains, which made it feel cozy, and the floor seating felt comfortable too. On the tablet on the wall, we could see game recommendations and summary and explanation videos, and we could order food.

We first ordered a vanilla latte, mango smoothie, and nachos, then brought over Splendor Duel, a two-player game.

Splendor Duel was a two-player game different from the original Splendor. When the rules were confusing, the tablet’s explanation video made them easy to understand. The cards and chips were clean and easy to use, and I became absorbed in thinking through the game enough to want to win the next round.

What were the snacks like while playing?

When food was ready, a notification appeared on the tablet, and we picked it up at the counter. The nachos came warm with cheese sauce, making them easy to pick at while playing.

After finishing a round, we looked at the tablet again to order more snacks. The menu also had popcorn, ice cream, pancakes, and beer.

For our second order, we got sausage, a hot dog, and Sprite. During my visit, there was a Sprite promotion, so the hot dog on its own cost the same as the hot dog-and-Sprite set, and we chose the set. The hot dog looked appetizing, and we enjoyed the sausage and nachos too.

How was it for an indoor date for two in Hongdae?

At first, we planned to play for only an hour, but nearly three hours passed as we alternated between games and snacks. It let us escape the heat, and we could focus comfortably on the game together in the curtained floor-seating room. Still, it is worth noting before visiting that it was fairly busy even on a weekday evening.