PlayStation Overcooked and OTT movies in Nowon: Hero Board Game Cafe

Where is Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch, and where do you park?

• Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch
• 3F 301,302, 15 Sanggye-ro 3-gil, Nowon-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• No parking on site
• Use the Kakao T Hyunsung Building parking lot nearby (65 Sanggye-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul)

What the Nowon Branch looks like from outside

Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch is a Nowon things-to-do spot close to Nowon Station Exit 9. For couples, friends, or families who can't watch a movie or an exhibition every single time and want something fun to do together,

a place with board games, OTT, Nintendo, and even PlayStation like Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch fits the bill perfectly!

On Fridays and Saturdays it's open until 1am the next day, so it's great as a second stop after drinks for a late night of fun.

How much does Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch cost?

When you enter, staff explain how to use the space. When you leave, just return your room number plate.

• Adults: ₩3,000/hour, +₩500 per extra 10 minutes, one drink order required per person
• Teens: ₩2,000/hour, +₩500 per extra 15 minutes, drink order not required (optional), not usable weekends/holidays, student ID or uniform verification required, cannot combine with other events

If you're using an event or a coupon, you need to mention it in advance.

One unique thing about Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch is that it's also a popular bingsu (shaved ice dessert) spot on Baemin and Coupang Eats! You can even order bingsu to take out when you leave (just mention it 10 minutes before you plan to leave, and it'll be ready). Takeout orders get ₩2,000 off the menu price.

The 500-piece puzzle event and its free 2-hour voucher

There's also a puzzle event running. Note it can't be combined with other events. Complete a 500-piece puzzle within the time limit —

• 2 people – 90 minutes
• 3 people – 75 minutes
• 4 people – 60 minutes

and if you succeed, you get a 2-hour free voucher per person plus a polaroid photo. It seems you can pick whichever puzzle you like.

Since one drink per person is required, I looked over the menu — besides drinks, there was a wide range of bingsu, sides, and even proper meal options.

There were so many kinds of bingsu, and according to reviews, it's more satisfying than Sulbing. With the extra takeout discount, plus the fact that a shared bingsu for two counts as one drink order per person, it seemed like a great dessert to grab after a meal here.

Inside: board game shelves, Nintendo and the self-service bar

As is typical for board game cafés, Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch runs on a pay-after-use system, so you just settle up when you're done having fun and heading out.

You can freely play any board game, and some come neatly wrapped in plastic, so they were generally in good condition overall.

A screen shows recommended games by group size, so you can use that as a guide to pick something fun.

There's a separate room where Nintendo is available. You just choose your preferred room when you enter. Nintendo cartridges aren't kept in the rooms — to prevent loss, they're only rentable at the counter, and you need to leave your ID or a card when borrowing one.

Puzzles needed for the puzzle event or controllers needed for Nintendo games can be freely grabbed from the self-service bar.

Floor-seating to table-seating: what are the rooms like?

Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch is quite spacious inside. There are several rooms arranged like a maze, split between table-seating and floor-seating rooms.

When I visited, a large group was enjoying board games together in this group room.

We were there to play games too, so the lively atmosphere actually got us in the mood to play.

This is the floor-seating room we were first shown. It was a Nintendo-only room, so we asked if we could switch once a table room opened up, and they happily moved us. (A lot of manga cafés and board game cafés don't allow switching on weekends or holidays.)

We each ordered a drink and waited, and a new room opened up quickly, so we moved to a table-seating room. Both OTT and Nintendo are available there. You can't lie down to play, but it was nice being able to switch to a movie once we got tired of gaming!

PlayStation Overcooked, Tekken and the two free arcade machines

PlayStation can only be played outside the rooms. To protect the console, drinks and food aren't allowed there. Following the controller connection instructions made it easy to hook up, so we comfortably played Overcooked, Tekken, and more with one controller each.

There were also two free arcade machines set up, and students who came to hang out seemed to be having a great time on them. While we waited a bit for a Nintendo game to install, we enjoyed the arcade machines and PlayStation too.

We cleared the installed Overcooked up to level 4-4, and then, to give our exhausted brains a break after all that gaming, we watched a movie before heading out, haha.

If you check in via Naver Place, there's a coupon for free usage fees for a month around your birthday.