Murder mystery for two in Nowon, Seoul: Dead Box at Hero Board Game

I was trying to figure out what to do with my boyfriend in Nowon, so we ended up visiting Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch!

Just going to a café felt like it wasn't enough for a date, so I looked for something a bit different — and this place had everything from board games to PlayStation, Nintendo, and arcade machines, so it was great for the two of us to hang out :)

Where is Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch, and how do you find the entrance?

Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch is on the 3rd floor of a building just 89m from Exit 9 of Nowon Station. You can spot it right away — the Hero Board Game Cafe sign is big and clear from outside.

Since it's on the 3rd floor, walking up the stairs gave us a little peek at the vibe of the place, and the entrance already had that classic board game café feel :)

Free for a whole month on your birthday

I spotted a birthday event notice on the way up the stairs! It said you can use the café for free during your entire birthday month.

If you search 'Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Station' on Naver, there's a separate coupon you can get for the free birthday month — definitely grab it!!

Prices and opening hours at Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch

At Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch, one drink per person is required, and the weekday unlimited pass is ₩5,000 (highly recommend 👍🏻). Weekday teen rate for 1 hour is ₩2,000, weekday/weekend 1 hour is ₩3,000, and arcade machines, Nintendo, and PlayStation are all free.

• Address: 602-2 Sangye-dong (3rd floor), Nowon-gu, Seoul, 89m from Exit 9 of Nowon Station (Lines 4 & 7)
• Hours: Mon-Thu 13:00-24:00 / Fri 13:00-01:00 (next day) / Sat 12:00-01:00 (next day) / Sun 12:00-24:00
• No parking on-site; nearby Kakao T Hyeonseong Building parking lot (65 Sangye-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul)
• Takeout, delivery, and reservations available
• [Exclusive to Hero] Crime scene game free
• [Weekend visitors before 2pm] Free Americano

Inside Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch: seats and table types

Once inside, the space was bigger than I expected, with a good variety of seating. There were cozy spots for just the two of us to sit and play, as well as tables for larger groups, so you could pick a seat based on how many people you had.

Each table had plenty of room to spread out a board game, so there was no awkward cramping while playing, and every seating area had a slightly different vibe, which made picking a spot kind of fun too.

Especially for couples, there were cozy little corners perfect for playing games together, and also bigger tables for when you come with a group of friends — so it seemed like a great fit for anything from a Nowon date to a friend hangout.

On one side, board games were displayed by category, so it was fun just to browse before choosing one. If you're not sure what to play, there's a recommendation list sorted by number of players and difficulty, which we used to pick our game.

We also filmed some footage of the inside, so check that out too. Overall, the seating and space felt generous enough to comfortably enjoy games for a long time :)

The Game of Life: a board game that works with just two players

There were so many board games that we had a hard time choosing, so we used the recommendation list by player count and difficulty and picked something for two. First up: The Game of Life!

We picked it thinking we'd play it lightly, but once we got going, I surprisingly got competitive haha. In the end though, my boyfriend ended up living a way better life than me…

It's just a game, but somehow I felt weirdly wronged and wanted a rematch haha

The murder mystery room and Dead Box, the 2-player mystery game

Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch has a dedicated murder mystery room. There were way more mystery games than I expected, so we spent a while browsing before picking one.

And the thing I found the coolest here was that there's a completely separate room just for murder mystery games!

We picked 'Dead Box,' a game made for two players. Once you choose your game, you just tell the staff the name at the counter and they bring it to you!

Dead Box is a murder mystery game made for two people, so it was perfect for a couple to try. You go through the given clues and information piece by piece to solve the case, which gave it a completely different kind of fun compared to regular board games.

Buldak, hot dogs and churros: what we ate between games

After playing for a while, we started getting hungry, so we ordered some food too.

We ordered buldak (spicy fire chicken), hot dogs, and churros! The buldak was great for when we got a bit peckish mid-game, and the hot dogs were good for something simple. When you're hanging out at a board game café, you get surprisingly hungry, and it's convenient that you can just order right inside haha.

And my personal favorite was the churros!! Out of the three, the churros were the tastiest for me haha. Easy to pick at one by one while playing, and sweet enough to be the perfect snack 🤎 I like snacking while playing at a board game café rather than just having a drink, so I really recommend the churros!

There's also a puzzle event! With all sorts of events going on, it feels like you could hang out here all day.

Is Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch a good indoor date in Nowon?

We were trying to find something to do together in Nowon, and it turned out there was way more to do than expected — we lost track of time hanging out haha.

With such a wide variety of board games, plus Nintendo, PlayStation, and arcade machines, it was great being able to pick and choose what to play. And when we got hungry, we could just order food right away, which made it easy to hang out for a long time! (Churros highly recommended ໒꒰՞ ܸ. .ܸ՞꒱ა)

If you're looking for a change of pace from the usual café or movie date, this place is definitely worth checking out for an indoor date or something fun to do in Nowon :)