Shark Island and Cat Run with bingsu at Nowon's Hero Board Game Cafe

My 7-year-old son is deep into board games these days. I bought him chess, a bunch of basic card games, and he always wants more — but a lot of these games end after one round and he never comes back to them, so they just pile up taking space. So frustrating, haha.

So this time I tried a board game café instead ^^ Now whenever he wants to play, weekday or weekend, we can just go together. It was great ^^ It's a place where you can also enjoy PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, arcade machines, and more.

Open from noon even on holidays, so let's go to Hero Board Game Cafe

Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch: board games with a bowl of bingsu

Hero Board Game Cafe has a huge selection of games, but honestly the patbingsu was so good ^^ I think I'll go back just for that. Rather than just a dessert shop, why not eat patbingsu while playing board games too? ~~~~

Fun new board games, plus Nintendo, PlayStation, arcade machines, and puzzles — Hero Board Game Cafe has it all

Why no rulebook is needed: how-to videos on screen

I usually never know what board games exist so we never get to try new ones, but Hero Board Game Cafe not only has tons of titles — every screen also plays a how-to video, so we could discover and learn a new game without worry, no manual reading required, haha, just grab anything and play.

Shark Island: pull the string and the shark comes after you

So cute and fun: Shark Island

Pull the string and the shark comes after you. But before that, you roll dice to move forward — a total dopamine rush of a game.

Cat Run: the tense moment when the dog starts its patrol

Suspenseful Cat Run

Another dopamine-rush game where you never know when you'll get flicked off. In the middle, when the dog button gets pressed, it moves around and knocks the cats off. Press the pincer and a cat gets flicked away, sent back to start, haha. If you roll a dog on the dice, you have to press the button and make the dog go on patrol. You can only dodge the attack while hiding in the trash can — so cute and so fun, haha.

My son said he wanted to try every single game ^^ At this rate we'd need to come every day for three months to get through them all, haha. The world of board games is endless.

Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon Branch hours and location

Hero Board Game Cafe's business hours

Saturday and Sunday: opens at 12:00, closes at 24:00, with Saturday running until 1am. Weekdays: 13:00–24:00. Thursday, Chuseok holiday Sept 24: 12:00–24:00. Friday, Chuseok Sept 25: 12:00–24:00.

Hero Board Game Cafe Nowon is located on the 3rd floor.

There's a weekday unlimited-play plan, which is amazing ^^

As long as you've got the stamina, even 2 hours with my son is a great deal ^^ I'll definitely be back for the patbingsu ^^

Two hours with a 7-year-old, and the parent tired out first

I'm already excited thinking about how many more board games we'll be able to play together as he grows up, haha. Most of all, I urgently need some kind of fruit that boosts stamina, haha. I wanted to play with my son for about 3 hours, but 2 hours was my limit ㅠㅠ My son, of course, has unlimited energy, haha. I bet by second grade he'll be asking to come here with a friend instead, haha.

Such a fun 2 hours

My son's eyes were sparkling, he had so much fun during those 2 hours ^^ He said Shark Island was so much fun and played it for over 10 minutes, haha.

If we'd had more time, I think we could have played Cat Run for a whole hour too. The dog was so cute — wait, my son insists it's a dog, not a puppy, haha.

A Nowon spot that works for family outings over the holidays

Rather than computer games, phone games, or Nintendo, board games let the whole family sit together with snacks and have fun ^^ Even during Chuseok, I think it'd be lovely for the whole family to come play board games together. I loved it so much, and my son always loves it too ^^ It teaches so many rules and also builds patience, haha, definitely recommend it ^^