Where to find Board games in Newcastle and the North East: pub meetups, café nights, clubs and shops for board gamers.
We list 16 venues where you can play or buy board games across Newcastle and the North East, in 13 towns and neighbourhoods. Between them they run 3 regular sessions, most often on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Three of those are marked as beginner friendly. 15 have tables to play on site.
Venues with regular nights or tables to play on site, busiest first.
Board game cafe, event space and games shop on Park View, Whitley Bay, with a large in-store game library and weekly events for board games, trading card games, wargames and role-playing games. Open Tuesday to Sunday until 22:00, with tables bookable online.
Friendly local games store in Felling, 10 minutes walk from Felling Metro, with discounted wargaming kits and a gaming room with terrain and mats (£5 per person, no time limit) plus a board game library. It runs 40K matched play days, Age of Sigmar Spearhead events, Blood Bowl tournaments and a monthly board game night.
Trading card, miniatures and tabletop games shop in North Shields with in-store play. Weekly events include Tuesday Magic drafts, a Wednesday board game social and Thursday Commander.
Geek shop and community event space on Front Street selling trading cards, Warhammer, board games and collectibles. It runs weeknight events including Pokémon TCG, Warhammer painting and Dungeons and Dragons.
Community interest company running a dedicated tabletop venue with a bar on Newcastle Quayside. Weeknight socials cover RPGs, board games, Blood Bowl, Warhammer and Star Wars Unlimited, with tournaments and special events at weekends.
Community-run tabletop gaming venue in Washington (a CIC) with a gaming space, hobby area, shop and café, The Hungry Dice. It hosts wargaming, card games, board games and roleplaying, plus learn-to-play sessions, leagues and tournaments, and tables can be booked online.
Long-running, mainly historical wargames club with its own room at Vane Tempest Hall in Gilesgate. Members meet every Thursday evening and visitors can usually be fitted into a game.
Board game and trading card game shop in Consett with weekly Pokémon TCG, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Magic nights. Free learn-to-play sessions run on Sunday afternoons.
Geek Retreat gaming cafe and shop in Sunniside, Sunderland, with food, drinks and play tables. Magic Commander runs every Tuesday evening, alongside prereleases and other TCG events.
Family-run trading card shop in Birtley with a gaming space and events every day of the week. Highlights include a free Pokémon TCG Sunday League with junior and masters tournaments, Magic Mondays Commander, One Piece on Tuesdays and Gundam on Fridays.
Activity venue near Northumberland Street with a board game cafe of over 80 games alongside escape rooms, axe throwing and darts. Table hire is available and food and drinks are served.
Large tabletop gaming hub in Hoults Yard, Byker, with a shop, a cafe serving barista coffee and many bookable 6 by 4 gaming tables (£5 table hire, terrain and mats included). It sells Games Workshop, Middle-earth, Marvel Crisis Protocol, Magic and Pokémon TCG, has a board game library and runs a weekly Commander night.
Gaming store and venue in the old picture house in Stocksfield with bookable tables and a tavern. It hosts free weekly Horus Heresy, Age of Sigmar and 40K nights plus weekly Lorcana, Riftbound and Yu-Gi-Oh! leagues and regular 40K tournaments.
Tabletop and trading card game shop on English Street with in-store seating for play and organised play every day of the week, covering Star Wars Unlimited, Digimon, Lorcana, One Piece, Riftbound, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Magic, Pokémon TCG and Star Wars Legion. Staff offer bookable learn to play sessions, including Warhammer 40k, Lord of the Rings and Age of Sigmar.
Board game, graphic novel, manga and TCG shop on Grainger Street, part of the Travelling Man chain. It hosts Magic events on Monday evenings.
We haven't confirmed play space or regular nights at these yet, so ask in store.
Independent craft and model shop in Brampton, Cumbria, and a Games Workshop stockist with a pre-order service, plus other wargames, board games and remote control cars. Open Wednesday to Saturday, 10:00 to 16:00, with parking in the Old Brewery courtyard.
The weekly line-up. Times and formats can change, so check with the venue before you travel.
Northumbrian Tin Soldier, North Shields. Open board game night
Bay Games, Whitley Bay. Blood on the Clocktower social deduction evening, simplified scripts
The venues with the most regular nights are Bay Games in Whitley Bay (1 night), Gecko Gaming in Gateshead (1 night) and Northumbrian Tin Soldier in North Shields (1 night). We list 16 venues in all across Newcastle and the North East.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays have the most regular sessions. One session runs every week. The Newcastle calendar shows what's on from today.
Yes. Three regular nights are marked as welcoming new players, including sessions at Gecko Gaming, Bay Games and Northumbrian Tin Soldier. Staff at most venues are happy to teach, so mention it when you arrive.
A free weekly email of what's on in your area: tournaments, pre-releases, launch events and new regular nights. Plus a monthly round-up of new shops, clubs and game releases.
