Borough Board Game Cafe for Wargamers Too: Bad Moon Cafe

Bad Moon Cafe Borough is a tabletop gaming cafe at 159A Great Dover Street, London SE1 4GZ, about ten minutes' walk from Borough Tube and twelve from London Bridge. Board game and card game tables can be booked for up to four hours at £7 per person, with access to a library of more than 150 board games. It opens from 2 pm to 10 pm on weekdays, 10 am to 10 pm on Saturdays and 10 am to 6 pm on Sundays. Unlike most London board game cafes, it is just as busy with Warhammer armies as with board games.

The homepage says Bad Moon Cafe has supported London's tabletop gaming community for more than six years, with Warhammer, Magic: The Gathering and other game systems at its core. The Borough venue is big: the group bookings page describes more than 3,000 square feet of space, purpose-built gaming tables and free Wi-Fi. There is a second branch on Holloway Road in north London.

That background shapes the room. Board games are one part of a wider hobby space, and you may share the floor with a Warhammer tournament or a Magic pre-release on the same afternoon. If you enjoy watching other people's painted armies as much as playing your own game, that is a bonus. If you want a quiet date-night cafe, choose somewhere else.

Board game and card game tables are bookable for up to four hours at £7 per person, which covers access to the full board game library for that time. The person who books pays a £7 deposit, and everyone else pays on arrival. Four hours is generous compared with the three-hour slots at many London cafes, so it suits a long strategy game.

Wargamers have their own rates: large wargaming tables cost £10 per person and smaller ones £7 per person. That pricing makes it one of the few places in central London where a group of friends can play a big miniatures battle on proper terrain without owning a games room.

The library of more than 150 board games is smaller than at the big chains, but it sits alongside trading card events and a full wargaming calendar. Regular players come for Magic: The Gathering nights, Warhammer games and pre-release weekends. In November 2026 the Borough venue is selling tickets on its online shop for a Magic: The Gathering x Star Trek pre-release on the Friday and Saturday.

Hobbyists also come to shop: the cafe takes Games Workshop pre-orders at 20% off. For board gamers, the advantage is space. Even on a busy day there is room to spread out a big game, and the four-hour slot means nobody rushes you.

Under-18s can play, but groups of under-18s must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or over, according to the booking page. For parties, the group bookings page offers the big floor, the gaming tables and plenty of food and drink options. Email borough@badmooncafe.co.uk for large groups, because the venue does not publish a phone number.

The best time for a relaxed board game session is a weekday afternoon after the 2 pm opening, before evening card game events start. Saturday is the long day, open from 10 am, and the busiest for wargames.

Lean into the setting. Tactical board games with miniatures feel at home among the wargaming tables. If your group is new to hobby games, a gateway game like a light area-control or deck-building title is a good bridge between classic board games and the miniatures battles around you.

For something bigger, book a small wargaming table and try a starter battle, if anyone in your group owns an army or can borrow one. Card players can drop into the calendar of Magic events instead of booking a table at all.

Four hours is a long booking, so plan the shape of it. Arrive with a rough idea of the kind of game you want, because the library is smaller than at the giant chains and browsing goes quickly. A strong opener is a mid-weight game that takes about an hour, followed by a longer strategy game once everyone knows how the table feels, and a fast card game to finish while you settle up.

The group bookings page promises plenty of food and drink options, so there is no need to leave the building to eat. Order between games rather than in the middle of one, since the tables are built for gaming first and plates second. If a member of your group is a wargamer, use the visit to watch a few turns of a battle on the big tables. It is the cheapest way to see whether the hobby suits you before buying a single model.

On Sundays the cafe closes at 6 pm, so a Sunday booking should start by 2 pm to use the full four hours. Weekday evenings give you the full four hours as long as you start by 6 pm, since the doors close at 10 pm.

Great Dover Street runs south-east from Borough. Two minutes away, Trinity Church Square is one of the most complete Georgian squares in south London, with a statue at its centre and a former church now used as a recording studio. Leathermarket Gardens, off Weston Street, is a quiet green space near the old leather district of Bermondsey. Ten minutes north, Borough Market on Stoney Street is the obvious stop for lunch before an afternoon booking.

Bus route 21 stops at Blackhorse Court, a minute from the door, which is handy on a rainy day.

Address: Bad Moon Cafe Borough, 159A Great Dover Street, London SE1 4GZ. Stations: Borough, about ten minutes' walk, and London Bridge, about twelve minutes. Bus 21 to Blackhorse Court. Email: borough@badmooncafe.co.uk. No phone number is published. Hours: Monday to Friday 2 pm to 10 pm, Saturday 10 am to 10 pm, Sunday 10 am to 6 pm. Board game tables: £7 per person for up to four hours, with a £7 deposit from the person booking.