Croydon Board Game Cafe With 1,000 Games: The Ludoquist

The Ludoquist is a family-run board game cafe at 63-67 High Street, Croydon CR0 1QE, with a catalogued library of more than 1,000 board games. A game session costs £8 for adults and £4 for under-16s, Daytime sessions run for three hours, and sessions that start after 6 pm have no time limit. It opens at noon on weekdays and 11 am at weekends.

The cafe opened its doors for the first time on 8 November 2017, as its own anniversary post records. It describes itself simply as a family-run board game cafe, and the scale is unusual for a London suburb: a double shopfront on the High Street, a library that its pages put at well over a thousand games, and a retail shop on the side. The About page says it has collected several Good Food Award Gold Seals and holds a 4.8-star average rating from its guests.

That mix of serious collection and proper kitchen is what makes the place work for families and hobbyists at once. The families page talks about games for three-year-olds, while the events calendar is full of campaign card games and role-playing nights, and the room has to serve both crowds at once. It does that by giving each its own time of day, as the sections below show.

The pricing is simple. Adults pay £8 and children under 16 pay £4 for a game session. During the day, a session covers three hours. Sessions that start after 6 pm have no limit, so an evening visit is the best value in the building. Saturdays are the exception: the cafe gets very busy, and after three hours it charges £1 per person per hour to keep a table.

The cafe is cashless and takes cards only, but not American Express. A 10% discretionary service charge is added to bills of £40 or more. Book ahead for evenings and weekends, the cafe recommends, through its website for groups of up to six. Larger groups email info@theludoquist.com.

This is a kitchen, not a snack counter. The sweet potato curry with chickpeas, carrots, lentils and spinach is billed as the house's legendary dish and costs £11, vegan on request. Pizzas start with a £13 margherita, and a pepperoni pizza is £15; the menu notes that the chicken and pepperoni are halal. The brie and bacon with red onion chutney costs £7.50, and loaded nachos are £11.

On weekdays from noon to 4 pm, the lunch deal pairs any panini and a large drink for £8, or any bowl with a large drink for £12. Milkshakes come in Oreo, Biscoff, vanilla and salted caramel at £6.50, and a coffee with a slice of cake is £5. Order through the buzzer system at your table rather than queuing at the counter.

The Visiting page lists Monday to Thursday from noon to 10 pm, Friday from noon to 11 pm, Saturday from 11 am to 11 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 8 pm. Sunday is the early night, so a Sunday session needs to start by mid-afternoon if you want the full three hours.

The busiest time is Saturday afternoon. If your group has flexible days, a weekday evening is the sweet spot: the session has no time cap, the kitchen is open, and the lunch rush has long gone. Families with small children do best on weekday afternoons or Sunday mornings.

All ages are welcome. The families page says the games suit children from about three or four upwards, and the cafe has high chairs and baby changing. Dogs are welcome too. When you arrive, a greeter walks you through how the library works, and staff will point you to games that suit your table.

Some tables have tall stools, which are fine for adults but awkward for small children, so ask for a low table when you book with kids. The retail shop means you can buy a copy of the game you just enjoyed on the way out, though there is no pressure to.

The events calendar fills most weeknights. Croydon Board Gamers run board game nights on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6.30 pm, with sign-up through Meetup. Tuesday evenings bring drop-in Dungeons and Dragons from 6.30 pm. Arkham Horror: The Card Game players meet every Monday evening and Marvel Champions players every Tuesday, and trading card game events appear on a separate calendar.

If you are new to the hobby, a Croydon Board Gamers night is the easiest introduction: the group is set up for people who turn up alone, and you do not need to bring anyone. For role-players, the Tuesday drop-in Dungeons and Dragons evening is the low-commitment way to try a campaign game before buying any books or dice. Check the calendar on the website before you go, because club nights take over part of the room.

The Ludoquist sits in the middle of the old town. Surrey Street Market, one of the oldest street markets in London, is a few minutes south, and its stalls are good for fruit and coffee before a daytime session. Croydon Minster on Church Street is the town's medieval parish church, rebuilt after a fire in the nineteenth century, and Fairfield Halls on Park Lane stages concerts and comedy most weeks.

The official site lists the buses that stop within 10 metres of the door, including routes 60, 119, 166, 312 and 468. East Croydon station is the main rail hub for the town centre.

Address: The Ludoquist, 63-67 High Street, Croydon CR0 1QE. Email: info@theludoquist.com. Hours: Monday to Thursday noon to 10 pm, Friday noon to 11 pm, Saturday 11 am to 11 pm, Sunday 11 am to 8 pm. Game session: £8 adults, £4 under-16s; three hours by day, no limit after 6 pm, £1 per person per extra hour on Saturdays. Cashless, no American Express.