Tabletop Game Shop in Park Slope: Sip & Play From $10

Sip & Play at 471 5th Avenue in Park Slope charges $10 a person for three hours of play from Monday to Thursday and $12 a person from Friday to Sunday and on holidays. For that you get run of a library of more than 500 board games, plus a counter that serves bubble tea, coffee, beer, sandwiches and salads. It is also a working tabletop game shop, with Warhammer on the shelves and bulk trading cards at 25 cents each.

The address is 471 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215, on Park Slope's main Fifth Avenue strip. The hours on the shop's website are Sunday 10 am to 11 pm, Monday through Thursday 11 am to 11 pm, Friday 11 am to 12 am and Saturday 10 am to 12 am. One rule to know: the kitchen closes three hours before the shop does, so plan your sandwich for the early evening and not for the last hour.

For questions, the shop lists the phone number 718-971-1684 and the email address sipnplaynyc@gmail.com. Its Instagram handle is sipnplaynyc, and the site also links to a Discord server for news, pre-orders and events. The business describes itself as Park Slope's first board game cafe. Its founder, Jonathan Li, shares a passion for board games, boba and good food, and the cafe is what happened when he combined all three.

The concept is as simple as the website makes it sound. Come in with friends or family, pick any game from the library and play. The homepage says it costs $10 a person for three hours of gameplay, rising to $12 a person from Friday to Sunday and on holidays. There is no membership to join and no need to know the rules before you arrive.

If you want to guarantee a table, you can reserve. A reservation costs $15 a person for three hours, booked through the shop's Tock page. When you reserve, you are charged a $5 non-refundable deposit per person, and that deposit goes toward the final price. Reservations must be made at least 24 hours ahead, so a same-day request will likely be pushed to the next day. Plan Friday and Saturday visits early.

The menu is built for a table full of cards and pieces. Drinks run from a $5.00 latte and a $4.75 cappuccino to boba. The classic milk tea is $5 for a medium and $6 for a large, brown sugar milk tea is $5.50 for a medium, and toppings such as tapioca pearls, lychee jelly or mango stars add $0.75. Fruit green or black tea comes in mango, strawberry, passionfruit, peach, green apple, lychee and kiwi.

For food, the pressed sandwiches are the move. The Italian panini with prosciutto, pesto and mozzarella on Italian herb focaccia is $12. The spicy chicken sandwich with grilled chicken, crispy bacon and avocado is $14, and the tuna melt is $12. Every sandwich comes with chips. Lighter orders include the cobb salad at $10 and avocado toast at $11, while tater tots are $6. Skip the heavy plates when you are mid-game, because greasy fingers and cardboard tiles do not mix.

The retail corner is why this counts as a tabletop game shop and not only a cafe. The shop sells Games Workshop products at 15% off MSRP, and members get 25% off. If you do not see what you want on the shelf, the shop says it can order it directly at no extra charge. Questions about Warhammer orders go to the email address listed on the homepage, which is kuthoora@gmail.com.

There is also a clearance section where select board games are 40% to 50% off. The homepage adds that bulk cards for Riftbound, Flesh and Blood and Magic: The Gathering are 25 cents per card. Trading card events appear on the same page, including pre-release nights for new sets that ask for a ticket bought through a Square link. Those events are non-refundable and award a pack per match win.

Sip & Play also runs role-playing groups for people 18 and over. According to the Roleplaying at Sip page, in-house Game Masters with four or more years of experience lead tables of four to eight players, and you can fill out a form to be matched with a group if you do not have one. Sessions run about three hours and include one-shots, short campaigns and longer campaigns.

Rates are per person. Campaigns using supplements or adventure books cost $20 per person for groups of four to six and $25 per person for groups of seven to eight. Custom campaigns cost $25 per person for four to six players and $30 per person for seven to eight. The page says the shop does not yet have set time slots and asks for your ideal times in the form, and filling the form does not guarantee a spot.

The back room can be rented as a whole. The reservation page lists $350 for three hours of game time for your party. The birthday basic package is $550 for ten people and includes pizza and soda, with each additional person adding $30. The premium birthday package is $700 for ten people and adds unlimited bubble tea, unlimited appetizers and a Sip & Play goodie bag, with each additional person adding $45.

For other large party inquiries, the site has a form on the reservation page. Gift cards are sold too, which is a neat present for a friend who already owns every game. The shop also takes feedback and press requests through pages linked in its navigation. Ask about the back room early if your group is bigger than ten, since a rented room cannot be added to a walk-in table on the day.

A good first visit starts at opening time, which is 11 am on weekdays and 10 am on Saturday and Sunday. Order a drink, choose a game from the shelves and settle in for the full three hours. If you are playing with a group of five or more, reserve ahead. When the kitchen closes, switch to drinks and snacks.

Address: 471 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215. Phone: 718-971-1684. Website: sipnplaynyc.com. Walk-in play is $10 a person Monday to Thursday and $12 a person Friday to Sunday and on holidays, for three hours. Reserved tables are $15 a person with a $5 deposit per person. Open the Karpo APP to find other Brooklyn game nights, plan your route and keep the shop on your saved list for the next rainy Saturday.