Bras Basah Board Game Cafe, S$10 Midweek: King and the Pawn

King and the Pawn is a board game cafe and bar at 17 Purvis Street, #01-01, Singapore 188596, about eight minutes on foot from City Hall or Bugis MRT, between the National Library and South Beach. Its library holds more than 350 games, and the board game cover is S$10 per person from Tuesday to Thursday and S$15 on Fridays, weekends and public holidays. If you come only to eat and drink, you pay no cover. It opens from 5.30 pm on weekdays and from 11 am at weekends, and is closed on Mondays.

The cafe sells itself on help. Its homepage invites you to ask the game gurus to recommend and teach games, and that is the house routine: tell them who is at the table and how long you have, and someone brings over a box and runs through the rules. New games arrive every month, according to the homepage, so regulars keep finding something unfamiliar on the shelves.

There are two distinct rooms. The Cosy Map Corner seats up to 38 people under a large map, while the Skylight Hallway takes up to 16 and gets more natural light. Both can be booked for socials and company events. King and the Pawn has also designed its own game: On Call, a cooperative emergency room simulation, which ran a Kickstarter campaign from late September to late October 2026.

From Tuesday to Thursday the board game cover is S$10 per person. On Fridays and the eve of public holidays it is S$15 per person, and you can stay until closing. On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays it is S$15 per person per session, with a day session lasting until 6 pm and a night session from 6 pm until closing.

Children aged seven and under play free, and children from eight to 12 get half price, up to four discounted children per table. Students and NSmen get 20% off the total bill from Tuesday to Thursday if everyone at the table shows ID, though this does not stack with happy hour deals. The cover is waived altogether if food and drink spending passes S$60 per person for the whole party, before service charge.

The kitchen does more than snacks. A creamy duck confit pasta costs S$22 and the classic cheeseburger S$20.50. The camembert brûlée, a whole cheese with a caramelised top, costs S$25 and works as a sharing plate for four. Honey lime sriracha wings are S$13.50, the safest finger food for a card game since one hand stays clean.

Coffee runs from S$4.50 for an espresso, long black or Americano to S$5.50 for a cappuccino, latte or flat white. The Twilight Struggle Espresso Martini, named after the Cold War strategy game and made with vodka, Kahlúa and a double espresso, costs S$19. Happy hour runs from Tuesday to Friday, 5.30 pm to 8 pm: two pints of draft beer for S$23, wine at S$10 a glass, and cocktails at two for S$26 if you roll doubles. Weekend visitors get a separate brunch menu.

The homepage lists Tuesday to Thursday from 5.30 pm to 11.30 pm, Friday from 5.30 pm to 1.30 am, Saturday from 11 am to 1.30 am and Sunday from 11 am to 10 pm. Monday does not appear in the opening hours.

For the cheapest night, come between Tuesday and Thursday: S$10 cover, the student discount if it applies, and happy hour until 8 pm. Friday and Saturday are the late nights, ideal for a long strategy game. Sunday closes earlier, so start a big game in the afternoon.

Tables are booked online through the Reserve Now button on the website. Weekend evenings and the brunch hours fill first, so book those. Midweek, a group of two or four can usually find space without much notice.

The pricing points to two crowds. The midweek student and NSmen discount suits players from the schools and colleges around Bras Basah, while the early-evening happy hour suits anyone finishing work in the civic district. For a work social, the Cosy Map Corner is the room to ask about, since it fits a full team of up to 38.

With 350 titles, the gurus are the shortcut. For a group new to modern board games, ask for a cooperative game, where everyone plays against the box, so no one feels picked on. Fans of the espresso martini's namesake can try the real Twilight Struggle, a two-player game that takes a full evening. And a group of six or more should start with a party game that seats everyone before splitting into smaller tables. Couples on a date night do best with a short two-player game that leaves space on the table for the camembert and two cocktails. If the first game falls flat, swap it early: with no hourly meter on a midweek cover, trying a second box costs nothing extra.

Weekend pricing is per session, not per day. A table that plays from lunch into the evening crosses the 6 pm line and starts a new session, so plan a weekend visit as either a day session or a night session. Brunch at 11 am followed by games until late afternoon is the best weekend value.

Purvis Street is one of the old shophouse streets near the Beach Road end of the civic district, known for Hainanese chicken rice restaurants. Walk west and you reach CHIJMES on Victoria Street, the former convent turned dining courtyard, a good spot for a drink after a session. The National Library on Victoria Street is a few minutes further, with a reading room and views from its upper floors.

Address: King and the Pawn, 17 Purvis Street, #01-01, Singapore 188596. Getting there: about eight minutes on foot from City Hall or Bugis MRT. Hours: Tuesday to Thursday 5.30 pm to 11.30 pm, Friday 5.30 pm to 1.30 am, Saturday 11 am to 1.30 am, Sunday 11 am to 10 pm; closed Monday. Board game cover: S$10 Tuesday to Thursday, S$15 Friday, weekends and public holidays. Under-7s play free.