Board games in spotlight at new Branson venture

It’s game on at a new family-run establishment in downtown Branson that has hundreds of board game options.

Branson Boardgame Cafe, 103 S. Business Highway 65, opened March 19 and offers approximately 650 board games that include classics such as Monopoly, Sorry and Risk and more modern selections such as Ticket to Ride and The Resistance.

Les Carpenter, who co-owns the venture with his wife Tammy, said he was looking for a unique first-time business opportunity after spending the past 34 years with the U.S. Postal Service. He most recently was working in the Kansas City area, but moved his family of four to Branson last year to pursue the venture.

“A lot of people don’t have any idea what a board game cafe is,” Carpenter said, adding the business is family oriented, allowing customers to pay a $5 fee to play as many games as they want. “It provides face-to-face interaction and lets them get away from the phones and video games for a little while.”

Carpenter said his family vacationed in Branson numerous times over the years and was drawn to its appealing atmosphere for families. The family has played a lot of board games and built a “pretty good collection” of them, he said, noting a large portion of the shop’s inventory was accumulated through purchasing inventory online, and from board game stores in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, near where the family previously lived.

The family has played the vast majority of the games, Carpenter said, adding he even brought some home over this past weekend to try out. He said the plan is to add a few new ones every month to keep the library fresh. Games also are available for purchase. The company’s website, BransonBoardgameCafe.com, includes a full list of its inventory and video tutorials.

Renovation work on the 1,900-square-foot space started in December, he said, with the family taking on as much of the project as they could. Startup costs landed around $40,000, he said, adding the building is owned by the Helen Williams family. The business is on a one-year lease with two one-year options for an undisclosed rate.

In addition to the games, the cafe also serves deli sandwiches, priced around $7.50, along with coffee drinks ranging between $2-$4 and other snacks under $5.

Carpenter said the shop, which is across the street from Mr. B’s Ice Cream Parlor, aims to draw walk-in traffic from those visiting tourist attractions downtown. Still, he acknowledged appealing to locals also would be key to reaching a wider audience year-round.

“We know we need to have a good base of local customers to make it successful, so we needed to make it convenient for them, but also for tourists,” he said.