Draughts

Last weekend I think we were suffering slightly with the post Christmas blues. After a few days of being cooped up inside, we were ready for another adventure. After browsing online I discovered 'Draughts' - a cafe/bar in Haggerston, Hackney that stocks over 300 games. The concept was simple - pay £5 per person, grab a table, open a tab and order a drink, pick a game and play! You can stay for as long as you like and play as many games as possible. The huge board game nerds we are, it seemed perfect!

However, there was one slight problem - the trains. Due to overrunning engineering works (which happen every.single.bank.holiday) trains were, well basically fucked. It took us three hours to arrive in London from leaving home. However, we had fun messing around together and time went quickly.

After our horrendous journey, first stop was FOOD! As usual, we had burgers and fries in the mind. We started googling burger joints in East London as we made our way on the Overground. We realised that there was a 'The Diner' close to Shoreditch High Street.

We were planning on heading there to get bagels at some point anyway, so it was perfect. We arrived around 3pm and it was pretty busy. However, the service was friendly throughout. I had a hot dog with bacon, sour cream and loads of cheese.  I chose mac and cheese for my side. Rob chose a toasted sub with ham and bacon, cheese and gravy. He had cheesey fries. All the food was so good. We washed it down with thick milkshakes - chocolate for me and oreo for Rob. An amazing meal. 

After we stocked up on bagels and then jumped back on the tube for a couple of stops of Haggerston. Draughts is short walk from the Overground Station. We arrive and bagged the last available table. The place was so busy! Unfortunately there were a few annoying groups of students, but the atmosphere was good. 

We ordered our local lager and Rob went off and chose the first game - Battleships. I haven't played battleships for years! It was a good game. The face below is a very happy Belle after a win. 

I chose the next game  - Elk Fest. It was a simple, two player game that involved flicking little stones so that the Elk can cross from the starting island to the opponents island. There aren't too many rules to the game, its fast paced and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. I chose the game based on the staffs recommendation. The staff were really friendly. 

For Rob's next choice he chose the classic Guess Who. Another simple game but lots of fun.  

When I was putting Guess Who back I saw someone else putting Game of Life away. I had heard lots of people talking about the game but had never played it. I bagged it straight away. Thats the great thing about Draughts - you get to play games you have never played before. We both really liked the game, despite not exactly sticking to the rules. 

We left after a couple of pints - begrundingly. I would have loved to stay for hours more but we had a little doggie to get home to. Luckily we didnt face too many delays on the way home. I can't wait to return to Draughts. A great date day.