The Brooklyn Strategist

A surprisingly fun place for people of all ages, if you don’t mind the occasionally serious MTG tournaments going on here. The volume of board games here for a good rate lends favorably to my 5.0÷5.0 rating for this shop.
Friday is unquestionably one of the nights you don’t want to be caught at home doing nothing. Call up a few friends and head here if you don’t have plans and bars are no longer your thing any longer. Their BYOB and BYO food policy fits well for this purpose as there are ample number of wine/​liquor and beer establishments to help you stock up for this misadventure.
Their wide array of board and card games will keep you occupied for hours, and that’s a good thing. For $ 10/​pp for four hours, this is a pretty good deal. Mind you, Friday night is Magic night, so beware the serious looking tables. Be courteous, and don’t mess with them.
The light snack/​juice/​coffee counter is sufficient and does the trick to keep you going. Oh, you order there and pay at the front counter. The staff is affable and helpful. Will definitely be back. Thank you for having us! 5.0÷5.0

The Brooklyn Strategist is a neighborhood gem that packs a punch for all age groups. Our lower school son has participated in their ever expanding after school program several times over the last 3 years. He always looks forward to his Strategist day, and it’s normally impossible to get him to leave. Additionally, we have held his winter birthday party there 3 years in a row, and each time, he and his friends have had a blast. The employees do a great job of keeping the kids engaged by teaching them new games and playing with them if necessary. I highly recommend their after school program and their birthday parties, and while I’ve not personally participated in adult activities such as scrabble night, I’m sure they’d be lots of fun.

The first time I came here, it was packed with kids for their after school program so it was understandable that all 3 employees couldn’t help me. I came back the next day at an earlier time to play board games and the employee there was very nice. Unfortunately he took a very, very long time assisting me because he was the only employee working.
This looks like a great place if you’re here for their after school program, but I’m probably too old for that.

Great store! I’ve bought a handful of games here and a couple handfuls of dice for my toddler’s collection. The staff is always always always friendly and helpful when you have questions and seems to have tons of experience playing everything I’ve ever asked about. The shop is usually filled with people of all ages playing various games and they’ve even expanded in the past year to accommodate the volume. I’m happy they are doing as well as they are because it’s a top notch shop!

This is exactly the model I’ve been looking for — a place that doesn’t depend upon you buying games, but rather charges for you to play there, and also sells games. I believe they also sell some beverages? Coffee? I can’t remember. You can, however, bring your own snacks and drinks, even beer. Great venue. Good amount of space; comfortable, historic atmosphere. Even has an outdoor area out back. Awesome.

I love this place, even though it’s a bit out of the way and sometimes has a bunch of children running around. They have a great game selection, a knowledgeable staff that can help shorten the amount of time spent reading instructions, ample space, and the $ 10 price tag really isnt bad considering the average time you’ll spend playing one game is an hour and you didnt really come all the way down here to play one game, did you? They also have a game social night, but it’s not as popular as other ones in nyc — but you should still go and help make it popular!

Awesome awesome awesome place to kill time with some classic and new «never-​heard-​of-​before» board games!
The guys there are pretty chill; explains how to play the new games too.
The place has an overall friendly, chill out vibe goin on.
They also have snacks, treats, and drinks. Who doesn’t wanna munch on some popcorn while waiting on the opponent to finally make a move on chess? ;)
It’s only $ 10 bucks per person for 4 hours of game time.
I shall be back to conquer my title in Carcassonne. (Totally recommend this game!)

I have been dragged to a few board game stores in my day which is the price you pay for having a board game enthusiast as a boyfriend. I’m comparing this mostly the Chicagoland Games (the Dice Dojo) in our old stomping grounds. The Brooklyn Strategist is by far the most trendy spaces of board game stores. Their selection of board games is decently sized. The person working was busy helping a few young boys, so we weren’t immediately greeted when we walked in about hour to close.
We grabbed Jaipur and began to get set up, and the guy working came up and asked us if we knew how the place worked. I’ve never been to a board game store where you have to pay to play — he charged us $ 10 for the remaining hour they were open. I get why they charge, especially in NYC with the crazy price of rent, but part of me doesn’t like it. The guy helped explain the game to us, which may have saved on time, so I can rationalize paying for that part of the experience, but I kind of just wanted to be left alone.
Anyway, we loved Jaipur, so we ended up buying it. I was hopeful that since we were buying a game, they might not make us pay for playing, but no such luck. It’s a nice spot, but I just can’t get used to the fact that you have to pay to play.

Me and my family have MANY strategy games. I spent an hour there last week getting a consultation about what to add to our collection for the holidays. The person who spent an hour with me was knowledgeable and helpful. Because they have a huge collection to play on site he was able to show me the games and play one with me. A friend of mine who is a gamer and game developer confirmed that the choices I ended up with were good one.

Great spot for a date night — at least if you come here in the evenings. i’ve never been here in the day time so while kids might abound earlier on, at night it seems to just be adults.
I came here with my boyfriend twice. The first time we discovered carcassone and took the game home with us (of course they sell the games). The second time we played another game, that I don’t remember the name of, but it was fun.
There is a huge selection, and the staff is very helpful in explaining the rules to any game you pick out. I should mention though that the last time we went it was near closing time and the staff seemed to be engrossed in their own game play — leaving us to feel like we were interrupting when we needed their assistance.
They serve light snacks (cookies, popcorn, tea, etc.) and I do remember a particular chocolate chip cookie tasting quite amazing! They seem to bake them fresh? Not sure.
Anyway, the price is right and the last time we went, since it was so close to closing time that we wouldn’t get a full 4 hours — we received a discount without even asking). Sweet!

Having gone back to the Strategist several times with members (who have good relationships with the staff), I have had much better experiences. Yes, some of the staff are still there just to play their own games and ignore you. But others (I’m looking at you Mendez and Bjorn) are super helpful and friendly. Although they do sell some food and drinks, they are totally fine with you bringing in a little or a lot of food and beverage. We have brought in multi-​course meals and enough alcohol to last our 4 hour session, which lessens the sting of losing Pandemic 4 times in a row… and it’s never a problem.
The best part? They have a beautiful backyard for those sunshiney Sunday afternoon that you can’t bear to spend inside.

My boyfriend and I are in NYC and last night, we were a little burned out on eating and drinking. We found this great place in Brooklyn and it is a total gem! Had a blast! It’s quirky, mellow and very comfortable. The employees were awesome and helpful. We will be coming back!

We just had a wonderful birthday party for my 11 year old. There were children of different age groups in attendance, and the staff was great! I didn’t have to clean a thing, (thank god). Definitely recommended.

I have been back to the strategist a few more times, and despite some of the shortcomings I have grown to love it. It is easy to get around the somewhat inconsistent service if you come for one of the themed employee-​led activity nights like D&D Encounters, and get to know one of the employees. Once you have even the most minimal connection, you’ll most likely see that person there every time you return and they’ll help you with anything you need.
The core demographic is after-​school programs/children’s events, but you can still have lots of fun there as an adult. Just build in a bit of tolerance for the fact that the staff have to become babysitters because parents drop their kids off and come back 4 hours later. They have the more complex adult games getting buzz these days like Catan and Pandemic, and everyone at the store becomes more helpful once they see you there once or twice so you can get very good recommendations and save lots of time as they’ll explain the rules of any game so you don’t have to read the instructions.
Their food is good, one of the owners is friends with a chef that makes it all for them (especially try the homemade sodas!). However, there is no judgement about bringing food and drinks in with you, which is often easier. If you want to grab pizza from down the street, you can probably find a few people to split with among the other customers. The Brooklyn Strategist can become a huge value if you become a member, but $ 10 a session for 4 hours of fun is already great.

This is a gaming café. You can play any game you want and purchase it afterwards. Have a spot of tea while playing King Of Tokyo or a homemade bakery treat while playing Rampage (yes, a board game based off the old computer game)…you always feel welcome. Should you wish to purchase, there’s a wide variety and… If you don’t see it, ask. They’d probably be able to get it in 1 to 2 days.

The
Patience
Shown the kids
Is outstanding.
Cheap dates and great games. Support local biz.

Seriously a great deal for a great time. At $ 10 per person for up to 4 hours of play, Brooklyn Strategist is hard to beat. Cant even get a movie ticket for that price.
Unlike other venues which may appear to have a comparable concept, the Strategist is a true game library lounge. Here you wont find the greasy cards and incomplete game sets at other establishments that are more about booze and food. Instead the BkS has well lit tables and a vast selection of great board games, and the best part – super knowledgeable staff who will help you select the right games for your evening according to your desired intensity, duration, experience… Ashley was very great in informing our decisions and giving us a sense of new games before we plunged into the sometimes time consuming task of reading the instruction manuals.
We played Ur, Ascension, and Qwirkle tonight.
They also allow you to BYOB and have a binder full of local restaurants that will deliver food. The snacks and coffee and tea they have in house are decent in price and taste. We had a lime coconut cookie and a choco chip one, both baked in house.
If you love strategy games this is a great place to try a new one before buying it; and if you do decide to purchase it the store offers very competitive prices.
Will return here with more friends after my awesome date with my board game enthusiast boyfriend. They do their thing well and dont try to do too much.

This place is great! Tons of games (we’re not just talking Monopoly and Apples to Apples, there are a ton of games you probably haven’t even heard of) and a super knowledgeable staff. We asked for a recommendation based on another game we like, and were given a tutorial by one of the staff on exactly how to play. He checked in every so often to see if we had questions. I heard him instruct another couple in about 3 different games, so he clearly knew his stuff.
We used a HowAboutWeDeal, but with a $ 10 price tag for 4 hours of game play, it’s a totally reasonable and awesome way to spend a day! Who has room in their apartment for board games, anyway?

As I walked by I was enticed to enter by the voices that were highly engaged in their various games. The store is set up as half shop, half tables for playing with a small café with homemade snacks.
Even though the shop worker was currently playing a game, he was also able to talk me through and pick out a great new game for a gift. He was enthusiastic and knew the ins and outs of all the games in the shop, which helped a lot in deciding on the perfect game for my brother.

Five friends and I stopped in on a Saturday afternoon, hoping to partake in free play, and we briefly suffered from information overload as we couldn’t choose from the wall of games in front of us. Luckily, the staff there was very helpful in helping us choose a game, given the games we told him that we had played before.
The set up is quite nice; there are several 6ish person tables that are available for group play, and there’s a little area in a corner that serves some pastries and beverages. The staff is very friendly and helped explain the rules to us about the two games that we ended up playing, and they were always willing to answer questions that we had while we were playing. It’s a great little place to stop in and try different games at inexpensive rates while having all the help you need from an extremely courteous staff, and I would love to come back and try some of the other games.