Snakes & Lattes facts for kids

Snakes & Lattes
A game of Dominion at Snakes & Lattes
Restaurant information
Established	2010
Current owner(s)	Owned by Amfil Technologies, Inc.
Food type	Coffees, teas, draft beers, sandwiches, snacks, desserts
Dress code	Casual
Street address	600 Bloor St. West; 489 College St.; 45 Eglinton Ave. East
City	Toronto
State	Ontario
Postal/ZIP code	M6G 1K4; M6G 1A5
Country	Canada
Seating capacity	150; 240; 250
Reservations	No
Website	www.snakesandlattes.com

Snakes & Lattes is a popular chain of board game cafés. It started in Toronto, Canada, and now has locations in the United States too. Many people say it inspired other board game cafés around the world.

At Snakes & Lattes, you pay a small fee to play board and card games. You can play for as long as you like! Each café has a huge collection of games, from 1,000 to 3,000 different ones. When the first café opened, there was no Wi-Fi. This was to help people focus on playing games and talking with friends. Now, all locations have Wi-Fi for those who need it. The cafés also serve yummy food and drinks, including local draft beers.

How Snakes & Lattes Started

Ben Castanie and Aurelia Peynet opened the first Snakes & Lattes. It opened on August 30, 2010, in Toronto. The couple had moved to Toronto from France a few years before. They got the idea for the café after visiting a game store in Chicago in 2008. They named their café after the classic board game, Snakes and Ladders. For two years, they collected many games to get ready for opening day.

Growing Bigger

The first café quickly became very popular. It soon needed more space for all its guests. In 2011, they bought the building next door. They knocked down the wall between the two places. This added about 2,000 square feet and increased seating from 45 to 150 people. By 2016, Snakes & Lattes was one of the biggest board game cafés in the world.

New Locations and Fun Events

In January 2014, a second location opened. It was a bar called Snakes & Lagers. Also in 2014, Snakes & Lattes helped with the Toronto International Film Festival. They even had a "game helper" to teach visitors new games.

In July 2015, a newspaper reported that a TV show was being made about the café. It was called Snakes & Lattes: The Show. It was a funny story about the café's early days.

In September 2015, Snakes & Lagers moved to a bigger spot. It reopened as Snakes & Lattes College. This new place could hold 240 guests. It had over 1,000 games and offered both coffee and beer.

In December 2017, a large new Snakes & Lattes opened in Midtown Toronto. This location is huge, with 10,000 square feet across three floors.

Expanding to the United States

Snakes & Lattes started opening locations in the United States in 2018. The first US café opened in October 2018 in Tempe, Arizona. It is located in a busy area called the Mill Avenue District.

Snakes & Lattes is now part of a company called Amfil Technologies, Inc.

Games and Learning

The first Snakes & Lattes café started with about 1,200 games in 2010. By 2015, it had grown to about 3,000 games! A special "game curator" helps manage this huge collection. All these games are available for guests to play for a small fee.

The cafés also sell many different games. You can buy them at the locations or online. They have friendly "game gurus" who are like teachers. These gurus can help you learn new games if you don't know how to play.

Snakes & Lattes also hosts a monthly Game Designers Night. Here, game designers bring new games they are working on. Guests can try them out and give feedback. They also have regular game tutorials and tournaments.

Publishing Board Games

In July 2017, Snakes & Lattes started its own company to publish board games. One month later, they signed their first deal to publish games. They even hired a graphic designer to help create the games.

In 2018, the company bought a French board game publisher and distributor. This gave Snakes & Lattes ownership of five games. These included IKAN, Red Panda, and Kill the Unicorns.

Global Impact

Snakes & Lattes has inspired many other board game cafés around the world. Places like Draughts in London and Thirsty Meeples in Oxford were inspired by it. Other cafés in cities like New York City, Cleveland, and Chicago also followed its lead.

Snakes & Lattes even made a 24-part YouTube video series. It showed how their business worked in detail. This helped other people open their own board game cafés.

Snakes & Lattes also helped board game cafés become popular in Toronto. By 2016, there were more than 20 such businesses in the city!