Growing up, I loved playing board games. We had one called ‘Uncle Wiggily’ that I really loved. There was also a Berenstein Bears one called ‘Spooky Old Tree’. Anything with a meandering, map-like board, a spinner, and little characters fascinated me. I was inspired to develop my own games with the same basic “go forward 4 spaces, then go back 2 spaces” format. As I got older, I became the only person who was excited to play Monopoly. I’d offer to set it up, play banker, and try to get the game to go as long as possible. Why? Because being in the throes of playing a good game just brings me joy. Combine that with my complete lack of moderation, and I could really get hooked. In 2012, there was a perfect storm. My friends and I had been re-introduced to the modern classic ‘Settlers of Catan’; I had purchased my first house, and my wife (then fiancé) was away in California all summer finishing the preparations for our wedding. My friends we’re over almost every single Friday and Saturday to play at least two rounds of ‘Catan’ each night. To this day, I am still the one who, at 11:45 pm, is looking around the table manically asking, “One more round?”

Over the last decade or two, the tabletop gaming industry has experienced an incredible transformation. While my girls still ask for a friendly round of ‘Candyland’ or ‘Chutes and Ladders’, there are so many more fun and novel games to be had. Crowd-funded, self-published games have exploded, and Kickstarter is rife with new, unique projects featuring incredible art, fascinating mechanics, and more tiny components that you can count. Omaha has several annual tabletop conventions whose sole purpose is supporting the industry and community, and offering folks an excuse to play games all weekend for hours on end. Mind you, this is all on top of the resurgence and mainstreaming of Dungeons and Dragons.

But it’s not just online platforms like Kickstarter that host and promote the latest and greatest. Bellevue has multiple offerings when it comes to tabletop vendors and venues. The Game Shoppe has been Bellevue’s go-to location for buying and playing games for over 20 years. They have an extensive inventory of cards, games, and figurines, and have successfully expanded multiple times, including a second location in Omaha. Per their website: “In 2024, we proudly celebrated our 20th anniversary, marking two decades of bringing the gaming community together. We continue to host regularly scheduled game nights—some held twice a week—as well as weekly events, leagues, and tournaments. Our free in-store board game library, snacks, and rewards program add to the experience. Our knowledgeable and friendly staff are always on hand to offer game recommendations or demos, making us the premier gaming destination in the Omaha metro.”

Indeed, their events calendar is chock full of open gameplay windows as well as structured events and tournaments for such greats as ‘Magic: The Gathering’, ‘Pokémon’, ‘Dungeons and Dragons’, ‘Warhammer 40K’, and more.

But there’s also a new kid in town. Café Monster Coffee & Games Bellevue opened earlier this year, with their official Grand Opening having just happened on August 1st. This is the second location of a store started in Omaha. They also offer a mountain of cards and games for purchase as well as a community area for open play as well as structured, planned events. A neat feature that you can probably divine from the name is their offerings of coffee, drinks, and snacks, including an awesome-looking breakfast sandwich. They’re looking to have their kitchen up and running by October

I stopped by to talk with the store manager to ask what sets them apart from other game stores besides their awesomely high ceilings, natural light, and comfy vibes. Their goal was to create a space that didn’t feel old and tired like some comic book shops and card vendor stores can. While their Omaha store focuses mostly on Trading Card Games (TCGs), the Bellevue location is looking to branch out to offer other board games to appeal to a broader crowd like me who isn’t as interested in Pokémon, Magic, etc. But for the card aficionados among us, they also target the higher-end collectors who are looking for more rare and expensive collectible cards. A quick tour of the store revealed a very bright, clean, and well-curated space. A couple of giant, custom wall murals really popped as well.

While there are plenty of options if you want to get out and meet new people in the community, I have found that I can’t turn around at church, my daughter’s school, and even at work, without running into another dad who is down to play something almost every weekend. My own personal renaissance has come, probably since COVID. As I lead several waxing and waning ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ campaigns, other games just come up. Add to that multiple other dads who organize and run weekly game nights – and I mean organize! The groups can swell from two or three regulars to group chats with a dozen people or more. They use the German app ‘SPielatus’ to send out the invite, schedule, allow folks to RSVP, suggest games that the group then votes on, and even track the results.

The latest endeavor has been a fascinating long-form, single-play game called ‘Queen’s Dilemma’. When I say long form, I mean it can take up to 17 sessions at an hour plus each. And single use means that we’re marking up cards and adding stickers to overlay on the map so that the components are permanently wasted. To play though again, one simply buys a recharge pack. The game has you assume the identity of one of six advisors to the queen of a fantasy-themed medieval kingdom. Each advisor has a set of central ethos that are driving them. As dilemmas – issues facing the kingdom – are presented, each advisor uses a shifting power economy to vote in three dimensions: tradition vs progress, power vs democracy, and control vs liberty. As each philosophy wins out, a sort of ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ narrative progresses. Players are rewarded for negotiating, manipulating, or otherwise achieving their ulterior motives. This game is a great example of one of these newer games with crazy mechanics, rich art and lore, and an insane number of pieces and components. It came out earlier this year but is the sequel to ‘King’s Dilemma ’, which was released back in 2019.

Beyond ‘Queens’, this group of dads has introduced me to murder mysteries that make Clue obsolete, high-speed car racing-themed games, 12-hour space colonization battles, and even a game where you run a tulip operation in 19th century Holland. The possibilities are endless, and the community is eager and inviting. So, I suggest you put down the video game controller and get out there for your own tabletop renaissance.

Matt Hebert is an engineer and self-published author. His dopamine-fueled creative pursuits have spanned from chicken keeping, sand sculpture, acting, and public speaking, but writing is nearest and dearest to his heart. He lives in Bellevue with his wife and two daughters. You can find him on Instagram at @jerkofalltradeshebert or email him at matt.hebert.books@gmail.com

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