Mancala Monk Board Game Cafe Hamilton

I really enjoy this place. The staff is super friendly and knowledgeable. The food and drinks are good. The selection of games is huge.

Never knew this place existed. Loved it

Great spot!! Nachos were tasty too.

Went to the cafe for the first time today 04/19/25 with 4 other people and I had so much fun. Over 1,000 board games and card games to play starting at 2 ppl and up!!! Table are cleans and cleaned after every use, washrooms are spotles. The cafe part is great lots to choose from for soft drinks, snacks and food, the charge is $7 each for 3 hours so worth it and you receive a card to stamped for every visit. I recommend booking a table especially on the weekend or if you have a large group. Can’t wait to go back soon!!!

Stood waiting to be seated but had to walk up to the counter and still wasn't helped. It was not clear that no one would serve and you would have to go up yourself to order. Never asked if we were new or explained how games were sorted.

One of the best board game cafes I’ve been to. Their selections of games is top notch, lots of handheld snacks and shareables. Service is great. Even more than being a board game cafe, they’re a community hub. The energy is always good. Less important on the whole, but important to me - the shop is clean! I appreciate the attention to detail :)

My group and I meet here once a week, have done so for a year. We might be biased by having staff who recognize us, our usual orders and share inside jokes. I don't think we would meet as often as we do, without Mancala being our meeting place.
(This is less of a review and more of thank you.)

Mancala offers a good variety of choices of board games, specialty drinks , and craft beers with a small but sleek menu for food. Polite staff is very helpful and attentive. My only critique would be that table space is limited and can be tight depending on the size of the game you choose to play.

The best board games cafe in Hamilton!! So much choice, super nice atmosphere and the food/drink selection is impressive. The best part is the friendly staff! We will be back soon!

this place is so cute and lovely, they have so many options for games and the food and drinks are delicious

Place was really cool. Great choices of games. Very nice place and very cool atmosphere. Got turned away because they were booked for 45 minutes of that remaining hour although it was not even 3 small groups of people????? They were nice about it but pretty short didn't feel that welcoming at that point but that's all.

Decent selection and decor. Prices are moderate. The cover fee isn't too outlandish if it weren't for the somewhat cheap seating arrangements. Tables are small and the chairs were made of the kind of plastic that bends as you lean into it, causing backaches if seated for more than 30-45 minutes, which is not too far fetched considering the average length of a board game.

A somewhat personal gripe was that a table on the far side of the room was being quite loud for the entirety of my 2 hour stay here. This is not a great sin by any means, it is a board game cafe after all and people are allowed to be excited, but this, combined with the obnoxiously loud coffee machine running at all times, made it had hard to enjoy my evening here. Perhaps an improvement in acoustics is in order.

However, the staff were incredibly friendly and there was nothing wrong with the service.

In conclusion, not my personal choice for a quiet night out with friends or a partner, but ultimately not the worst place to be.

Mancala Monk is a place that feels like home from the very first time you walk in the doors. It has a warm, friendly atmosphere which feels safe and welcoming no matter your age, gender, or level of gaming experience. They've got a fantastic selection of games that had my friends and I literally crying of laughter tonight! The snacks are delicious (we found out tonight that they are actually made by a professional chef); I can certainly recommend the mozzarella sticks, and my sister loves that they offer a grape crush float. What really made our experience special though was the staff - William is the BEST! He was so kind and friendly, both on the phone when I made our reservation (even though I only called half an hour before showing up) and while he served us in-person. He was very attentive, offering to help teach us games and delivering a pitcher of water to our table just when we needed it - even though we hadn't asked for water yet, he just somehow knew! We stayed right til closing and didn't feel pressured to leave even as we wrapped up our game at 10:56pm. By the end of the night it truly felt like we were being treated as friends and not just customers. I can't wait to go back! And thanks to their great selection of board/card games for sale, we were able to finish our Christmas shopping and do some celebrating all in one night! Thank you Mancala Monk and thank you William :)

Really fun place with great staff that work here the food is good as well. I would recommend going here for any event or gaming day.

This place holds a special place in my heart, I’ve been coming for at least 6-7 years and is very nostalgic, the people are always nice and the vibes are good 🙌
The food is also yummy