Victory Point Cafe

This is a great addition to the Berkeley area — actually why arent there MORE places like Victory Point Café?
I came here on a rainy Friday afternoon and the café was PACKED. I can see why because the options of things to do are limitless. For example, you have UNLIMITED play time for $ 5 (I think its cheaper if you have a group). Most places will overcharge you for games, but this place is making a reputation for affordability.
If you’re not really into casually playing games with friends, there are also different types of food that you can order here since Victory Point is obviously a café. Some of their stuff is a bit pricey, but I guess that’s how they compensate for the insanely cheap games.
And speaking of games, Victory Point Café has pretty much every type of board/​card game imaginable. From Coup, to Tsuro, even to Ghost Blitz, they’ll have it. And they’re really nice about checking up on you as well.
Great place, great company, and great times.
Have fun and prosper,

What a great collection of games. The setup is excellent too and the staff are doing their best to help you figure out the rules. A must visit place in North Berkeley.

This place is something berkeley has NEEDED! When I’m not feeling going to the city or on any sort of tiring adventure, this is the perfect place to go to. They have a huge wall of board games-​from classics like monopoly to games like magic. They charge you a fee for playing, it’s not much, and have a variety of snack mixes to try. The snack bowls are amazing!
–1 star: all the food is overpriced and not that good. The sandwiches were alright, but the pretzel I had (jalapeño and cheddar I think?) was downright awful. Badly made to begin with, burnt on top of that. It’s just annoying to spend so much money on mediocre food.

Cute little place, good for all ages. :)
$ 5 to play board games all day. I also like studying here when I need a little noise in the background. They serve Artis coffee, which a lot of my friends enjoy (I’m not a coffee drinker). All their snacks are a little bit pricey though, was slightly disappointed by the small size + dryness of the banana bread. Hot chocolate’s pretty standard, and I usually go for the Hubert’s Mango Lemonade.

A great place to spend a couple of hours or the day enjoying a huge assortment of board games. For those 90s girls who remember Mall Madness — yep, they even have that! It costs just $ 5 for unlimited play and you’ll be partnered with a game guru upon arrival in case you have any questions or need suggestions. Service from the ‘guru and cashiers was very warm and friendly. Currently, the café offers a limited but well-​curated selection of beers, wine, and coffee. I only wish they had a bit more food. I came here around dinner time and opted for a hot pretzel, which did little to fill my appetite as a main meal.

We invested a fair chunk of change to host a birthday party at the Victory Point Café on a Saturday. It was totally worth it! I got to be the total hero, running a drink/​snack tab for the kids, who were having a blast! The game gurus got us up to speed on various games in no time. They can also tell when the game is stalled and pop right over to clear up any confusion over the game rules. This is really important. How often has your first time with a new game (or 2^nd, 3^rd, etc.) been marred by confusion or disagreement over the rules? That does NOT happen at the Victory Point Café! So you can try a bunch of new games in one evening with little to no «learning curve» headache.
Tip: you can also revisit the really OLD games you *think* you know. The kids wanted me to play «The Game of Life». I thought, «Seriously? That game’s boring». Not anymore! The rules were greatly improved at some point (thanks Game Guru’s for explaining them!) and everyone agreed that was the best game of the afternoon.

A perfect addition to a casual date night or fun with friends!
I was so excited when I heard about Victory Point and after a visit with my husband, I am hooked and know that we will be spending tons of time here. We decided to check it out around 8pm on a Saturday night. It was busy, but there were still plenty of tables available, though I could imagine getting a table could be tough at times.
The $ 5 per person is well worth it. There are SO many games to choose from, including multiple copies of games that are popular, like Cards Against Humanity. The games are well cared for which is nice to see in a place that they get lots of use. We didn’t interact with the game master, but it was cool to see him helping people pick games and assisting with game play.
The girl working the register/​food service was friendly and made a delicious tea latte. My husband was excited that they have beer. We had already had dinner, but eventually ordered the «Candy Shop» bowl. I love that they have the snack bowl, which are perfect for grazing on while gaming.
It was a little loud and at times I felt like I was screaming game instructions to my husband, but I think that is to be expected with tons of people playing games in a small (ish) space.

This is a perfect place to spend a couple of hours hanging out and playing games with some friends. Their selection of boardgames is fantastic and I have played something around 20 new games in the approximately 8 times I have been there and I have barely scratched the surface. It is well worth the $ 5 gaming fee. The staff is incredibly friendly and knowledgeable and often suggest some incredible games I haven’t heard of before.
Their sandwiches are tasty (their Ruben is so good!) and I love that it comes with a small side of one of their snack dishes. They also have a good coffee and beer selection! I have yet to have something they have made that I haven’t enjoyed.
Without a doubt, Victory Point is the best café in Berkeley and perhaps even the bay area. I could not recommend it more.

Great idea and they nailed the execution too!
They have a LOT of games and it’s $ 5/​person to play and you get to stay forever, which is awesome unless you’re waiting for a table. But that’s how it is, so get here early or don’t come on the weekend. :)
The game gurus are nice and roam around and watch you play to see if they can either help out with rules or suggest new games. I came with a huge group, so it took a while for us to be seated. We stayed the whole night and the game guru helped out with one of the games with the rules, and then based on the other games we played made suggestions as to what other games we would like.
Overall, it was a great experience. It does close a bit early (11pm), but all minor minor details.

Access to the board games is $ 5 per person, and you can stay as long as you want. Not sure how they are going to stay in business, but I love the idea. Victory Point Café has a panoply of games, which run the gamut from childhood nostalgia easy to mind-​boggling difficult.
Good thing there’s food. And coffee. The Artis pour over ($ 4.50) is worth getting. And trust me, you will need it, especially when you are tackling some of the more advanced games.

A place to play board games and drink hot chocolate all day long??? YES PLEASE!!!
Victory Point is a brand spanking new game café, overflowing with folks young and old who want to hang out with witches, wizards, cards, dice, blocks, checkers, fairies, forts and knights. The best part of the décor is the wall-​to-​wall shelves overflowing with games.
The Method to the Madness is as follows: 1) Pay $ 5 per player at the front counter, order food and drink (sandwich, beer, coffee, sweet and savory «snack bowls» of peanuts and pretzels). Keep your tab open while playing. 2) Take your card and clothespin to any open table (good luck!!!), and pick a game. If you need help selecting one, ask the Game Guru. 3) Commence game-​playing. Someone will come by with your food. If you need to order something else, you can move the clothespin to the top of the card to flag someone down (or wave your hands vigorously in the air, or politely walk up to the counter and ask). 4) Take advantage of the Game Guru who wanders around checking on players. S/he’s probably played that game before, and probably more times than you! (except the game we chose, which he hadn’t played for 15 years. ‘Sokay, it only took us 40 minutes to figure it out!)
It can get noisy, especially if there are gregarious groups guzzling beer, but it doesn’t feel like a bar. It’s mostly dorks like me nerding out on Trivia games, building castles and defending territories. It’s super totally worth it to pay $ 5 for 2 – 3 hours with friends and games. Go early to claim a table! Remember that 3 ducats will buy you a knight, and 5 will buy you gold! Drink more hot chocolate! Play more board games! ENJOY YOUR LIFE!!!

Great place to go on a weekend night. I went with two other friends. We each got beer, tea and sandwiches.
I had the grilled cheese and it was yummy. The snack bowls are a great idea too. I had a sample of each and the spicy one was my favorite.
The game guru helped us get our two games which we all enjoyed (The Magic of Labyrinth and Labyrinth).
The place was packed but luckily we reserved a table ahead of time, which I would recommend on a weekend night.
Nice place to hangout with friends and play some games.

Great place to spend an afternoon with my son! We both had a great time, playing three games (Machi Koro, Mousetrap and Forbidden Desert) and trying out the grilled cheese sandwich. My son had the mango lemonade which he consumed with glee and I had to try the Sudwerk Pils, which was quite tasty.
All of these were great, the food was okay, maybe a little bit overpriced (but I get it — folks have to pay the rent somehow). There was a small wait time (half hour) for the table on a Sunday afternoon, but understandable given the space. Table fees were quite reasonable!
I suspect if the café was twice the size it would still be packed on the weekends… The place seemed pretty popular!
The game guru helped us with Forbidden Desert, and was able to adjust the instruction based on our familiarity with its cousin game, Forbidden Island. We also received some help from our nearby fellow patrons with Machi Koro, which just goes to show that us folks from the Bay Area continue to be awesome! :)
All in all, a delightful way to spend an afternoon! My son and I will be back!

Crazy good beer, amazing game selection, great customer service, and the candy bowl. Amazing! Love this place. It’s the best kid-​ult thing to do in Berkeley!

AMAZING board game café — brand new, very clean and cozy space, friendly service including «Game Gurus» who can quickly explain game rules to you so that you save time usually spent learning the rules of new games. $ 5 grants you access to play any games you want for however long you want. The games are all virtually new and kept in such good condition — playing cards are in protective sleeves, and game pieces are all labeled. The owners of this place have obviously put their heart, soul, effort, and love into this place. The pictures in this Unilocal review are accurate — SO MANY GAMES… endless fun! DEFINITELY WILL BE BACK and will bring friends!

Victory Point Café is a board game café. $ 5 gives u access to any of the board games in the house.(listed online). sammies, pretzels, cookies, bowls, coffee availlable to feed the brain while it ponders the next move.
brew: artis coffee (L. 2.50)
–smooth, bold, easy sipping.
drips:
–smiling, friendly service
–café is the lst of it’s kind in the bay area.
Old oakland version is still in the building stage…
–sadly, no time to play (board) games these days.

Had the ham sandwich with a cup of their wasabi peanut mix. The sandwich was pretty good and I thought the bread tasted real fresh. The wasabi mix could be a bit better. It’s too full of edamame shell/​skins which give the whole thing a weird mealiness. This is solvable.
I hope these guys make it, The game selection looks fun and I like having more options in the southern part of north berkeley.

On my trip to San Fransisco to see my cousins, I stopped at this place because it was new, and I like new things. New cars, new carpets, new cats, etc.
I haven’t played a board game in many, many years (5 YEARS)
This establishment provides an atmosphere where I can sit and enjoy playing board games as if I was a kid again with little responsibility; But I can drink beer while playing these games, and pay for my own food without relying on money from my folks.
I didn’t know what to expect when I came in. A few hours later, I left having spent a delightful afternoon at Victory Point. The staff is friendly and I got a good vibe throughout the store.
I didn’t come here for food, but as a foodie, I had to try a sandwich. My partner and I got a sandwich, and we both were very pleased. This could be a hot lunch spot.
I see this as an upside to the locals to have such a great, chill shop near by. I will miss it as I live in LA for 330 days a year, but I will be back when I am in the area and appreciate it more for the rarity Victory Point Café has in my life.
Thanks for reading,
–Marc T.

They did a really good job with this place!
Great selection of board games, they had everything I was interested in playing and then way more. The people were all very friendly and had good suggestions for games.
The food was good, especially the strawberry shortcake cupcake, the snack bowls, and the coffee. The atmosphere is nice. Around the time I was leaving, it was getting pretty busy and there was a lack of tables, if it stays that way maybe they will need to expand at some point! If I lived closer to this place I’d probably be there all the time.

This is a really fun, new idea, that totally works. Victory Point is a «board game café” — basically, you have a huge library of board games (something like 600), and you pay a $ 5 cover charge to come in and play any of them. There is a full café kitchen– craft beer, fancy coffee, house made sandwiches, and snacks, to keep you caffeinated and full. You can stay as long as you like, and there is a board game «guru» that helps you find which game you’ll like, then explains how to play it.
We arrived on a Saturday night for a private event, and the place was buzzing. Located in Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto, they’ve chosen a minimalist, clean design, that’s welcoming, with friendly staff. The game gurus know their stuff, and quickly turn that massive game library from intimidating to an asset. We had fun playing with a small group, and everyone left expecting to be back soon.