New board game cafe hits Wilkes-Barre; Wilkes students can play for free

The Game Chateau, a new venue to Wilkes-Barre, is the area’s first board game cafe.

The Game Chateau houses more than 200 board games, including everything from Monopoly to Chinese Checkers, Battleship to Risk, and to many niche games and Role Playing Games (RPGs), providing something for everyone to enjoy.

“We have games you played when you were a kid to games you’ve never heard of,” said Chris Moore, who along with Elle Hammond, owns The Game Chateau.

The venue also hosts a menu complete with sandwiches, burgers, salads and snacks with specialty gourmet coffee from local roaster Electric City Roasting Company and baked goods from Sanitary Bakery Company.

Students are able to pick up free passes to The Game Chateau at the Student Info Desk in the SUB. Each pass is valued at 3 hours of gameplay.

“We wanted to give an option for kids under 21,” stated Moore on partnering with Wilkes to give out the free passes.

Besides regular eat and play, The Game Chateau also hosts a variety of events and workshops ranging from painting and knitting workshops, to “Meet Gamers” nights to holiday events. The free student passes are also eligible for workshops.

On Oct. 8 from 8-10 p.m., the chateau is holding a night of comedy titled “Funny Ha Ha Evening”. The line up hosts comedians from near and far including Bill Russum, Jeffery Kunkel, Kevin Brosius and Zachary Hammond. The event is $5 at the door. Game play is included in the charge and is a BYOB friendly event.

The Game Chateau will be hosting Halloween events all October including “Zombie Week” and  “Werewolf Week”.  On Oct. 22, the chateau will be hosting a Halloween day with other businesses in the 315 Plaza with Gravestone Manor ticket giveaways. A full list of events can be found on The Game Chateau’s Facebook page under events.

The Game Chateau is located at 1112 Highway 315, Wilkes-Barre in the 315 Plaza behind State Farm, between The Woodlands and Mohegan Sun Pocono casino.  The Chateau is open Tuesday-Thursday 4 to 11 p.m., Friday 4 p.m. to midnight, Saturday noon to midnight and Sunday noon to 8 p.m.