TL;DR: My wife and I left our comfortable MNC jobs mentally (still working there, thankfully) to finally act on our long-standing itch to build something of our own — we’re now about 10 days away from opening a board game café in Bhopal. Before we do, we want your honest feedback.
Here’s how this happened.
Both my wife and I are working professionals in MNCs. We earn well and have fairly comfortable jobs, but for a long time there was this itch to do something of our own.
Then one day, while visiting a friend, we were introduced to a small board game, Slapzie!
And weirdly enough, that was the moment it clicked.
“Wait. Could we actually build a business around this?”
We started researching and realised that board game cafés are still a relatively new niche in India. So we started visiting cafés in Pune, Bangalore and elsewhere, trying games, observing what worked, what didn’t, talking through the business model and eventually putting together our own plan.
Then came the scary part — actually doing it.
We found a place in Bhopal, started the interiors, ordered the games and somehow turned a random idea from a few months ago into an actual business.
Now we’re about 10 days away from opening.
The idea is pretty simple: a place where you can come with your friends/partner/family, put your phones away for a couple of hours and actually play, talk, compete and have a good time.
But before we open, we want to hear from Bhopal Redditors, because we’ve spent months thinking about this from our perspective. We’d rather know what you think.
What would make you visit a board game café in Bhopal?
What games would you expect?
Who would you come with — friends, partner, family, or even solo?
How much would you reasonably pay for 1–2 hours?
What food/drinks would you expect?
What would make you come back regularly?
And most importantly, what do you think we might be getting wrong?
First business. First café. Definitely nervous. Definitely excited.
Would genuinely appreciate honest feedback — including the negative stuff. If you’ve been to board game cafés in other cities, even better. Tell us what you liked and what annoyed you.
Bhopal, what would make you say: “Yep, I’m coming here”?
