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Snakes and Lattes: Toronto’s newest board game coffee shop

A new cafe with a nerdy and clever twist opened yesterday in Toronto's Koreatown. Snakes and Lattes stands out as the city's (and possibly the continent's) very first board game cafe; customers can settle down with a cappuccino, hang out with some friends, and play any of the coffee shop's 1,500 board games. It's a concept that gained some popularity in Asia over the last few years, but never came to America until now.

There's far more to board games than the classics from Parker Brothers we all grew up with. Nestled between the relatively shallow diversions of Monopoly and Clue and the obsessive, long-term hobbies of Dungeons and Dragons and Warhammer 40,000 is an entire world of complex, deep, self-contained board games that can provide hours upon hours of enjoyment for friends. Many of these games have seen video game adaptations, like the XBLA ports of Carcassonne and Settlers of Catan. Here's hoping Snakes and Lattes flourishes and board game cafes spread across North America. And if not, I'll still gladly take on anyone in a game of Illuminati if I ever find my way to Toronto.

[Photo by D.A. Cooper/Torontoist]