A café that features over 300 different board, card, and role-playing games recently celebrated its one-year anniversary of bringing Ocala residents together to “unplug, play, and connect.”
Meeple Movers Board Game Café officially opened its board game café at 3101 SW 34th Avenue, Suite 803 in January of last year.
Owned and operated by Jon and Sonya Tyler, the business started as a game group in 2015 before the Tylers opened their first brick-and-mortar location.
The business features over 300 role-playing, card, and board games, from classics like Sorry and Monopoly, to new releases in the industry. The business regularly hosts board game nights, role-playing game nights, and live-hosted events like geek trivia.
In addition to the games, the business also features a menu of burgers and pizza, as well as a variety of craft sodas, coffees, beers, ciders, and wines.
“We created a local game group here in Ocala so we could share our love of board games with others,” said the Tylers in a statement to Ocala-News.com. “We started selling board games and found we love the industry and met many designers and publishers along the way.”
The Tylers say their passion led them to start thinking about how they could create a space for others to share in it.
“We love the way that playing tabletop games brings people together. No screens to get in the way of your enjoyment of being with others,” said the Tylers. “We love introducing new games to all ages, creating an atmosphere where people can come and relax, grab a game, gather your friends or family, and just play.”
According to the Tylers, they chose the word “Meeple” because of its significance in the industry: A meeple is a token that represents a player in the game (i.e., think the race car or shoe in Monopoly).
Located in the Shoppes of Paddock Park along SW Hwy 200, Meeple Movers is open Wednesday and Thursday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
For more information on the business, its inventory, or its events, visit Meeple Movers online, or follow them on Facebook or Instagram.