Bastard Café
Bastard Café is a Copenhagen-based chain of three board game cafés operating inside cultural houses, offering food and beverages plus access to a 7,200+ game library, served by 70+ volunteer Game Gurus to students, families, and gaming enthusiasts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersCopenhagen (Huset), Denmark
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Bastard Café does
Bastard Café ApS operates a chain of board game cafés in Copenhagen, Denmark, founded in 2014 by Bo Thomasen with the stated mission of spreading board gaming culture. As of late 2024, the company runs three retail venues inside cultural houses: the original Huset KBH location (closed for renovation through 2028), Valby (opened October 2023), and Nørrebro (opened December 2024). Each location combines café food and beverage service with access to a curated library of more than 7,200 board games, of which roughly 50 are free to play with any purchase; the rest are accessible for a small per-visit fee or via membership.
The core product is the in-venue experience, supported by a volunteer "Game Guru" program with 70+ unpaid experts who teach and recommend games. Underlying technology is light: a WooCommerce-style e-commerce front end for merchandise, memberships, and reservations (powered by Stripe for payments), a BoardGameGeek integration that powers game metadata, and Suggest'O'Bot, a beta-stage rule-based recommendation tool that filters the library by player count, time, and complexity. Digital tools are operationally useful but not a competitive moat in their own right.
Revenue is generated through food and beverage sales (including a 50% student discount on coffee and tea weekdays until 16:00), a kr. 150/year recurring membership that unlocks unlimited gaming for two plus partner discounts, per-person table reservations with optional paid Guru bookings, branded merchandise (t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, glassware, accessories), gift cards, and ancillary services such as Games'n'Gurus To Go, Bastard Tours to Essen Spiel and UK Game Expo, and a school visits program. Marketing is community-led and organic, anchored by newsletter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and event presence at Copenhell and Roskilde Festival.
Bastard Café firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bastard Café
- Legal name
- Bastard Cafe ApS
- Website
- https://bastardcafe.dk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Bastard Café is a Copenhagen-based chain of three board game cafés operating inside cultural houses, offering food and beverages plus access to a 7,200+ game library, served by 70+ volunteer Game Gurus to students, families, and gaming enthusiasts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bastard Café industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Board Game Café & Entertainment Venue
- NAICS
- Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Gaming Café/Bar Hybrid Venues (Food & Beverage + Competitive Play) (MPAFALAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Internet Cafes & Gaming Cafes (THAFADAI), Independent Neighborhood Cafes (THAFADAC)
Keywords
Where Bastard Café is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Copenhagen (Huset)
- HQ country
- Denmark
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Bastard Café business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Food and Beverage Sales: Revenue from selling coffee, tea, beer, and other food/drinks. Customers who buy food/drinks get free access to approximately 50 games. Students receive 50% off coffee and tea Monday-Friday until 16:00.
- Membership Subscriptions: Annual membership at kr. 150/year providing unlimited board gaming for member and a friend, 40% discount on table reservations, and discounts at partner establishments.
- Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, beanies, notebooks, pin buttons, and glassware through the online shop.
- Table Reservations: Revenue from booking tables in the café, with a per-person fee that has 40% discount for members. Minimum 1 person, maximum 30 people per booking.
- Dedicated Guru Booking: Optional fee for booking a dedicated game guru to teach and guide during a visit. Must be booked at least 7 days in advance.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | 1 Year Membership - Unlimited gaming and partner discounts |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Game Access - Free with purchase |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Merchandise Items |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Student Discount |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Bastard Café product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bastard Café operates physical café venues in Copenhagen that combine food and beverage service with access to a library of over 7,200 board games. Customers purchasing food or drinks receive free access to approximately 50 games, while the remaining 7,000+ titles are available for a small fee or through the kr. 150 annual membership. Volunteer game gurus provide expert guidance to help guests learn and play games, and the venues host regular events, tournaments, and educational school visits.
Product overview
Bastard Café operates as a board game café and entertainment venue with three Copenhagen locations (Huset, Valby, Nørrebro). The core offering centers on café services (food, drinks, Wi-Fi) combined with access to a library of over 7,200 board games. Key products include the 1 Year Membership subscription (kr. 150/year) providing unlimited gaming and partner discounts, table reservations with optional dedicated game guru booking, and the Suggest'O'Bot recommendation tool. Additional revenue streams include merchandise (clothing, drinkware, accessories), organized Bastard Tours to board game events (Essen Spiel, UK Game Expo), school visits program, Games'n'Gurus To Go mobile service, and gift cards. The Game of the Month program highlights featured games while the themed collections organize the extensive library by genre. The volunteer Game Gurus service provides expert guidance to enhance the customer experience.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Igor the Dice Monster: Mascot character featured on merchandise including mugs, hoodies, onesies, and stickers.
Products and services
- Bastard Café Board Game Café Venues Three physical café venues in Copenhagen (Huset, Valby, Nørrebro) providing food, beverages, Wi-Fi, and access to over 7,200 board games. Approximately 50 games are free to play with a food/drink purchase, while the remaining 7,000+ games are available for a small fee or through the annual membership. Volunteer game gurus provide expert guidance.
- 1 Year Membership Annual subscription membership priced at kr. 150/year, auto-renewing yearly. Provides unlimited board gaming for the member and a friend across all three locations, a 40% discount on table reservations, and partner discounts including 20% at Paradox Events, 15% at ESCAPE ROOM by Midgaard, 10% at Clockedin Escape Room, and 10% at Copenhagen board game shops Fantask, Faraos Cigarer, and Bræt & Brikker.
- Table Reservations & Hire a Guru Booking system for reserving tables at all three café locations (Huset, Valby, Nørrebro), accommodating 1 to 30 people per booking. Optional dedicated guru booking service adds a fee for expert guidance during a visit, which must be booked at least 7 days in advance. Members receive a 40% discount on table reservations.
- Games'n'Gurus To Go Mobile board gaming service that brings games and expert guidance to external venues or events. Customers book the service to have Bastard Café gurus host gaming experiences at their chosen location.
- School Board Game Visits Weekday educational visits for school classes before 16:00, introducing students to board games in various formats tailored to educational needs. The service combines learning with social board gaming experiences.
- Bastard Tours: Essen Spiel Organized tour packages to the Essen Spiel board game fair in Germany, including SPIEL tickets, Pap Van transportation, and hotel accommodation. Targeted at board game enthusiasts wanting a guided group experience to the world's largest board game fair.
- Bastard Tours: UK Game Expo Organized tour to the UK Game Expo including hotel rooms and tickets, providing board game enthusiasts a guided package to the UK convention.
- Bastard Café Branded Merchandise Store Online shop selling branded merchandise including Bastard Beanie (kr. 150), Bastard T-Shirt (kr. 199), Pint glass (kr. 129), Rocks glass (kr. 115), Eat. Drink. Play. Mug (kr. 99), Hoodies (kr. 399), Baby bodysuits (kr. 149), Kids hoodies (kr. 246), Stickers (kr. 25-29), Pin buttons (kr. 99-119), Kim Holm Art Notebooks (kr. 150), and Sports jerseys (kr. 220-233).
- Gift Cards Digital gift cards available for purchase to give as gifts for café experiences and memberships, allowing recipients to redeem at any of the three locations.
- Bastard Café Events Program Regular hosted events at the cafés including Craft Markets, Social Saturdays, Unmatched Tournaments, Miniature Painting sessions, and a full event calendar. The events program also includes presence at external events such as Copenhell and Roskilde Festival to spread board gaming culture.
Quantifiable outcome
- Serving customers since 2014 with three locations across Copenhagen
Companies that use Bastard Café
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Bastard Café technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature1 record
Bastard Café partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- Impact RoastersminorCoffee supplier providing beans for the café's coffee drinks. The café exclusively uses coffee beans from Impact Roasters.
- Østerlandsk ThehusminorTea supplier providing tea leaves for the café's tea drinks. Partnership ensures quality tea sourcing.
- Paradox EventsminorMobile escape and mystery game provider offering 20% discount to Bastard Café members. Members can send enquiries to Paradox Events with their membership number.
- ESCAPE ROOM by Midgaard EventminorEscape room provider offering 15% discount to Bastard Café members.
- Clockedin Escape RoomminorEscape room provider offering 10% discount to Bastard Café members.
- Fantask, Faraos Cigarer, Bræt & BrikkerminorCopenhagen board game shops offering 10% discount to Bastard Café members on physical board game purchases. Valid only in physical stores.
- Nibcard Games Cafe in NigeriaminorBastard Café supports Nibcard Games Cafe in Nigeria as part of their mission to spread board gaming culture globally.
- Youth Island (ungdomsoen.dk)minorYouth island organization where Bastard Café runs events periodically to promote board gaming among young people.
- HellebroforungeminorLocal non-profit charity that Bastard Café has helped through various initiatives.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Bastard Café competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Thirsty Meeples: Oxford-based board game café combining a sizable library of games with café service and staff guidance — comparable UK/European peer operating under the same F&B-plus-games model.
- Snakes & Lattes: Toronto-origin board game café chain with multiple North American locations, combining food/beverage service with a large game library and staff-led game teaching — directly comparable business model to Bastard Café.
- The Board Room: Board game café chain with UK locations serving food, drinks, and a curated game library with staff-led teaching — comparable hybrid gaming-café operator with multiple sites.
- Spielwiesn: Munich-based board game café/event space combining food and beverage with curated game sessions and community events — German-speaking peer operating in a similar café-plus-games niche.
- Spielbar Berlin: Berlin board game café offering food, drinks and an extensive game library with expert guidance — comparable urban European gaming-café concept in a major capital.
- Mox Boarding House: Seattle-based board game café and restaurant with a deep game library, dedicated game gurus/Masters, food and drink service, and event programming — closest U.S. comparable in scale and concept.
Others
- BoardGameGeek: The dominant board game database, community and ratings platform — Bastard Café explicitly integrates BoardGameGeek data into its game catalog and Game of the Month feature, making it a key ecosystem enabler rather than a direct competitor.
- Bræt & Brikker: Copenhagen board game shop offering a Bastard Café member discount — local Danish retail peer serving the same board gaming customer base with a physical-product sales model.
- Fantask: Copenhagen specialty retailer for comics, games and collectibles that is a Bastard Café membership-discount partner — adjacent Danish retail peer operating in the same hobbyist ecosystem.
Broad incumbents
- Asmodee: Global board game publisher (Catan, Ticket to Ride, etc.) and distributor that supplies much of the catalog library cafés like Bastard Café curate — an upstream incumbent in the same hobby category.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Bastard Café social profiles
Digital presenceBastard Café financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bastard Café leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Bastard Café funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bastard Café M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Bastard Café
What does Bastard Café do?
Bastard Café operates physical café venues in Copenhagen that combine food and beverage service with access to a library of over 7,200 board games. Customers purchasing food or drinks receive free access to approximately 50 games, while the remaining 7,000+ titles are available for a small fee or through the kr. 150 annual membership. Volunteer game gurus provide expert guidance to help guests learn and play games, and the venues host regular events, tournaments, and educational school visits.
Is Bastard Café a public or private company?
Bastard Café is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Bastard Café founded?
Bastard Café was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Bastard Café based?
Bastard Café is headquartered in Copenhagen (Huset), Denmark, in the Europe region.
How does Bastard Café make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Food and Beverage Sales are the primary driver. The others are membership Subscriptions, merchandise Sales, table Reservations and dedicated Guru Booking.
Who are Bastard Café's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Thirsty Meeples, Snakes & Lattes, The Board Room, Spielwiesn, Spielbar Berlin and Mox Boarding House. Others are BoardGameGeek, Bræt & Brikker and Fantask. Asmodee is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Bastard Café have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bastard Café.
What industry is Bastard Café in?
Bastard Café's product category is Board Game Café & Entertainment Venue. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFALAD, Gaming Café/Bar Hybrid Venues (Food & Beverage + Competitive Play), with a secondary code of THAFADAI, Internet Cafes & Gaming Cafes. Its NAICS code is 722515 and its SIC code is 5810.