Meeples stocks easy-to-learn games beyond the classics like Monopoly and Scrabble and hosts Family Game Days, Pokémon Training Camps and homeschool meet-ups. Game: Tucked away on West Seattle’s busy California Street, Meeples Games is one of the most family-friendly game stores around, with numerous board game options, plenty of spaces to play and a community vibe that encourages socializing rather than just making a game sale. Top-notch coffee options also abound nearby, including Starbucks, Storyville and Caffe Ladro. Grub: Next door at Homegrown, fill up on sandwiches made with sustainable, locally sourced ingredients. Blue Highway organizes weekly Pokémon leagues and after-school activities centered on role-playing and trading card games such as Magic: The Gathering. Blue Highway also has a robust lending library so you and the kids can grab an open spot upstairs and try before you buy. Most of the store’s offerings are family-friendly, and the store is colorful, well-lit and inviting. Game: In the heart of Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood, Blue Highway Games is a cozy shop where wooden shelves are stacked floor to ceiling with a wide selection of board and card games. Photo credit: Blue Highway Games Blue Highway Games Let the kids pick a game from the lending library to play at the table while you wait for your food.

The menu is upscale pub fare, including salads, sandwiches, burgers, truffle fries and more. Grub: Mox Boarding House is part game store and part restaurant, complete with waitstaff. Tip: If you’re in Seattle try Card Kingdom, Mox Boarding House’s sister store, in Ballard (5105 Leary Ave. (Check out that chandelier made out of Magic cards!) Families are welcome, and there’s something going on almost every night at Mox, from role-playing group meet-ups to painting miniature figures. Mox has both a large selection of tabletop board games and a section of the store dedicated to Magic: The Gathering. Game: This tabletop-game store and restaurant not far from downtown Bellevue is the opposite of a foreboding gaming cave: The space is open and airy with plenty of spots for play, including an area just for small kids. Whether you prefer your friendly competition on a tabletop or on a screen, here are cool stores and spots around Seattle to get your game and grub on. Recent research published by the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Heath indicates that even video games in moderation may benefit kids’ cognitive and social skills. Board games help kids practice critical thinking, improve social skills and amp up family bonding in the darkest time of the year. And the growing number of game cafés, stores and arcades around the Sound provide an outing where you can try the latest game trends and have fun teaming up against each other. For many families, winter is the season of rediscovering board games.

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