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How This Works
We want to share our board game library with you and help you find your next favourite game!
Our $5 game cover (1/2 price for children under 10) guarantees you a minimum of 3 hours to play, and you can play as many of our 900+ games as you like during that time. Our amazing staff team are on hand to make recommendations, help you learn the rules, and get you playing faster!
Reservations are not required, but are always recommended, especially on weekends. Call us during opening hours or send us a message through the Contact form to book your next games night (or afternoon!). For same-day reservations, please call. And if you're running late for your reservation, please let us know – we can only hold the table for 15 minutes without notice!
An automatic 18% gratuity is applied for groups of 10 or more.
Who We Are
Welcome to The Bard and Bear! We are so happy to have you.
We are Steven and Megan Edmonds, owners and operators of your new local games café. We are life-long board game lovers and second-generation D&D players. It has been our dream to open a games café for many years, and we are excited to join the neighbourhood!
We're so excited to open our doors and share our love for games of all sorts with you.
At The Bard and Bear, we encourage creativity and foster storytelling. We believe that the best things come from people working together. We want to bring people together at the table, over good food and good games.
Steven
Steven has been playing games his entire life, and has been active in the Hamilton board game scene since he moved to the city in 2014. Before that, he worked as a camp counselor and leadership trainer, a producer for the CBC, and even spent time working on an alpaca farm.
His favorite games are Lords of Waterdeep, Hive, and Power Grid. He plays a level 18 Warforged Paladin in Megan's campaign.
Megan
Megan has been playing board games with her family since Settlers of Catan called them "soldiers" instead of "knights" — and she gets the credit for introducing modern board games to Steven! She’s also known in some circles as Dr. Suttie, having spent 6 years teaching and researching at McMaster before defending her PhD on fantasy literature in September 2021.
Her favourite games are Castles of Burgundy, Bohnanza, and Farkle. She plays a level 16 Elven Artificer/Cleric in Steven’s campaign.
Megan Wrote a Book!
Ever find yourself wondering what exactly a PhD in fantasy fiction looks like? Wonder no more!
Grab a copy of Megan's book, Schools of Magic, and find out what it was she spent five years doing.
Fair warning: it's an academic text. You can always skip the reading and ask the author herself for a summary next time you're in for games!
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