Whether it’s a board game, a bar game like pool or billiards, or something even more hands-on, like bowling, it is always more enjoyable to play with friends. Stockholm has a great array of places to pick up a coffee, have a beer, or even a meal while you and your friends enjoy a wide range of activities. Here are eleven of the best bars and cafés to play games in in Stockholm. From board game cafés to an e-sports bar, Sweden’s capital has it all.
Folk and Friends
Bar, Swedish, $$$
Folk and Friends is one of the best beer bars in Stockholm with an outstanding number of different brews filling their fridges and taps. They have over 80 different beers for you to choose from, as well as other drinks for those who are less interested in ale. They also have a good range of different board games to loan out to those who want to play. There is a cute bar dog to keep you company while you play who loves to roam around and come and check out who is winning. They also serve savory pies, which are not available in many other places in Stockholm—the perfect food to go with a good pint.
The man behind O’Learys, Jonas Reinholdsson, created this American-style sports bar after visiting Nantucket and deciding that he wanted to bring the atmosphere he experienced in the United States back over to Sweden. He met a woman in the states called Anne O’Leary who moved to Gothenburg with him, where the first O’Learys opened its doors. There are a number of them in Stockholm but the biggest and best for games is their activity center in Norrtull. This boasts a bowling alley, a golf simulator, a racing simulator, shuffleboard, and pool tables, and even a shooting simulator. Like any great sports bar, their burgers, wings, and ribs are particularly good.
One of Stockholm’s best-known and most-loved games bars, Ugglan, meaning “owl,” has a great selection to play with your friends, as well a range of tasty drinks and snacks. It calls itself, “Sweden’s largest recreational space for grown ups,” as you must be over twenty to enter, but once you are in you can play boule, shuffleboard, air hockey, foosball, darts, arcade games, and more. They even have a whole room dedicated to pinball. Alongside their game selection, they also have a well-stocked bar and tasty food that combines American and Mexican styles to create a number of unique dishes. Some of the activities have to be pre-booked so make sure to check their website before you go.
The first thing you read when you go onto the ballbreaker website is the statement “It is so wonderful to win,” so this is the perfect place for you and you competitive friends to go head to head while enjoying a drink and some great food. You can take them on at stock car racing, bowling, football, golf, darts, shooting, shuffleboard, and more. Their restaurant is also lovely—it’s a proper sit down restaurant as opposed to a place that serves bar snacks. Their moose steak and vegetable pate are particularly good. It’s the perfect place to lay down a challenge to your friends and prove you are the best.
A great stop for anyone who loves their pool, Biljardpalatset is a place for beginners and experts alike to play on top quality tables. It also has shuffleboard and pinball but this place is best known for billiards, and it is not unusual to see the kind of people who play regularly and bring their own cues there. It is a friendly place with a good bar and restaurant that does both snacks and full meals, depending what you are in the mood for. It has been open since 1963 so it has stood the test of time—there is a reason why people keep coming back.
Another billiard hall that takes playing seriously, they have pristine tables and a fully stocked bar to keep you hydrated while you play. It is in a great part of Stockholm right by the beautiful Mariatorget and very near to Skinnarviksberget, which is one of the best viewing points in the city. Alongside billiards it also has shuffleboard, pinball, and a blackjack table, as well as a bar and a restaurant. If you are looking for a serious game of pool, then this the place for you.
A video game bar that has a number of different virtual offerings, N3rds gives you the opportunity to play some of the best games from your youth. It has a range of different classic Nintendo games that go all the way back to the NES. It also has lots of exciting themed cocktails and food, such as the King Koopa burger and Fable Fries. As Sweden’s first ever video game bar, it is a unique and unusual place to visit.
Dice is the perfect place for any board game lover, with a fantastic range of choices, from classics to more unusual varieties, as well as a lovely relaxed setting to play them in. You can borrow all of their games, which range from classics like Settlers of Catan to newer varieties and favorites like Othello and Chess. If you are looking for something to do while you have a cup of coffee or a tea, then Dice is perfect. You can even rent games from there and take them to the nearby park, Kronobergsparken, if you want to play outside.
Kappa is a place for serious gamers; it is the first e-sports bar and restaurant in Stockholm where you can pick up a controller or a mouse and keyboard and take on other serious gamers with the latest and greatest tech and games. It has two different areas—the first is the bar zone where you can play console games like FIFA and Street Fighter, which is a place to sit down, chat, and play, and is the more relaxed part of the bar. Then there is the game zone which contains a number of powerful, purpose-built PC’s where you can pull on your headphones and play both local and online multiplayer games like Overwatch and CS:GO.
If you want to play pool or shuffleboard or darts in a lively and loud atmosphere, then RoQ has you covered. It has the same great range of games as many of the other bars on this list, but it is committed to playing the best rock music, both old and new. Alongside the usual table games they have just installed a new arcade, giving you the opportunity to play fun games while rocking out to the excellent selection of music. It is located in Odenplan, right in the center of the city, so it is very easy to find and get to.
Stockholm has a great selection of places to grab a burger and Gnarly Burger is one of the best. It aims to capture the vibe of American burger joints with a relaxed atmosphere. They keep their signature dishes simple and offer a huge range of beer and other drinks. On top of their superb burgers, they also have nachos, chicken wings, salad, and chili. Owing to their popularity, they have a number of locations, but the best one to head for if you want to play while you eat is in Kungsgatan. They have a pool table upstairs adorned with the Gnarly Burger logo, and if you are eating there, it is free to play. Gnarly Burger is a great option if you want one of the best burgers in town, as well as a place to show off your skills on the pool table.
