In terms of things to do in Grand Rapids, visiting House Rules nears the top of my list. I'm not a big beer drinker, so I had my doubts, but in addition to a half dozen fridges full of beer, they had plenty of non alcoholic drinks, as well as hard ciders, seltzers, and canned cocktails. Many brands were local that I'd never heard of before, and it was fun to experiment and try new things. Their food menu honestly shocked me with how tasty everything was. For a board game bar, I usually expect food to take a back seat or be phoned in, but everything was delicious! I had to try the elote deviled eggs, which was a combo I had never considered but I'm so glad someone did! I also got the truffle mac and cheese and a house salad. Both were excellent! The board game selection was extensive, with old favorites and hidden gems. If I'm ever back in the area, I'll be sure to stop in again! read more

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My husband and I met some friends at House Rules. This is a great place where you can have a bite to eat, grab a drink, and play a game in a relaxed atmosphere. You pay for your table by the hour. You can pick from a wide range of games from their game library. You can also bring your own games or purchase one at the establishment. We played Chameleon while enjoying sandwiches and chicken tenders. The food was pretty good and made with local ingredients. You can order from a QR code on the table and the food is brought to your table. For dessert we ordered a cookie skillet. We had a good time at Hose Rules and highly recommend it. read more

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Lots of fun games and a huge selection of drinks. They have a small menu of bar snacks but that isn't what you are there for - it's to get your game on! This is perfect for a group of 3-5 who are ready to enjoy some board games in a busy environment. It gets crowded in the evenings but is a perfect spot for the afternoon. read more

Five stars, awesome! This place is so cool! This is a board game cafe with good vibes, a full bar, and a yummy food menu. Located downtown across from the downtown market, there is lots of street parking and there's also a paid parking lot a block away. If you come on the weekend be sure to make a reservation for a table because this place is bopping and is busy! Hundreds of game options and the staff can help with learning most games. They also host DnD nights and other events. I love it here! read more

House Rules - Tabletop Games Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

This is a cool place to drop into especially if you're in town looking to kill some time at a chill bar that has excellent beer options (via a wall of coolers where you can pick out what you want and then enjoy at your seat...seltzers, IPA, porters, whatever you fancy, the selection is vast from the four coolers). I also saw some pretty impressive bourbon options (Weller and maybe a Willett, too). The staff was friendly and if you come with a group or a date there's plenty of games to choose from. If I lived nearby this would be a cool spot to frequent with friends. read more

We had a great time at House Rules on a Friday afternoon. They have a great selection of non-alcoholic beverages, including various NA Beers, sodas, seltzer, etc. That was a win for us! Most of the NA Beers are around $5. We stayed for two hours - ($5 per person for game play) and tried out three different games we hadn't played before. There were only two of us, so more games are available for 3+ players, but there is still a good selection for duos. We didn't order any food, but the menu looks like they have some solid options too! So glad we made this a stop on our GR trip! read more

House Rules - Tabletop Games Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

House Rules is a fun little spot in downtown Grand Rapids. I spent a couple hours here on a Saturday afternoon, and enjoyed the large selection of games in their library. My dining companion and I played some Wingspan and Bananagrams and grabbed a couple N/A beverages from the wall of fridges near the front. I loved that concept! The huge variety of beverages on top of the full bar ensures there is something for everyone. We started with the giant, shareable pretzel with beer cheese. It was...curious. The pretzel itself was weirdly bread-y? It didn't taste like your classic pretzel at all. It honestly felt like we were eating a loaf of bread. Not exactly unpleasant, but we didn't even finish half of it. The beer cheese was gritty, too, which didn't help the cause. If you're looking for an appetizer, I'd avoid this one. We were a bit put off by it, so we didn't bother ordering any other food. Service was fine. We came in as a walk-in and the hostess was a little terse, but luckily they had one table available for an hour and 45 minutes. She said they were booked solid the rest of the night with reservations. So, keep that in mind if you're planning on going here. Reserve a table in advance! I'm in Grand Rapids relatively frequently, so I do plan on coming here again in the future. Hopefully their other food is better than the pretzel! read more

House Rules - Giant Pretzel with Beer Cheese - Tabletop Games Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

This is a very fun spot. Friendly staff. So many games to choose from. Great food and drinks. I'll definitely be back.

I've always enjoyed House Rules since their inception! I was formerly a member of my college's board game and tabletop club and found that was a fantastic way to meet new people, try new things, and have fun! House Rules brings all those together with the newer addition of food! They have really fun events like euchre and commander night and have also added some cool events like date night. The staff is always incredibly welcoming and kind. I've had great conversation with many of them and I've always been made to feel welcome and accepted. I don't drink alcohol but they have a variety of draft drinks (even NA root beer!) and coolers of alcoholic and NA options for everyone to enjoy. I would suggest coming here with a group or solo if you're looking to make new friends. *Definitely park on the streets as it's way cheaper than using the Downtown Market lot across the street read more

This place was exactly what we were hoping for. A place to grab a drink (great happy hour) and catch up with a friend. Parking is a bit challenging since there's only the lot across the street and it's not the best price but basically the only option other than parking off the street and walking a ways in the cold. Overall, the service was really friendly, there were so many options for games, and the bathrooms were nice and clean. We will definitely be back! read more

House Rules is quickly becoming one of my favorite hang out spots DT Grand Rapids. With the new food menu, you can even make this a dinner stop. Most dishes are for sharing like fries or nachos, but don't let that stop ya from getting one to yourself! Drinks offered are both canned or tap. They even have n/a options too. As for the gaming experience, I recommend making a reservation before coming because it will be a hit or miss with getting a time slot on a walk in basis. There is a cover fee to play games but that can easily be added to our drink/food tab. All the games known to man are available! At least if feels that way to me. On my last visit I also learned they validate parking! So that is a HUGE bonus for me, personally. My only qualm is that the location is not the safest, so take advantage of parking close. Overall 5/5 stars. read more

House Rules - Tabletop Games Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

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I love this place! Any time I have family or friends in town, this is where I take them. There are so many types of board/card games available to play. It is an affordable, fun way to spend time. The drinks and food are a bonus! I'm still exploring the menu but I have not had anything that I've disliked. The staff is also very friendly. read more

Great selection of games and drinks. Family friendly & fun, wish we could stay and play all day. Will definitely be back next time we're in town. read more

House Rules - Tabletop Games Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

This place was super fun and a perfect place to go with a group of friends, family, or significant other. There were so many games on their shelves I hadn't heard on, and some that I knew of. On the left of the shelves is a kid section - I saw Jenga was there and wanted to play it! We went on a Sunday early afternoon and it wasn't too crowded. I read on their website that Saturdays are the busiest. You can open a tab at the bar and order drinks while you are playing your games. Right across House Rules is the downtown market so you can walk across after to have some more fun! Service was great! I'd definitely visit there again. read more

House Rules - Tabletop Games Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

I've been following house rules on social media for so long and I finally had an opportunity to check it out! I absolutely loved this place! Such a great business idea. My friends and I came on a Saturday afternoon -- you have to make a reservation ahead of time which you can do online. We chose a 2 hour reservation and thought that was a good amount of time though I easily could have stayed longer as well. When you arrive, you pay a $5 "cover" per person and they assign you to a table. You can then browse the games and buy drinks as you please! They have a ton of games to choose from, luckily my friend I was with is kind of a board game connoisseur so we were able to pick a game fairly quickly and she could explain the rules to us. If you are unsure about what you want to play and/or are picking a brand new to you game where you have to learn the rules, I would definitely recommend trying to factor that into your time when making a reservation. They have some drinks on draft + a huge cooler with other drinks and tons of NA options. I also saw on their Facebook page that if you park in the upper McConnell dash lot around the corner and have a $25+ tab then they will validate your parking for you up to 3 hours. That's a nice perk! If you're looking for something fun to do with friends, family or anyone else honestly -- I would recommend house rules! read more

House Rules - Tabletop Games Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

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The mocktail list was exciting to see as a person who's pretty new to sobriety. We walked in at an odd time of day and thankfully didn't need a reservation at this time. It's probably best to reserve ahead of time if you're playing a longer game. They have an amazing selection and it's very well organized! All of the food and drinks were tasty and we will be back soon! read more

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I loved this place. Make sure to make a reservation because it fills up. You get 3 hours to play games with a reservation and it's a 5 dollar gaming fee per person. They have HUNDREDS of games and they are well taken care of. Played quite a few and they were all in good condition. Staff was friendly. The oaxacan flaka flame is delicious. the shots were fun and beer was good too. Once our table was up there was room at the bar so we played games there. They have games for sale and good deals on some of them- got a game I liked for 8 bucks! You can bring your own food read more

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This place is so adorable. We stopped in to shop around and look at the games and the cases of drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. We also perused the bar area. The people here were really nice. This place is so inviting and just calls for you to drop you technology and plays some good old fashion board games. While they were completely booked to play games, my goal is to road trip and come back just to try their restaurant and play some games. I loved their selection of drinks in the cases, they have so many single serving beverages you do not always get a chance to purchase as a single can. I also liked their bar selection. The menu looked very enticing as well. You spend $5 a person for a three hour session of games, but I will make a reservation before we come over this way. This seems like a great place for small parties or slightly larger groups. This also seems like a great place for friends and family. When we were here it was packed, but it was also during the Christmas market, so the market across the street was packed as well. I can't wait to return and actually play and not just shop. read more

Chill environment to play games, eat & drink, and enjoy good company. You can play one of their 600 games at the bar or rent/reserve a table for $5. Drinks are extensive from beer to cocktails to nonalcoholic options to soft drinks. Something for everyone. Food is good and extremely reasonably priced. A burger for $6?! We did the tender basket with waffle fries & Italian season, and the Philly with curly fries and Cajun spice. Love the variety of French fry types! Service was quick and helpful. Parking is paid parallel parking. read more

House Rules - Tabletop Games Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

We won a Chef's table at the New Year's Eve trivia event! Both the Chef's table and New Year's events were spectacular. Absolutely the best way to start the New Year! Chef Mike prepared the most incredible dishes with an excellent theme. We couldn't pick a favorite dish because they were all amazing. Highly highly highly recommend House Rules!! Thank you Chef Mike, Nathan, and House Rules team!!! read more

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If you enjoy games (board games, card games, table-top role playing games, etc) - then this is your place! With a whole row of drink coolers including alcohol and non-alcohol options, as well as a menu of tasty food options and draft beverages for purchase, you can prepare to get comfortable and lose yourself in the fun of any of their 650+ game options. My family and I had a blast - and our three hours just flew by! Come check it out for yourself! read more

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Ooooooo I love this place so much and my son loves it it's great to bring a group not too big though I had to stop going because they never have the time slot I need for my company it doesn't matter how much in advance we all try. read more

Awesome place for drinks, food, and cards! Came for Euchre and met some great people. Come alone or with friends.

A great place to hangout with friends and play some games, especially in the winter months. The low rating is due to the fact that they've switched to a full service kitchen last year and now the whole place smells and feels like a greasy diner. It's hard to get past this and many of our friends feel the same way. This is especially an issue when it comes to their whole business model as cards and board game pieces are now even more sticky and discolored. read more

I've been waiting for a place like this! This is legitimately my new favorite spot in GR. So excited that House Rules opened 2 months ago and is a great spot too meet friends and play a game together. They have a whole wall of games to choose from with a variety of styles. Just pull one of the shelf and find a table. Don't know how to play? Don't know what to play? Just ask the guys and they'll give you some tips. If you like the game you're playing chances are they have a new copy in stock they'll sell you as well. I'm so excited to come by with friends and hang out playing games over some drafts. read more

House Rules - Tabletop Games Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

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We went to house rules just for a drink, but now we need to stop back in and play some games! It's $5 a person to play games, and there's soooooo many- literally a whole wall. (I'm not lying- check my pictures ) On top of that, they have a great tap list, cocktails, and a ton of non-alcoholic options too! Not to mention, they're LGBTQ+ friendly If you're looking for something to do with a group of friends or even a significant other, this is the place to go! (What a fun first date idea????) read more

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Found this place online and came here to pass time before our reservation and man will we be coming again! The service was great, drinks were great, and they had games I hadn't seen in forever! We also went during happy hour so the prices were great and it wasn't too busy. Looking forward to bringing our friends here for a game night on a more busy day! read more

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we LOVE house rules. such a fun concept. it's very easy to make a reservation online. i love the drink coolers and non alcoholic beer options. the mediterranean salad (no feta for us vegans) was delicious. the BBQ falafel were intriguing and i loved the flavor. read more

My boyfriend and I went here for date night and had an amazing time! We love games and like the idea of learning new games and testing them out before we actually buy them. We could easily make reservations online for a 2-3 hour slot (you can choose!) and the check in process was pretty easy and the staff there were super friendly! We got like 4 recommendations for various types of games and they even provided us some instruction on how to do it. Parking is the only downside - either it's street/meter parking or you pay for the Downtown market which gets a bit pricey. I think there was a $5 play fee (per table) and we could get drinks to enjoy while we played. While they don't have a ton of food, they definitely had this super yummy smelling cookie that I wish I tried! Next time, for sure. Recommend for those that really enjoy games and want to get out of the house to do so! read more

House Rules - Tabletop Games Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

The owners of House Rules evolved the Craft Beer Cellar after it became known for Magic nights into a game bar. I've passed by this place a bunch of times while shopping at Moosejaw and the Downtown Market, and have been meaning to come for a while. I invited my friends to a Gaymer Monday, a weekly LGBTQ+ board game night with game deals (10% purchases), food specials ($2 off huge pretzels), and drink discounts ($1 off draft/cooler drinks and $2 off cocktails). I had a Kentucky mule, lavender lemonade, and Zombie Dust. There's a large selection, even if you don't consume alcohol. Plenty of card and board games line the shelves. There were only a few other tables when we arrived at 6, but soon enough, the entire place was packed. Neat spot to hang out with friends. read more

Super fun place! Very reasonably priced. Good game selection. Drinks coolers are stocked with so many fun choices. Good bar food. Loved it!

Perfect spot for meeting up with friends and enjoying a game and some food/drinks! Staff is very courteous and helpful too. There was a missing piece in our game so we notified the staff who immediately took action to fix the problem. Highly recommend. read more

First time was a blast! Found a new game and we laughed a ton. They had hundreds of games. read more

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Board games are a passion of mine (besides good food), and if you're looking for a place to play games and have a drink with friends in Grand Rapids, House Rules is definitely worth checking out. The only requirement for using their extensive board game library is to spend $10 per person in your party, which is done easily with 2-3 drinks per person (or one large board game from their equally extensive store). Their library is mostly on the honor system, which seems novel today. They have a wide variety of drinks behind the bar and in their drink coolers, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. If you're a fan of soda, definitely try their on-tap root beer. My only advice is that if its a busy night or a weekend, try to place a reservation ahead of time to guarantee yourself a table. Now get out there and roll some dice! read more

I stumbled upon this place while looking up things to do in GR on tiktok as I'm not from the area. SO glad I found this place! I love the concept they've got going on here, it's very customer friendly. They have hundreds of games out on a shelf, and with so many to choose from, it was nice to take my time and look at all of the boxes rather than just going off the name. They offer a weekday deal where the playing fee is half off, so we got a table for 3 hours for only $5 total for 2 of us. I was extremely impressed with their beer selection as well, which they have all in reach in coolers. Plenty of local selections, as well as tons of NA options and craft sodas, kombuchas, etc. I would HIGHLY recommend this as a date night spot or with the family as it's also very kid friendly. If I lived here I would make this a regular spot! read more

What a wonderful place visit! Whether you're looking to play a board-game or have a drink, House Rules accommodates it all! You will fall in love with the atmosphere and the selections. read more

House Rules - Great selection - Tabletop Games Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Friendliest most helpful staff, chill environment, good drinks, and an immaculate vibe. If you're looking for a space to spend a few quiet hours playing games and having a beer, you cannot do better than House Rules. read more

This is such a cool place! The giant selection of games is obviously the main attraction, but the cooler in the back filled with interesting beverages to try was really fun to peruse! There's something for everyone, so even if you're not a drinker, they have all sorts of cool non-alcoholic drinks to try. The bar has some fun specialty cocktails for reasonable prices. The bartenders were really friendly and easygoing. The whole vibe is just casual and fun! My friends and I will definitely be back!!! House Rules, you rule! read more

House Rules - One of the cool discoveries from the beverage cooler! - Tabletop Games Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

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Me and my friend spent over 6 hours here on a Sunday. We didn't think much of it but the place was super popular and had great energy. We found a new fave game after trying out a bunch and I ended up ordering it off Amazon cuz it was so good. Will be back. read more

House Rules - Tabletop Games Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

this place is a must!!! keith and the other bartenders were so helpful with picking a game. learning the rules, and being invested in the outcome. my partner and i learned a new game on the spot and had a blast while enjoying uncommon michigan drink options! would recommend tokiyo highway if you enjoy a *tactile* (learned this from the bartender) game with rules that'll make you sweat it out sometimes. read more

House Rules - Tabletop Games Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan