Jered Shults brings his A game to Well Played Board Game Cafe.

Jered Shults loves working at Well Played Board Game Café, and says most of the time, it’s big fun. But despite the 700-game inventory that Well Played boasts, it’s not all fun and games.

He takes his job very seriously. Make that his two jobs. Jered is the lead for both front and back of house during his shift as the daily opener of the South Slope business, which begins an hour before he unlocks the front door at 10am and ends between 4 and 5pm. “I joke that if you see me at Well Played after dark, something is wrong.”

He figuratively and literally wears multiple hats, and in fact keeps a logoed ball cap hooked to his belt loop while he’s overseeing the front, then puts it on before he heads to the back to help out in the kitchen.

“It’s a balancing act, but there’s so many good people in the front and back of house I can count on, and it helps that Kevan is confident he can count on me.”

Kevan Frazier and Cortland Mercer opened the first Well Played Board Game Café on Wall Street in 2017 and found a devoted fan base locally and among visitors for their tremendous inventory and tasty bites. When the pandemic hit in March 2020, face-to-face competition while sharing a bowl of hummus became an issue. They eventually navigated through it, but the challenges became too much to overcome, and they closed in October 2020.

They vowed to come back, and to the delight of board game enthusiasts, the super-sized Well Played Board Game Café opened in a former Chrysler dealership showroom – with a checkerboard square floor! — in the South Slope on June 3, 2022.

That’s when Jered came on board, and while he freely admits he was more of a casual player himself, he is fully committed to making everyone who visits Well Played – for coffee, beer, sandwiches, milkshakes, Exploding Kittens, or one of the multiple versions of Catan (nothing to do with cats) – a winner.

Though Well Played sees downtown workers come by for a coffee to go or tourists for a beer before hitting up the South Slope breweries, most of the clientele is there for the games.

It may not be their first visit to a board game café, but Jered says they are usually surprised by how Well Played operates. “A lot of places offer game time by the hour,“ he says. “We sell by the day, so for $7, or $10 Friday through Sunday, people 14 and over get a wristband and access to all 700 of our games, all day and night. They can come by in the morning, have some coffee and a bagel, play some games, go walk around downtown or take a hike, come back, play some more games, have a beer, go home or to their hotel, take a nap, and come back for more games.”

Wristbands are $13 for the 6–13-year-old crowd and free for five and under. “That’s a critical age for board game development, so we like to support that and get them off to a good start.”

The somewhat overwhelming inventory is color-coded with dots to indicate ease or difficulty of play, how many players and more. Staff – most of whom are enthusiasts themselves – are happy to help direct newcomers to games that will interest them and even coach them through unfamiliar games. Veterans and regulars know just what they’re looking for.

Everyone is free to peruse the shelves and pull out a game to take to their table to try, but are asked to allow staff to return them to the right shelf. No one wants Candyland beside Catan: Traders & Barbarians.

People are also often surprised by the extent of the menu, Jered says. “A lot of board game places just have some beverages and snacks, but we have a full menu, starting with breakfast items available all day and going though sandwiches, flatbreads, dips and vegan choices. Kids love the Dino Bites. The Kickin’ Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwich has all the best things to eat in one sandwich.”

He laughs when asked if missing game pieces are a problem. “When the closers sweep up at the end of the night, it can be a menagerie of different game pieces, and with 700 games, we don’t always know which piece goes to which game. When it’s slow, I’ll Google image them and reach out to our board game community and there is always someone who knows.”

He highly recommends Well Played as a way for families to get off screens, spend time together and actually engage in real time. “I can’t tell you how great that is,” Jered enthuses. “It amazes me every time how effective board games are in getting kids and parents off their screens. Everyone is connected and enjoying the present moment. It’s a beautiful thing and always makes me happy.”

More about Well Played Board Game Cafe

— Written by Kay West

Photos courtesy of Well Played
First photo: 100’s of board games offered at Well Played
Second photo:  Well Played’s Jenga cheese sticks

AIRfare is sponsored by McGuire Wood & Bissette.