If you like board games, you will love Mox Boarding House. It is a shop, but also a place where you can meet family and friends, have a drink or a bite to eat.
This place is a local temple of board games. Not only will you find classic games there, such as Risk, Monopoly, Ticket to Ride, Catan, or Clue but you will also find extensions for your favorite games, strategy games, card games, role games, and games for kids.
Mox offers impeccable service. All the shop assistants are board game enthusiasts who will be more than happy to explain how to play any game. Several games are on display and before Covid, you could usually sit at one of the tables to try a selected game. Shop assistants were always happy to help you play.
Nelly Steiner, marketing director at Mox Boarding House has kindly agreed to answer our questions:
What is the story behind Mox Boarding House and what is the concept?
John and Damon Morris, two brothers, opened the first Mox Boarding House location in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle in 2011. The second store opened in 2014 in Bellevue, and this year we just opened our third location in Portland, OR. All of our stores are custom designed with the community in mind. We have a large retail space with thousands of board games, card games, minis games, and roleplaying games. Additionally, we have a huge game library that you can borrow from for free while you are at Mox and plenty of event space. Our restaurants serve delicious, house-made food, and local craft beers. Some of our locations also offer cocktails. We also have thematic private rooms that guests can rent for events, like birthday parties and business meetings.
We bring people together, no matter who you are you are welcome at our campfire. We create a space that is warm and welcoming, you can enjoy a meal and a drink while playing games with your friends or bring your kids and introduce them to board games. There is something for everyone.
Where is the name Mox coming from?
The name Mox Boarding House is actually inspired by a Magic The Gathering (a very popular game with our customers) card set called Mox cards. Moxen are powerful cards in the game and are represented by gemstones or jewelry on the card. And Boarding House was just a perfect fit to describe the type place we are, a place to gather and come together as a community.
Could you tell us about the Mox community and customers?
The Mox community is everyone. Really. From people that just enjoy a game of Monopoly during the holidays to the folks that come in daily to build new Magic decks and compete in every tournament. Our community comes from all backgrounds and interests. We cultivate a space and community that centers around kindness, compassion, and fun.
What are the new releases?
There are constantly great new games coming out. This year we got some really exciting new titles such as Mariposas from Elizabeth Hargrave which is about the migration of the monarch butterfly. Dungeons and Dragons released Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything just this week, and that’s been a long-awaited book. In the next few weeks we should be getting the Adventure Zone board game, we’re really looking forward to that one.
How did the company handle the Covid crisis?
It has been really difficult during Covid as our mission is always to bring people together in our space and to engage with everyone on a personal level. So, with Covid we have had to make a few changes. A lot of our events are now run online on Discord, such as Magic the Gathering tournaments, Paint Jam events, and Dungeons and Dragons sessions. You can check out our events here. Currently our restaurants in Seattle and Bellevue are closed temporarily until things open up more. In Portland we still have take out available Thu-Sun and its really worth checking out. We also require masks to be worn in the stores and social distancing to be observed. This does mean that guests cannot play games in the store at the moment, but we have expert staff that will match the prefect game to you and your friends/family at home to play with. Additionally, every month we run specials on different games or merchandise we have, for November is DBL Feature. No doorbusters this year, instead we are giving you back $15 credit for every $100 spent. It is a great deal and an excellent way to get games for everyone on your Christmas list this year.
You will find all what you need at Mox Boarding House to please your family and friends for Christmas!
Translated by Céline
