A ‘nerd beer bar?’ Yes, Clovis has one now, with board games. Here are the details
What do you get when you combine local beer on tap and people who love board games?
A new business called Beer for the Meeples.
Or as owner Wilson Lin calls it, a “nerd beer bar.”
It opened about a month ago at the southwest corner of Bullard and Minnewawa avenues in Clovis.
It has 400 board games available to play, 12 beers on tap and welcomes anyone who wants to come play – whether they drink alcohol or not.
Lin decided to open the business based on his own experiences.
“I love board games and I love beer,” he said. “I’m not the biggest fan of bars. They’re a little dark and a little loud.”
So he decided to create an alternative.
Players are invited to come sit at a table and play a board game, with food and drink sold at the business.
What are meeples?
Meeples is a board game term. It’s a little humanoid figure used as a playing piece in the game board game Carcassone.
More broadly, meeples is a term that refers to the player pieces in board games.
And there are plenty of board games to choose from here. Everything from classics like Candy Land, Mouse Trap and Settlers of Catan, to more rare games like Battlestar Galactica. There is also Clovisopoly and even a board game inspired by painter Bob Ross called Art of Chill.
Lin encourages people to play with strangers, but you can also stick to yourself if you want. Different colored stickers indicate if people are open to playing with others.
The vibe here nothing like a bar, he notes. It’s brightly lit, for one.
“It’s super chill,” he said. “Sometimes it gets loud but only because someone murdered someone in a game.”
People of all ages are welcome. But players under 18 each must be accompanied by an adult.
Beer, food, drink
Coffee, soda and a wide variety of teas are available, along with snacks like chocolate chip cookies and chips.
As for the beer, you can find out what’s on tap at website Untappd. Lin likes to have a mix of beer on tap, including seltzers.
Recently, you could find several beers from Clovis brewers Incinerati, Crow & Wolf Brewing, and Tactical Ops. Beers ranged from a watermelon seltzer to an IPA.
Beer for the Meeples has a cover charge: $6 to stay and play on Mondays through Thursdays, and $8 Fridays through Sundays.
There are also themed nights, like Dungeons & Dragons. Follow its Facebook page or Instagram for details.
Details: Beer for the Meeples is at 50 W. Bullard Ave., suite #112, near the Clovis Bingo Hall. Hours: 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays, noon to 1 a.m. Saturdays, and noon to 11 p.m. Sundays.
This story was originally published June 21, 2022 at 11:28 AM.
