Demo games are an important part of the board game industry because it allows our customers to try games out before committing to one.
When we first opened last year, Hitherto had a large collection of new, exciting, and popular board games available to anyone to come and try out at any time.
It was a fantastic way to discover games and meet new people.
We’ve been eager to get back to the place where we can safely offer this service to you all again, and we’re so excited to announce its return!

Starting today, our demo games will be available again for you to come and play, any time during our open hours!

In our continued efforts to follow the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency, we have implemented the following practices to keep our customers and employees safe:

• All customers must wear a mask when entering the building and when ordering.

• After a game has been played, it will be cleaned and put into quarantine for 48 hours before it goes back into the demo collection to be available for play again.

• No more than 6 customers at any table.

• All gaming surfaces and surrounding areas will be sanitized in between each use.

We are hopeful and confident that with these practices in place, we can continue to be a welcoming and safe place for people to enjoy board games, food & drink, and the company of friends.

We will be monitoring things closely, so check back here often for any updates or changes we might make to these practices in the future.

Hitherto has dozens of demo games to choose from, but here are three that we think you’ll love:

Staff Favorites

2-8 Players | 15-30 Minutes
Codenames is a team based word association game, similar to Catchphrase or Taboo. Players will split into two teams, a red team and a blue team. Each team will choose a player to be the Spymaster, who will be responsible for giving out clues. A grid of tiles with random words are spread out, and only the Spymasters will know which words are “blue” tiles, and which words are “red” tiles. Over the course of the game, the Spymasters take turns giving out a clue consisting of just one word and a number, and their teammates must try to guess which words correspond to their team’s colors. The first team to guess all of their words wins! The game leads to many tense, exciting, and hilarious moments for people of almost all ages. We also have Codenames pictures (played with pictures rather than words) and Codenames Duet (a 2 player cooperative version) available to demo as well!

If you’re a fan of air hockey, foosball, or any type of lawn games, you’ll absolutely adore Klask. Using magnets under the table, you will try to use a black magnetic pawn on the top of the table to hit a yellow ball into your opponents hole, scoring you one point. But be careful! There are three white magnetic pieces in the middle of the table, and if you get close enough to them and get two or more stuck to your black magnetic pawn, your opponent will score a point instead. Another way a point is scored is if the opposing player gets their own black magnetic pawn stuck in their own hole. The first to 6 points wins! Klask is fast-paced, a great mix of skill and luck, and portable, making it perfect for kids and adults alike.

In Azul, players take turns choosing different colored tiles from shared piles in the middle of the table. They take these tiles and place them into rows on their individual player board. After all the tiles have been taken, players place one tile from each of their completed rows and place it on their “wall”, scoring points. Players will also score bonus points for completing certain patterns on your wall, and collecting sets of colors on your wall. Any tiles that couldn’t be fit into the rows falls onto the “floor”, losing that player points. Azul offers enough choices to entertain those who love strategy, but is not overwhelming for more casual players. The game's gorgeous and unique components makes it extremely satisfying and calming to play.

We look forward to seeing you come in and try out some games!