Northwood Game Haven

Northwood Game Haven is a board game café, game store and event space at 115 W Spring St in downtown Chippewa Falls, about 15 minutes from Eau Claire. It is the Chippewa Valley's first dedicated board game café, and the card side is one department of a larger operation: a retail floor, a free-to-use game library, private themed rooms and overnight suites under one roof. It suits families, newcomers to the hobby and card players who want a table and a game library next to the singles case.

What's on the shelves

The retail shop sells board games, trading card games, accessories and local goods, both new and used. The card games on the facts list are Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece Card Game, Disney Lorcana, Flesh and Blood, Digimon Card Game and Star Wars: Unlimited, and Riftbound is stocked as well. The shop is organized around a guided path for newcomers that introduces modern board gaming one game at a time, and staff known as Game Gurus will teach and set up any game in the library.

The game library and play space

Open play is free during business hours. The library holds over 1,000 board game titles, with roughly 150 on the open-play shelves, and family and kids sections are included. A video game lounge with retro consoles alongside a Nintendo Switch 2 and a PlayStation 5 is also free to use. Guests under 18 need a parent, guardian or responsible adult with them, and free Wi-Fi covers the whole building, private rooms included.

The Raft is the in-house craft soda and float bar, with more than 100 rotating bottled craft sodas and a make-your-own Dirty Soda kit for $12.

Private rooms and overnight stays

Three themed rooms, The Holt, Stash's Den and The Depths, can be booked by the hour at $10 an hour for the first 4 hours and $5 an hour after that, with a 4-hour minimum. Each booking carries a refundable card hold: $40 for one room, $80 for two and $100 for all three. The hold is released automatically 24 hours after the booking if the rooms are left in good shape. Birthday packages are offered, and guests may bring their own cake at no extra charge with a room rental.

Two overnight suites, The Lodge and The Adventurer's Rest, are booked through VRBO. On Monday through Thursday the same suites are also available as Riverside Day Suites for 4 hours at $89.

Haven Club membership

The Haven Club costs $10 a month and can be canceled at any time. Members get 3 free beverages each month, 10% off food and 20% off board and card games, plus an exclusive monthly sticker designed by a local artist.

Store policies

Outside alcohol is not allowed during regular business hours, when the Haven is an all-ages space. Guests 21 or older may drink responsibly at private bookings outside business hours. Every indoor space is reached by stairs, and there are no wheelchair ramps or elevator.

Hours and getting there

The private rooms can be reserved around the clock, including outside retail hours.

The local scene

Several card and hobby shops sit within a short walk in Chippewa Falls: K3 Fantasy & Sports Cards and Chippewa R/C Hobby Junction are each about 0.1 miles away, Spartan Sports Cards & TCG is 0.2 miles, and CHIPPEWA R/C HOBBY is 0.9 miles. In Eau Claire, For the Hobby Sports Cards is about 9 miles away.