Inside Cake or Dice, the Dundee community café crowned Scotland’s top board game venue

Dundee community venue Cake or Dice has won Board Game Café of the Year at the Scotland Prestige Awards 2026/27. Located at 89 Commercial Street in Dundee city centre, the alcohol-free social enterprise secured the national title after logging more than 50,000 customer visits and expanding its playable library past 580 tabletop titles.We care because Geek Native is Scottish.

Founded in mid-2023 by Sable Stevenson and co-founder Emma Barry, the business operates as a registered Community Interest Company (SC753617) rather than a traditional commercial hospitality bar. Speaking to local outlet Dundee Culture, Stevenson said that while winning a national award for Scotland was a great milestone, knowing the team had built a space where local residents felt they belonged mattered far more to staff.

Cake or Dice CIC said in a statement,

Cake or Dice has been named Board Game Cafe or the Year at the Scotland Prestige Awards 2026/27! This award means so much to us, but it’s our wonderful community that makes Cake or Dice what it is. Thank you for every game, coffee, laugh and friendship. You’re why we do this!”

Cake or Dice CIC venue rules, pricing, and library access

When the café launched in Dundee’s Keiller Centre in 2023 after a local crowdfunding campaign, tables used a colour-coded token tariff, charging up to £6 per individual box across 450 titles. Since relocating to a larger, step-free street-level unit on Commercial Street near The McManus art gallery, the venue has overhauled its table rules to favour all-day group play and campaign sessions.

The £10 Day Pass removes the hourly clock that often cuts heavy strategy games or roleplaying games short in city-centre venues. For regulars, the £37.50 monthly Guild Membership acts as a two-person season ticket: it covers unlimited library access for the member and one guest on every visit, table access to bring and run personal roleplaying games and campaigns, 10% off food and drink, a monthly mystery loot box, and access to a private Discord server. Visitors can also stop in strictly for Glen Lyon coffee, Broughty Blends loose-leaf teas, home baking, or hot food without paying a gaming fee.

Dundee tabletop playtesting meetup and board governance

Averaging roughly 1,220 visits a month since summer 2023, Cake or Dice has grown into an active incubator for Tayside’s tabletop design and hobby scene:

• Dundee Tabletop Playtesting Meetup: Hosted at the café on the second Wednesday of every month from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm, this open session connects independent board game and roleplaying game designers with local playtesters. Designers flag their tables with a large crochet meeple so walk-in players can test prototypes and offer rules feedback.
• Community Quests and Workshops: Alongside weekly Dungeons & Dragons tables and board game socials, the café’s Quest Board schedules miniature painting nights, craft body-doubling sessions, and the annual Dundee Tabletop Celebration.
• Creative Sector Governance: Throughout 2025, Cake or Dice CIC strengthened its board of directors alongside Sable Stevenson by appointing Carl Bradley Sant, Mx Eilidh Dunsmore Sturrock, Lauren Amy Duncan, and Donna Holford-Lovell, the former director of Dundee’s NEoN Digital Arts Festival and Fleet Collective.

The Scotland Prestige Awards context

Corporate LiveWire runs the Scotland Prestige Awards to recognise independent businesses, social enterprises, and community venues nominated by the public across regional categories. While Corporate LiveWire commercialises its award programmes through optional winner marketing packages and physical trophies, nomination and judging remain free, and the title has previously highlighted Scottish tabletop names such as Six Degrees publisher The Knowledge Company. For Cake or Dice, the 2026/27 win follows a string of local recognition this year, including a spot as a finalist at the 2026 Proud Scotland Awards and a shortlist nomination for Dundee’s Best Café.

You can check the current event calendar, read the accessibility guide, or pick up a two-player Guild Membership on the official Cake or Dice website, and view the regional award programme on the Scotland Prestige Awards hub.