In a way, it all started with a game of Catan. Settlers of Catan is a game where players work to expand their small isolated settlements into a network of thriving cities. This development all takes place on a grid of hexagons that form an island.

On Aug. 20, 2014, partners Randy Wong and Kellie Ho opened the doors of the first Hexagon Board Game Cafe on Whyte Ave in Edmonton. Their goal For Hexagon is for it to be the intersection where roads meet and communities thrive.

Randy and Kellie were born and raised in Calgary and Edmonton respectively. They met in 2005 at the University of Manitoba where they both graduated with a bachelor’s degree in architecture. After finishing their schooling, Randy and Kellie travelled through Asia together and were inspired by the popularity of board games there. They found that people from all over the world could form bonds easily over games like Settlers of Catan, and that experience still influences them today, with Hexagon’s tagline: coffee, games, community.

Because of the rising popularity of board games and places to play them, the Edmonton location began to feel quite small. After two years of growing both their staff and board game collection, it was time to open a second Hexagon location in the Kensington neighbourhood of Calgary on July 28, 2016. Just one year later in November, Hexagon Edmonton relocated down Whyte Ave to a larger location in order to accommodate more games and more gamers.

Hexagon Calgary

Before opening Hexagon in Edmonton, Randy and Kellie wanted to ensure that they could offer the highest quality coffee to pair along with excellent games. Much like coffee, games are a social activity, to be enjoyed with friends, family, and sometimes even strangers. It’s a way of getting people together, sitting down, socializing, and having fun. Through games, friendships are forged, challenges are conquered, and a community of people who love games, or simply enjoy company, is born.

Over the years, Hexagon has built up a lively community of Dungeons and Dragons players, as well as, a meetup group for pick-up games. These drop-in events are for people looking to join a group of avid gamers, whether it’s tabletop RPG’s or the latest board gaming hotness. As Hexagon continues to grow, the communities built up around it grow too in the hopes of there never being an empty seat at the table.