Think of board game clubs and you’ll likely think of Dungeons and Dragons, 20-sided dice, lustily collected trading cards and (perhaps unfairly) the hard-won scent of "enthusiasm". Leave your preconceptions at the door to Treehouse, though; this board game cafe is a welcoming, airy environment – all white walls (adorned with Florence Blanchard paintings) and natural light, with perfectly considered furniture from Chop Shop and ample space to create your own little world.

Squirrelled away between Bramall Lane and London Road, Treehouse offers guests full access to over 800 tabletop games, at £2 per person per hour (half price for under 16s, free for under fives). The library of games is like a hall of fame for play, featuring everything from fast, easy-to-pick-up card games and family classics through to intense team strategy games and many a Spiele des Jahres award-winner (the Oscars for board games). If you can’t decide what to play, a handy taster menu will guide you, and Treehouse staff are always on hand to teach you the rules to those particularly peculiar games.

With so many games to play, it would be easy to lose track of time, forgetting to stay hydrated and fed. Thankfully, Treehouse has a full kitchen serving up locally-sourced food, including Waterall’s pies, Seven Hills bread, and Tower of Bagel’s, uh, bagels piled high with cheese, meat and vegetables. The craft beer bar is joined by Birdhouse Tea and coffee from Sheffield roasters Frazer’s, while sugary pick-me-ups of Haribo and brownies are readily available for when things start to get a bit emotional. And if you can't bear to stop playing when your session comes to an end, you can buy a game to take home with you from the Treehouse shop.

Grab some pals and book a table – I'll see you there with a beer and a Carcassonne expansion pack.

Our game recommendations:

For beginners:

Hive – a two-player strategy game that’s great if you like the idea of chess but find it a bit long and daunting in practice. It’s easy to learn but has lots of depth, and is made up of neat hexagonal Bakelite pieces with insects on them.

Magic Maze – good for groups who want to play something fast-paced that won't end in a row. It’s a cooperative game about exploring a fantasy-themed shopping mall, where everyone plays at once rather than taking turns. It's very entertaining to see simple actions becoming tricky under pressure – especially if a little beer is involved!

Terra – a geography-based game for trivia buffs who find Trivial Pursuit a bit too long and frustrating. It rewards you for knowing roughly what the answer is and has a betting mechanic that introduces a little bit of strategy to shake things up a bit. You set the number of questions you want to play, so it can be as long or as short as you like.

For big groups:

Funemployed – a party game where players take turns as the employer, who selects a random job card from the deck – anything from travel writer to dungeon master – while everyone else is given a set of trait cards, which are generally things you would never mention on your CV, e.g. “paranoid” or “sticky”. The potential employees then have to apply for the job on offer, mentioning as many of their traits as possible. Hilarity ensues.

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong – a game for up to 10 people, where players are members of the police force trying to solve a murder which one of the players secretly committed. Its great artwork helps to set a grisly scene, and the deduction process is simple but highly engrossing.

Crossing – a quick game for medium-sized groups (4-6 people) involving sparkly gems, mushrooms, gnomes and a good deal of backstabbing. What more could you want?

• Words by
• Greg Povey

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