Dungeons & Dragons (also known as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game which has gained popularity through its exposure in popular culture since the late 1970s. Long gone are the accusatory days of the satanic panic in the 80’s and, today, Dungeons & Dragons has amassed a worldwide player base of around fifty million, and some of this player base is located in Brighton.
Players enjoy the game for a variety of reasons including turn-based combat, chance-based actions, and the possibility to truly role-play as a fully customised character. To start playing D&D, all you really need is a pen and paper, a pack of dice, and your imagination.
There are plenty of ways to play the game online with friends via DnD Beyond, Roll 20, and Discord servers, but one of the main attractions of D&D – at least for me – is to get together in person around a table and spend some quality recreation time with your nearest and dearest. Luckily, Brighton has a few game stores which host events, or allow you to book your own table and start rolling for initiative!
Dice Saloon
Dice Saloon, located on London Road, is one of the UK’s largest gaming centres, including a front-of-house retail store and a board gaming café. You can book a table or booth to play either your own games or choose one from their collection. Open till late most days, Dice Saloon is a great place to get together for a session after work or uni.
For D&D they also offer an RPG room, a wood and brick-panelled enclosed space to host a private game and really immerse yourself in the session, there are even privacy curtains for those who only want their friends to see the excellent half-orc costume they’ve put together.
Every Sunday, Dice Saloon in Brighton runs Kids Club Adventures for younger players looking to get into D&D, Warhammer, Magic the Gathering, or even just socialise while painting some miniature figures. While we’re on the subject, their shop stocks a huge collection of D&D-related figures, guidebooks, spell cards, and starter sets.
Once you get settled and set up on your table, you might find yourself in need of some sustenance, Dice Saloon has this covered too as their café offers hot and cold drinks, savoury food, baked goods, and snacks!
Address: 88 London Road, Brighton, BN1 4JF
Find out more: www.dicesaloon.com
1UP Café
A retro gaming cafe located in Norfolk Square, 1UP Café allows its patrons to enjoy their selection of retro consoles for free and serve up a delicious menu of all-day breakfasts, toasties, wraps, super smoothies, and coffees. The café also has a shop featuring merchandise and original console games if, like me, you’re well versed in the classics.
Every other Wednesday, 1UP Café host a Dungeons & Dragons game night which runs from 6-9:30 pm at £3 per person. The game night is perfect for both beginners still getting to grips with how the game mechanics work, and more seasoned players. This is an 18+ event and alcohol is allowed on the premises with a £5 corkage fee.
This is a great way to get in contact with the Brighton D&D community and meet like-minded people. I recommend turning up early, not just to be punctual, but so that you can also get in a few rounds of Mario Kart and a plate of Banoffee waffles.
Address: 47 Norfolk Square, Brighton, BN1 2PA
Website: www.1upcafe.co.uk
Honourable Mentions
Loading Bar
Although Loading Bar in Brighton doesn’t host any D&D games itself, the bar does have access to D&D books and guides which you can use to brush up on your knowledge before heading into your first game without spending the money to own the books. Loading Bar is located on the seafront which makes it a nice place to do some research while sipping a coffee and observing chip-thieving seagulls.
To find out more about Loading Bar: loading.bar/articles/loading-brighton/
The Skiff
There is a local D&D Group which gets together and plays games at The Skiff co-working space, although due to an uptick in numbers recently, the group is currently not accepting new members.
Website: https://www.meetup.com/brighton-role-playing-games-meetup/events/
Discord
There are Dungeon Masters (individuals who plan and run sessions) looking for players to try out new games all the time, sign up to their discord and look for the #looking-for-group channel https://discord.gg/gupqyp4j or ask in your local game stores to see if they have a D&D related Discord.
