Nestled in the heart of Middletown’s Main Street, “Back Again Board Game Café” is that very getaway. Step inside, and you’ll find shelves brimming with nearly a thousand different games and an interior equally so with Hobbit-themed decor. For fans of Tolkien’s books, Hobbits and Bag End represent a sense of coziness, but even for the uninitiated, that can be felt the moment you step through “Back Again’s” doors.

“Back Again” seeks to revive those childhood nights and afternoons spent round the table with family and friends, or to give younger visitors the same experience. But just as importantly, the café stands for introducing visitors to new communities in addition to strengthening their own. Like a certain board game? There are regulars who love it just as much and would be down to join you for a game. Need an idea for a date night? How about an afternoon with the kids? Don’t like bars? How about Thursday Trivia nights instead?

The café has been the perfect place for kids to befriend other kids, parents to befriend other parents while said kids are distracted, and for board game lovers to join groups, play new games, and make new friends through “Back Again’s” numerous weekly events. Although this can happen online, there isn’t the same kind of spontaneity or subtle pleasures of taking ten minutes just to stare at all the games and decide which one to play that week. “Back Again” also supports a safe space for those
communities who could use a little more inclusion. Just as there is a board game for every person, every person is welcome at “Back Again”. Every other month, they host “Gay-me Night”, an LGBTQA+ friendly board game night in collaboration with Middletown Pride.

But for anyone visiting the café, it’s a return to simpler times, whether it be pre-Pandemic or childhood. That’s all part of the Tolkien-esque philosophy that’s inspired the café; a longing to be off somewhere far away on adventures big or small, and through the immense catalogue of games, that’s possible. You can be a submarine crew roving the depths in “Captain Sonar”, building a prehistoric theme park in “Dinosaur Island”, or a super sleuth helping out the legendary detective in “Sherlock Holmes”. Maybe the epic tales of one of the café’s “Dungeons & Dragons” campaigns is a quest worth taking. Or if the classics like “Clue” and “Monopoly” are more your speed, “Back Again’s” got your back there too.

There’s a certain magic to people coming together for shared goals, whether competitive or co-operative (“Back Again” has games of both categories.). Suddenly, the stressors of the outside world disappear, and the fun takes hold. There’s only the next dice roll, the next draw from the deck, or that one tricky “Jenga” piece that will decide your fate.

But even if we think of adventures of as perilous thing, you’re more likely to face them knowing that your friends are always with you, and there’s a nice cozy place still waiting for you at the journey’s end.