In 2015, Eric Fransen, a former math professor turned furniture maker, started making plans with his friends during their weekly game nights.

Board game cafés had opened in cities across North America from Toronto to Galveston. In a time when digital communication had become the new norm, these cafés offered patrons a chance to connect in person while discovering new games and rediscovering old favorites.

Fransen conspired to bring this experience to Tulsa. After a year and a half of hosting pop-up events and visiting board game cafés across the U.S., he opened Shuffles Board Game Café in 2018. Today, it is a beloved meeting spot in downtown Tulsa.

“There are so many places to go and play board games,” says Fransen. “But there aren’t very many board game cafés. It’s the combination of the food, coffee, and booze—and having everything in one space—that’s the draw.”

Located on the eastern edge of the Tulsa Arts District, Shuffles serves everything from local craft brews and cocktails to wraps and charcuterie boards.

More uniquely, it’s home to a rotating collection of more than a thousand games, including classic titles like Yahtzee, Catan, and Risk, as well as acclaimed newcomers like Scythe and Wingspan.

Curating a library this big is a time-consuming venture. But Fransen, who completed his undergraduate degree at Oklahoma State University before beginning a PhD. in mathematics at University of Kansas, has a mind for numbers, systems, and strategies.

“It’s a restaurant with a lot of moving parts,” says Fransen. “It is a lot of work, so I have all kinds of systems and processes, even for how the games flow through Shuffles and how we organize them and all that.”

Thanks in part to crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, there are more options than ever gaming-wise, with more than three thousand board games released each year. That means titles constantly filter in and out of Shuffles as it keeps up with new releases.

Brandon Collins, the junior high band director for Coweta Public Schools, spearheads the effort to find and buy new games. Fransen also employs a game librarian who regularly checks the collection to make sure it’s well maintained and up to date on the Shuffles website.

“We have an amazing curation of games that we’ve kind of percolated or distilled down to this really big collection,” says Fransen, noting that new games start in the “hot game” section of the library, where they stay until newer ones arrive.

A game of Azul is more enjoyable alongside a Truffle Shuffle pizza with sweet pepper bacon. Photo by Valerie Wei-Haas

Though strategically designed with gaming cubes, a loft area, and gaming tables and chairs invented by Fransen himself, the space is warm and accessible—perfect for enjoying fried pickles made with Shuffles’ own fermented cucumbers, chicken and waffles, crispy potstickers served with house-made dipping sauce, and more.

Open to people of all ages, Shuffles also serves sodas, mocktails, and milkshakes—including the Twenty Dollar Shake with a double shot of espresso, Jameson, and Irish crème liqueur. Super fans also may quench their thirst with Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Star Trek liquid homages including adult butterbeer with vodka, butterscotch liqueur, and cream soda.

For Fransen, an atmosphere of openness is the foundation for the café’s success. After almost being driven out of business by the COVID-19 pandemic, he says people are returning in full force—and not just from Oklahoma.

“I often get people from Dallas, Kansas City, northwest Arkansas, and Missouri that come to Tulsa to come to Shuffles,” he says. “They spend the whole day here, and they tell me their stories.”

These days, Fransen is fine-tuning Shuffles, working to revamp the website and find new ways to recommend games. In the long term, he’s working toward franchising the café and bringing it to other parts of the country. In the meantime, the Shuffles team members are continuing to spread the love of tabletop gaming to people across northeastern Oklahoma.

“Once someone starts going on the game, it’s just like when you were a kid or when you game with friends,” says Fransen. “It’s always a good time. I mean—barring the times where people are playing Risk and getting mad at each other.”

Written By

Caleb Freeman