Coralville · Board game cafe
Diversions Tabletop Game Lounge
A Coralville game lounge where you pay one flat fee and can play any of their 500+ board and card games all day. Free on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Private areas available if your group wants more space.
- Phone
- (319) 519-6900
- Address
- 119 2nd St, Suite 300
Coralville, IA 52241 - Site
- diversionsic.com
What they do
Diversions is a tabletop game lounge on 2nd Street in Coralville, a few minutes from downtown Iowa City. Nolan Petersen and Sean Finn opened it in April 2025. Basically, it’s a comfortable spot to hang out with your friends while trying out some of their 500+ board & card games.
You pay $8 for a pass that lasts all day and you can grab whatever games you want from the shelves. There are quick and easy game guides printed out to help you quickly select a game that fits your group. You can even test out the whole experience for free on Wednesdays and Thursdays. There are more private areas that you can reserve if your group wants to stretch out. If you want some snacks or drinks while you’re playing, they sell those as well as some retail games, local art, stickers, and gifts.
You don’t have to clean up your house or play the same tired games from your own collection. Instead, you can have game night at Diversions and try out their ever-expanding collection. They also run regular events — learn-to-play nights, Pathfinder/Starfinder, bingo, socials — check their calendar to see what’s coming up soon.
Good to know
- Over 500 games and puzzles
- Free gaming Wednesday and Thursday
- Private rooms available
- Snacks, drinks, and retail gifts
- Closed Mon–Tue; Wed–Thu 4–10 p.m., Fri 2–11 p.m., Sat 11 a.m.–11 p.m., Sun 2–11 p.m.
On a personal note
Diversions is inviting to first timers, the staff will walk you through the selection and help you pick something that fits your group. I liked how easy it was to search through their entire library on the computer and filter games by certain criteria. This game lounge provides another option for you to connect with the people you know somewhere other than a coffee shop or bar. If you’ve got people who say they want to hang out but never know what to do, this solves that problem. It’s still relatively new, but the core idea is simple: show up, grab a table, and play your favorite games or something new with friends.
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