By Casey Rochette

“I came to Mission Hill many times on my own, just to see what the neighborhood was like,” said Nicholas Chen, 23. “I liked all the people walking around and driving up and down this [Tremont] street.”

A recent graduate of Boston University, Chen received a degree in Sound Design for Theater in May of 2017.

Two years later he’s opening an interactive board game bar and café playfully named Tavern of Tales.

“I came up with this idea while doing research for my thesis. I wanted to create a board game with sound effects,” said Chen. “Our ‘Board Game Bar’ is trying to be different than other board game cafés in the Boston area.”

Chen said Tavern of Tales will be an immersive experience. With six individual game rooms, the café will allow participants to play classic board games with new additions such as custom narratives and story elements. Both Chen and script writer J.P. will develop the games. They’re currently working on a horror game that they say will be “adrenaline filled.”

One thing Chen noticed, when scouting out locations, was the great amount of traffic on Huntington and Columbus Avenues, but not through Mission Hill. “I share the vision that the owner of the building has. We want to attract people deeper into Mission Hill… and to attract more attention to this part of the neighborhood,” said Chen.

Although he isn’t a resident of Mission Hill, Chen hopes to create a new space for nightlife and for students in the neighborhood. He calls it, “the perfect location.”

About this project 

The Scope’s student journalists spoke with community members in Mission Hill. #MissionHill100 is a collection of their stories.