A new Hudson eatery called House Rules Cafe is tapping into a fun and playful trend that's just starting to reach our region. It's a tabletop game cafe with elevated cafe fare and a stacked shelf of games, both old and new. Owner Kathleen Miller is a self-proclaimed "board game sommelier," with an innate ability to pair people and games. She even likens it to curating wines, which she did for five years at Hudson Wine Merchants. So it's no surprise that the name of her cafe pays homage to games themselves, using the term in the same way that players create their own house rules during game play to make imbalanced situations more equal or to set constraints on winning strategies.

The cafe opens on April 29, coinciding with Geek & Sundry's International Tabletop Day, but it's already being embraced by the community. Miller and her staff have hosted a number of events to introduce people to the concept, and she's also started a Kickstarter campaign to help her raise funds to get the place open for business.

There are a handful of board game cafes around the country, and each one has its own unique feel and flair. Miller's goal is to make House Rules something that's "a bit like a diner, a bit like a family restaurant and a bit like a coffee shop. For more details please visit houserulescafe.com

The idea is that patrons will pay a daily or weekly fee and hang out in the lounge, playing all the games they want for as long as they want. They'll be able to snack on comfort food like grilled cheese and roasted chickpeas, sip on Thrive Farmers coffee and enjoy milkshakes made with Ronnybrook dairy products and Jeni's Ice Cream.