Get ready for a Sheffield gaming Christmas!

December has arrived! As the giant tinsel machine cranks up to full speed, here’s a low-down on all the great stuff on offer at your favourite local gaming businesses this season.

From shops bursting with gift ideas for the game lovers in your life, to uniquely fun party venues, Sheffield’s gaming venues have it all…

Patriot Games

Patriot Games is Sheffield’s largest and longest-running tabletop gaming store, so their venue on Mary Street makes a great first stop on your Christmas shopping run.

Board games are an integral part of Christmas for many families, but it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and play the same thing every year. Why not get some advice from the expert team at Patriot and try something new this year? Plus, for every purchase in December you can earn stamps to claim money back in January for a bonus future treat down the line!

If you prefer to shop online, you can order for home delivery too, and gift vouchers are available to buy online here.

The Treehouse board game café

Whether you’re after a venue for a festive family gathering, a way to test drive board games before you buy, or a spot of nerdy Christmas shopping, The Treehouse has you covered!

A popular Christmas party spot, The Treehouse offers bookings for up to 20 people, with games for all ages, abilities and levels of tipsiness in their library of over 800 titles. The decorations are up and the mulled wine is flowing, along with the usual craft beer, coffees and milkshakes, and a full food menu to keep you going while you play.

They also have a shop stocked with several hundred games chosen to suit every audience, including lots of smaller boxes that make great Secret Santa gifts and stocking fillers.

Click here to book a table or here to browse their shop online, and find gift vouchers online here.

The National Videogame Museum

The National Video Game Museum is an ideal family day out over the school holidays, with lots of hands-on fun to keep gamers of all ages entertained for hours. The current Art of Play exhibition is fantastic, and their museum shop is packed full of geeky gifts for videogamers.

Did you know you can also book the whole venue for an unforgettable Christmas party in the evenings during during December? The NVM private hire packages give you and your group the run of the whole museum for two hours, with over 100 playable videogames to keep you entertained. The perfect pairing with dinner next door at Kommune, perhaps?

If you’re not able to visit this Christmas, you can show your support for this fantastic institution by giving NVM gift-vouchers to any Sheffield-based gamers in your life so they can go and experience all if has to offer in their own time. Buy them online here.

Extra Life Gaming Lounge

If you need to recharge while slogging round the shops this season, Extra Life Gaming Lounge is the perfect refuge from the festive madness! Recharge your batteries while enjoying some games as well as some tasty treats from their awesome Christmas menu, available all day, every day throughout December.

You might even tick off a few more presents while you’re there from their gift shop, selling gaming-themed travel mugs, pin badges, key chains, prints and much more besides.

If you’d like to treat someone to a future visit, Extra Life gift vouchers are available too - just pop in and ask, or message in advance via their Facebook page/ give them a call on 07450 299140 to make sure they’re ready for you to collect.

The Great Escape

With a fully-stocked bar and great Christmas catering packages, The Great Escape is hard to beat as a fun and memorable venue for a Christmas party. Their current range of games includes everything from thrillingly terrifying escape rooms, to a wizard-themed puzzle adventure, so there’s something for all tastes.

If you’re looking for present ideas, Great Escape gift vouchers can be bought online here.

Meltdown Sheffield

There’s loads going on at Meltdown this season, with a whole extra gaming area just opened, and a brand new booking system now up and running so you can make sure there’s a table ready for your group if you want to feature some gaming and cocktails in your Christmas night out.

They’ve got some awesome events coming up too, including the Meltdown Christmas party on Friday 23rd December (Christmas jumpers strongly encouraged), and their New Year’s Eve extravaganza ‘Party Like it’s Y2K’, featuring all the best 90s-00s tunes, beer pong, jello shots, and ‘Millenium bug’ drinks offers - all-in-all, an awesome nostalgia-fest to kick off 2023!