At the top of the Leith Walk, huddled among the independent book shops and coffee shops of that famous strip, sits one of Edinburgh’s hidden gems. Ancient Robot Games. Its black, almost Gothic exterior and giant floor-to-ceiling windows running along the front and side of the shop feel a striking contrast to the usual dark and dingy boardgame shops in cities the world over.
A few days ago I had the opportunity to sit down with Dougal Freir, founder of Ancient Robot Games, to try and decipher what makes this shop so unique. It is, after all, a hub for board gamers around Edinburgh and its unique success as a shop and a social hub may indicate a growing trend within the community.
So let’s get started.
First of all, thank you for meeting with me.
Of course.
Let’s start at the beginning. How did Ancient Robot Games begin?
Well the shop came about because I was working behind the scenes in board games and I got chatting with the guy who was about to open a bookshop here in Leith called Argonaut Books. And after a two hour conversation he gave me a job with the prerequisite that I could do some board game nights.
Well, they were packed. We had forty people every two weeks. And that became every week. And eventually Adam’s [owner of Argonaut Books] back room became filled with my board games. Anyway, one day I walked past this place and I noticed it was empty and I went, ‘that would be really great as a place for board games’. You don’t see many board game shops with big windows and natural light.
Also there was no big board game shops down this end of the city. So I got chatting with my friend who ran some of the board game section in Blackwells on the other side of the city. Morgan, was his name. And I said, ‘hey, wouldn’t it be cool if I had a board game shop here? Would you want to come and work for it?’ And he went, ‘yes.’
Then I talked with a few people and the bank and the next week I came to him and said, ‘right, it’s happening.’ It’s one of the very few things in my life where I just closed my eyes and ran. And once I had some contract down with money and stuff I didn’t have a choice. Let’s get it done.
And what was the idea behind it?
So for me it was this thing of I wanted a place to play with other people, I wanted other people to have that space too. I think that’s the biggest difficulty in getting into board games. Where do I do it? How do I do it? With whom? Meeting new people is such a big difficulty in a city like Edinburgh that has so many people coming and going.
But I do think board gaming is a much more accessible hobby than it has ever been. For so long there was this mentality that your beard must be a certain length and you must smell a bit weird, or you’ve got to go downstairs in some sort of dungeon to play these games. You know what I mean? There were times when you go to a board game cafe and you have to go down those stairs into this basement and it’s musty and there is no one who can help you.
Fair enough. And the name?
I got advice from Adam at Argonaut books – Adam taught me so much about running a small business. And his advice was it doesn’t matter what you name it. People will very quickly attach a name to what it is in your mind so you don’t have to care much.
But I wanted to name it right. And I am a massive nerd. I love Studio Gibli, Laputa [Castle in the Sky], the Iron Giant, you know, that older style of things. With the plants, being able to have plants here attached to the idea of ancient robots. And then it happened that Argonaut Books, one of the things that protected Argo in the books is Talos who was one of the ancient robots. And so as soon as you add those together we have the name.
And that mural above the till. It’s very striking.
So that was Ross MacRae, a local graffiti artist who has done some amazing murals. He came in and did that in three days. There was just going to be a logo on a white wall but this is one hundred times better. And our logo artist Charley Lion, she is absolutely amazing. So it’s one of those things where it all was… I’m a very lucky person and it seems like that luck established itself here in a massive way. So it was six months between thinking I should have a board game shop to the board game shop being open.
What year was that?
2022. October 2022 was when we had the idea and then we were open in March 2023.
That’s quite the turnaround. Now, what’s interesting here is that this is a shop, yes. But it’s also sort of a café. Does that work?
[When we opened] I was very, very scared because there is a bus stop directly outside, and we’re serving coffee. And I really didn’t want this to just become a coffee shop. I did work in hospitality for a while but it’s not a focus or a particular joy of mine.
But weirdly enough it never happened. People come to play the board games and the coffee is something they can have as well. It’s nice having a nice coffee while you’re playing games. We also do all our bookings for the library online which helps, so usually people will come in knowing they’re here [to play games].
And to be honest, caffeine is there to keep me going as much as to do with anyone else.
Oh, I hear that. Let’s talk about the community. It’s clear that they are is such a big part of this. Talk to me a little about that?
The community has attached itself here in the best, most positive way. And it’s all the disparate parts coming together that makes me so happy. Because I do think a lot of people restrict themselves to their type of game and to be honest I was worried about that here. But we’ve had Warhammer people crossover with Magic the Gathering people crossover with their families that they’re bringing in to play board games. There is this real sense of friendliness that I wanted to foster and I didn’t know how but it’s kind of happened underneath my nose without me even knowing what I did to make it happen.
Every week someone comes in who’s like, ‘I’m here to play Warhammer with so and so. This is my first time.’ Or someone’s like, ‘hey I want to play Warhammer’ and someone else is like, ‘oh amazing, I brought a spare army, you can join us.’ Or someone will come in and say, ‘I’ve never played DnD before but I keep seeing it on TV and want to give it a go.’ And they’re welcomed in. We had someone play their first ever RPG in the shop within the first couple months of us opening and they now write RPG modules as part of their job. And it’s really cool. And that’s why it’s so important to have so many aspects of the hobby in the shop.
And why do you think the community here is so open?
When we opened the shop, the goal was to do the opposite of gatekeeping. To never talk down to people. Because if someone doesn’t know, there should be no reason why they should know.
We also talk to people about the games that we sell. People come in and ask us questions and to have those answers is really important. I think a big thing about me personally is I don’t want to have any games in the shop that I don’t like… Maybe that’s not the right word. But games that I cannot see why someone would enjoy. You know? So the board games here are heavily curated and that means I never have to feel bad about selling anyone anything. I know everything here is good and if it’s something you’re interested in, I can tell you. And that fosters a kind of trust.
Also, and this sounds strange, but the light and openness of the space. You don’t get lost in a dark corner here and the staff can help and answer questions and you don’t just go onto BoardGameGeek and go, ‘oh, this isn’t for me’ without actually knowing anything about the game.
But honestly, the community has done this themselves. I think when they realised there was a space set up, they jumped in. Because Leith is heavily populated with young professionals and it has a very local feel that is only growing. You don’t get many big chains here. It’s mostly small, independent shops, and I think there’s a big community feel to that.
That sounds like a great setup. Any advice for new players looking to get stuck in? Maybe people who have just moved to Edinburgh?
Join game nights. Every Wednesday we have open board gaming as long as you get a ticket. And the thing is we just want to cover staff costs. It’s not about making a huge amount of money. So right now it’s £4 for the night. Because we don’t want people to not be able to afford to have fun. That’s a great way to meet new people. And for an awful lot of people it’s just great to have an activity they can do with their friends that isn’t just sitting in a pub and chatting.
Also just come in and chat with us. There is never a prerequisite that you need to ever buy anything. It’s a place to be part of the industry as much as possible. It’s a lovely area so go to the book shop, grab a coffee, and then come in for a chat. It’s easy to be scared off by the overwhelming amount of different games that are out there, but there are different things out there for a reason. And there are entry level games. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. Cockroach Poker. These may mean nothing to you but they are games we can teach people within two minutes. You will understand all of the rules and it’s about the people you’re playing with. So yeah, come down with your family to check us out. See if it works. Come with your partner. And if you live on the other side of the city we can point you towards other places. There are a lot of great board game shops Edinburgh.
We want to make the barrier to entry as low as possible. So I think it’s just a case of doing what I did for the shop: close your eyes and run.
Any advice for others in the board game trade?
Oh, interesting. Well I had someone come in and say they were doing the same sort of thing in a different place and ask, ‘what is the biggest thing?’ And it’s really interesting because I think so many game shops feel the way we didn’t want our game shop to feel due to people loving games, who have opened the shops. They love the games but as with every business, it’s a people business. Yes, I love the games. I will go in-depth into how much I love the games. But I love the people more. And I think that’s the biggest thing that builds community, that makes the shop feel welcoming. It’s not about how much I know about games, it’s about being able to relate to people and if you like people then you’re sorted.
Very well put. Okay, final question: what games in your library would you say are must tries?
Oh, that’s too tricky. It depends on who you’re playing with and what you enjoy. There is a reason for every game in that library.
Fine. How about any interesting new ones?
Hmmm. I think Iliad by Reiner Knizia is a brilliant game. It’s the first of the Mythos saga and is about Greek mythology. It’s a two player game lasting under 45 minutes. Iliad is spectacular and really, really clever and a game I think I can play forever. I always say giving Brother, Why? by Hive Mind a shot. It’s fantastic. You play as one of the old monks who drew the really weird medieval pictures that you have in the old bibles, you know the ones with snails or the cat with a human face. And the idea is the head monk comes up to you and asks you to explain why you drew this weird thing and you have to take the drawing and a real proverb from the bible and try and argue why a snail might have anything to do with perjury. It’s very fun.
I also have a few interesting games from Japan that you can’t get here so if you want to play those. Cat Poker. Really straightforward. Very cool. Twinkle Twinkle Starship. A trick taking game but using a seven-segment display. Just mindbogglingly crazy.
Intriguing. Well, I guess that’s a good place to end. To anybody reading, if you want to check out some great new games you can’t get in the UK, head to Ancient Robot Games. Thank you so much, Dougal for taking the time.
Of course. Thank you.
As a way of giving back to the community that has done so much for the shop, Dougal Frier has also created the co-working space Ancient Robot Workshop. Ancient Robot Workshop is a community interest company set up as an economically sustainable space for board game and RPG designers who are currently working on their next project. With the goal of promoting Edinburgh as a creative hub for board game design, the space is equipped with all the gear needed to create your own game – as well as playtesting evenings to work out the kinks.
