Jess Monsey, B-W resident and co-owner of the new game-playing business, The Paladins League in Beaumont Village, is passionate about tabletop games — the kind you played as a kid or with your kids or friends on a rainy day. She’s also a big believer in games as a way to help families and neighbors connect.
“I believe in the power of games,” says Monsey.
She and her husband Bob had been talking about doing something like this for over a dozen years.
When the duo made the decision to launch their business, Monsey’s first call was to Miles English, the owner of Puddletown Games & Puzzles, also in Beaumont Village.
“I didn’t want to compete with Puddletown,” she says. “So, we worked out a way to help each other.”
She and Bob opened their business shortly after Thanksgiving last year. The business, named after the good guys in Dungeons & Dragons, is located at 4765 NE Fremont St., a space formerly filled by Deeply Rooted, a vegan sports bar, and earlier by Alameda Brewhouse.
Upon entry to Paladins, customers are greeted with a big game-playing room with tables and food and beverage counters. Above, a flock of colorful pendants gives the high-ceilinged place the look of a medieval castle.
But the heart of its 4,000-square-foot space is a library chock-full of games: Don’t Break the Ice, Cootie, Risk, Root, Catan, Klask, Biñho, Chess, Clue, Go, Mahjong, D&D, Monopoly, and many more. Customers buy a $5 per person “game pass” to play.
Monsey — who is no stranger to business as a former president and managing director at Portland ad agency Wieden & Kennedy — signed the lease in May 2024 and moved as fast as she could to make it a family-friendly destination for the neighborhood, including her own two kids, aged “almost 10 and 12.”
“It’s all about playfulness, imagination, and bringing people together.”
“I want to help people play new games and rediscover the ones they love the most.”
The Paladins League offers food and drink, too, along the lines of popcorn, mac & cheese, burgers, milkshakes, ice cream, and Italian sodas. Alcohol is available, but isn’t a priority.
The Paladins League is open Tuesday through Sunday; hours are varied. The business is closed on Mondays, except for special events. For more details visit thepaladinsleague.com.
Chris Rauber and his wife, Kim Williams, moved to Portland and B-W in the summer of 2022 after many years in the San Francisco Bay Area. He worked as a journalist at the S.F. Business Times and other publications. He was born in Oregon.