Edinburgh Board Game Library
Borrow 500+ board games for a tiny annual fee – the ultimate try-before-you-buy experience for game lovers.
Photos
About
If you're strolling down Nicolson Street in Edinburgh, don't miss the unassuming door of the Southside Community Centre. Head inside, go straight through the main doors, and you'll find Room 2 transformed into a board game lover's paradise. The Edinburgh Board Game Library is a volunteer-run lending library with over 500 games stacked on new shelves – from modern classics to hidden gems. Grab a membership (£25 regular, £15 concession) and borrow up to four games at a time for up to two weeks. Pro tip: they're only open Thursdays 6–8pm, so plan your visit and maybe browse the inventory online beforehand. It's the perfect way to test a game before buying, and the community vibe is genuinely welcoming.
Facilities
Community Venue
Edinburgh Board Game Library is a community venue located inside the Southside Community Centre in Edinburgh, open every Thursday from 6 to 8 pm, offering a board game lending library service where members can borrow hundreds of games, run by volunteers.
Board Games
Edinburgh Board Game Library is a volunteer-led library where members can borrow from a large collection of board games to take home and play. Membership costs £25 per year (regular) or £15 (concession), and the library is open every Thursday from 6-8 PM at the Southside Community Centre.
Full Description
Edinburgh Board Game Library is a volunteer-led lending library located inside the Southside Community Centre at 117 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9ER. The library is housed in Room 2: enter the centre, go straight through the main doors opposite, and Room 2 is down the corridor on the right. It is open every Thursday from 6pm to 8pm only; all other days it is closed. The library is wheelchair accessible. Membership is required to borrow games. There are two membership options: Regular membership at £25 per year and Concession membership at £15 per year (for those in full-time education, receiving benefits, or aged 65+). Both tiers provide full access to the entire collection. Members can borrow up to 4 board games at a time for a borrowing period of up to 14 days (the website also mentions 7 or 14 days). The library's inventory contains over 500 board games (the website claims 500+ and growing, though an older source mentions over 200). Reservations can be made online through the myTurn system at https://edinburghboardgamelibrary.myturn.com/library/inventory/browse, and online booking is available. The library is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run organisation. Its stated aims are: to increase access to board games regardless of income, to introduce board games to new audiences, to allow people to try board games before deciding to buy them, and to normalise sharing as a step towards a more circular economy. The library offers gift memberships. Contact details: email hello@edinburghboardgamelibrary.org.uk, phone +442072474114. Social media: Instagram (@edinburghboardgamelibrary) and Facebook. Website: http://www.edinburghboardgamelibrary.org.uk/. The website uses cookies for analytics and functional purposes (details omitted for brevity). Parking in the area is paid street parking (no free parking options). Although the discovered attributes include details of EV charging points (15 Type 2 socket-only chargers, 7 kW each, at a different location – St James Square – and operated by POD Point), these appear unrelated to the library itself. The library has a 5-star rating based on 4 user reviews and is listed as OPERATIONAL with a Google Maps URI. The locality is Southside/Newington, Edinburgh.
117 Nicolson Street c/o, Room 2, Southside Community Centre, 117 Nicolson St, Edinburgh EH8 9ER, UK
Southside/Newington
EH8 9ER