Pizzeria Ludica

A hidden gem for people who like table top games and fresh, tasty, well made Italian food.

Ludica combines two things I love: games and pizza. In a nutshell, this is a casual restaurant that features wood fired pizzas and other Italian delicacies that can be enjoyed while your party plays one of the hundreds of table (board) games from Ludica's library of games.

First, the food. Pizza is top notch. Thin rustic style crispy crust from the wood oven that is piled high with fresh toppings. They have a nice variety of pizzas with many vegetarian options, classic styles, and their own game inspired creations. The menu also included a variety of salads, appys, and pasta. Local craft beers and Italian sodas are among the choices of beverage. Prices are also very reasonable. On food alone, I would rate Ludica 4 stars.

Now, for the games. Ludica has a lot of games. I consider myself a bit of a game aficionado, having well over 100 games of my own and having played at least another hundred in my circle of gaming friends. Most games that I would want to play over dinner are in the Ludica library.
Mainstream classics like Jenga and Connect Four? Check.
Well known party games like Scattegories and Taboo? Check.
Muchkin? Check.
Cards against Humanity? Check.
Where the collection really shines though is for people like myself that prefer family strategy, euro, or modern board games. Games like Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, and Dominion. Ludica has the games that gamers will know how to play, but I also noticed some out of print and less well known gems like Union Pacific and Ubongo. If you are reading this list of games and don't recognize anything past Taboo, that's OK. Ludica has game stewards and stewardesses to suggest games for you and give you a quick tutorial on how to play.
The added fun factor of being able to enjoy a game with friends and family instead of being distracted by TVs and smart devices is excellent and gives Ludica an extra star in my book.

I also love the decor and little gamer touches. Maps of Power Grid and Diplomacy framed as wall art (I want this in my game room), Carcassonne beer coasters, and Scattegories folders for bill folios.

I wish the owners would figure out a way to squeeze in a few more tables.

Next time you are in Vancouver and are looking for something different and fun in your evening, try Ludica.

Great selection of boardgames, scan the QR code if you want a handy excel sheet that lists all the boardgames by category and difficulty level. Pizza was good as well. Drinks were very reasonably priced compared to other places. Service was attentive, they allowed us to stay for 4 hours if there weren’t people waiting for tables, really appreciated that.

The best board game place (try crokinole!) and the best pesto pasta in Canada! Not to mention the kindest, most caring service! One day I hope to learn the secret to your pesto, nothing else is like it.

Really delicious place for personal pizzas. They have lots of options for any dietary restrictions. Cute patio outside for great people watching too! I had the spinach and artichoke pizza.

The $17 margherita pizza I ordered had almost no basil. We were also charged a dollar each, just to borrow small plates, and a lighter from them to cut ourselves the birthday cake we brought ourselves. No staff lit the candles or did anything special for us. I regretful tipped them generously for their poor food quality, and over charging their customer over nothing. The new westminster location was better, they actually had large fresh basil on it.

Love this little gem! Wish we had something this cozy in Bellingham. The high quality customer service, the best pizza I’ve had in years, and the board games make it worth a look.

Amazing atmosphere. It is great to be amongst so many people enjoying table top games and eating amazing pizza. Definitely a place I will continue to visit. The pizza options are many and there is something for everyone.

Wonderful pizza! They have a fantastic gluten free thin crust! Wood fired. If you eat there they have like 700 board games! Super laid back and worth a visit.

Ludica
A great pizzeria place to visit for beer & pizza. There’s a wall of various board games to play. There’s a nice variety of pizza alternatives for the vegan & vegetarian pizza lover. Both the Caesar salad and arugula salad were tasty!

The prices are very reasonable along with decent size portions. Their pizzas are about 6 slices in total. A great place to dine pre or post game at Rogers Arena or BC place. Near Stadium skytrain station. Parking’s a challenge. We dined outside on a beautiful summer evening.

I love this place. You can play various board games while enjoying the delicious pizzas which are big in portion and are relatively cheap. My favorite was the spinach and chicken one.
I also loved the cheese breadsticks and most of the cocktails (expect the love letter which had a bit of bitter almond /cherry flavor)
A must go with a big group of friends!

Beau petit restaurant avec une grande sélection de jeux de table pour enfants à partir de 6 ans environ. Bonne pizza aussi! Nous sommes arrivés à l'ouverture et avons réussi à entrer une poussette.

They are amazing! Best pizza ever, best staff, best game. We spend an amazing night with our friends there. The only problem which is not related to them was parking. There was a public parking right beside them but we have to spend 25$! For that because there were some kind of event in downtown that night.

An interesting concept to have board games with your dinner! It's a small cozy place with a shelf of games and some themed dishes with mainly a pizza & pasta menu. The service is friendly and the food & drink hearty and in large portions. You grab your own games to play and while the selection isn't huge, you'll probably still find something to play. Eating while playing a game might be a bit difficult if you are at a smaller table but otherwise a cool place to check out. I wouldn't be able to eat & play games myself at home so it was fun to experience it here!

I was there couple times with friends to play board games, have fun and enjoy good pizza. I recommend the place

They have a mouse problem. I thought I was getting a footsy, but it turned out to be a panicked mice that ran into my foot. No retribution was given till I asked if I can get a discount. They gave me 15% off. Food is pretty good though.

Personally would not visit again.

One gripe. The 2 hour time limit. Look I get it you need people moving, but I went with a friend and they wouldn’t let us move to a bigger table to have enough room for our pizza and game and so that with the 2 hour limit made it a struggle to get through the game. 40$ between the two of us for 2 hours didn’t seem super fun, I think in future the way to do it is just to share a dessert. Loved the game amount though!

Great place to dine in, chill vibes and a huge selection of board games. I loved the pizza dough.

Great place. Good collection of boardgames and very good at accommodating allergies. The chickpea crust is without gluten/soy/dairy/eggs and they can subsyitude with Daiya cheese.

Good Pizza, friendly sevice and the best atmosphere for board games that are provided with great variation to choose from

Great pizza and board games. The highlight here is being able to eat pizza and drink while playing boardgames. Literally hundreds of games to choose from. A fun evening.

The food was delicious and the service was fantastic! Loved the two different gluten free crust options, we had to try both and were not disappointed. We didn't play any of the games but were impressed by the selection.

Only restaurant in town with an open board game library. Lots of games to choose from. Good food and good service.

The pizza is delicious but the tartufo is a bit underwhelming. It tasted pretty much like plain ice cream to me.

UPDATE - I was able to talk with Darryl the owner who reassured me that their policy is to check IDs and vaccine status. Hopefully his staff will be more diligent going forward.

This location is not checking vaccine status or ID. After being seated, it took 20 minutes before anyone even talked to us. One waitress serving the entire restaurant. When the food finally came it was barely edible. No flavor at all. College kids playing board games at every table and without disinfecting between patrons. Dirty games being passed around between strangers during a pandemic, after status not being checked. Disgusting!

Avoid this place.

Holy moly there are so many games here! I’ll take one “Ticket to Ride” right back to Pizzeria Ludica! Didn’t order dinner but had two phenomenal desserts and the beer was fantastic!

I love the concept of the board games, it is so fun to just sit down with company and play games while eating instead of going on our phones and awkwardly thinking of things to talk about. I went with a few friends the other night and we had lots of fun. However, the service was very lacking and the pizza was pretty bad. We ordered the BAT (Bacon Arugula Tomato) pizza and first off, there was barely any tomato sauce. It was like a thiiiin layer that basically disappeared in the oven. They need to put a lot more sauce for it to taste like a normal pizza. There was also shaved parmesan cheese on top which tasted extremely strong. I usually like parmesan cheese but this really overpowered the taste of the pizza and quite honestly tasted like feet. I had to pick off the cheese and even then, I still tasted it a bit on the pizza. Maybe the other pizzas are better but this one was quite awful. The service was also not great. I understand it was a very busy night but there were 3 servers in a pretty small restaurant. I asked for napkins and we didn't receive it until like 15 minutes later when the food came, and we needed the napkins at the time that we asked. Also I asked for a to-go box for my food, and we never got it so when I went to ask one of the servers, she just told me to get it myself. They need to work on equal service for all the customers. I will come here again for the games but I'm hoping there are better menu items.

The pizza here is disgusting. Stopped here for a take away order and spent $50 for the most awful pizza I've ever had. Go to Panago, play a board game at home and save your money. The staff here were perfectly nice but the food was so horrible I can never go back.

Yummy, thin crusted dinner fare with rustic charm in a friendly and low key atmosphere. This place has board games for all kinds of people, numbering in the hundreds most likely, making this a one stop shop for good times and homestyle bites.

My only beef was that the latte I had would have been better if the espresso were stronger. The beverage tasted watered down somehow.

Otherwise, what a great dine out experience!

Great food and great service! I definitely recommend the vegan pepperoni for any fellow vegetarian. There is a huge variety of board games to try, so you'll never be bored here.

So fun to hang out with friends and I love that the board games are very well organized! Not a huge fan of the food, but will still come back for the games

Played a few games had some pizza.it was delicious, and a great time. They didn’t enforce the 2 hour limit because it was near the end anyways.

2nd time I’ve been there, would recommend

Went with a large group of friends. While we really enjoyed the board games, we unanimously agreed that their pizzas are absolutely horrible. For example, the pesto chicken pizza was EXTREMELY salty that we didn’t even want to take another bite. On the arugula and prosciutto pizza, they were really stingy on the arugula compared to literally any other pizza joint. Overall the concept is great, but please step up your game on the food!

The pasta's were nothing impressive. The games are fun and the ambience is great. The chicken for the pasta came out straight from the microwave. Overall, if you are going there make sure you don't get the pasta. The pizza is delicious though.

Good selection of games. Great food selection, including gluten free and vegan. The staff was also very nice. It was different than other board game cafes I've been to, where you pay to play.

Wow! Our new favorite hangout downtown with the kids! All the food and dessert are incredible! Kids loved the board games and gelato, and the prices were very reasonable. Can't say enough great things about this restaurant!

Pizza is really good. The crust is an excellent consistency. Lots of good games, comfortable atmosphere. There is a time limit on the tables Soni would suggest going early or be prepared to wait a bit.

This is a pretty great place to come play some board games and eat reasonable good food and drinks. The line can be long so I suggest you go earlier if you can or make reservations.

Yuck. $20 with tip yuck. Tiny portion. Undercooked. No sauce. Bacon fat pieces. Little bit of parm cheese. No evidence of egg or cream on menu description.
Looks like someone puked in a takeout container. Gross. Refused a refund, but offered some cream sauce with a half hour wait lol. No thanks. Never again.
Just don’t.

The pizza here is surprisingly good! The mushrooms have the best flavor. Crust a good chew. Good quality cheese and just the right amount of tomato sauce.

The pizza was unreal. Its spicy, crunchy, meaty. PERFECT! I find myself trying to find reasons to go that far from where I live, just so we can go back.

The place was reasonably occupied but the appetizers were brought with the food. The appetizers were cold (there was freshly made bread with them) but I was expecting them before the main dish. The board games was a really good distraction.

This place is great to be able to try out games and discover new favourites. Their games are categorized and well organized. It is hard though to fit pizza and games on the small table.

Great concept, great service. Not clear on stay limit as sign in store says 2hrs but owner response to previous review says 2.5-3 depending on crowd. Overall, I appreciate that we were not rushed. Game collection is ok compared to other places but sufficient. Food was pretty good but pricey. I am visiting from out of town and wanted to visit twice but given the cost of food, I decided to not come back a second time on this trip.

Love coming to this place for a casual get together with friends! I've had a few staff parties here as well! They have hundreds of board games to choose from and delicious pizza and pasta! Prices are very reasonable. They also categorize their games so you know which ones are good for groups/which ones take longer etc. It can get pretty busy on the weekends, so make sure you book a table. They do keep some some tables open for walk ins, but it can get pretty busy on the weekends, so make sure you book a table.

Great place to go for a social night. Food is fairly good and they have a great selection of games. I would not recommend the desserts as they are a major letdown. Also, it was very annoying that we had multiple people let us know every 5 minutes that our time was coming to an end.

Really good Pizza with vegan cheese substituted at no extra cost. Not a lot of options for vegans but enough to keep you happy. Took away one star as service wasn’t great. I felt more of a bother when I first arrived but they did appear friendlier towards the end. Didn’t enjoy the games but tons of people were eating, drinking and playing games. Cool place to spend an evening with some friends.

Generous pasta serving. Nothing fancy. Plates and utensils are still wet, one plate has bits of stuck hardened food.

Homey ambiance but a bit dated. There is a greasy feel inside.

A great place to dine and hangout! Food is really good and they have a wonderful service. My personal favorite is their Tiramisu, do try it!

Really fun place, tons of awesome games for for a variety of interests, staff are knowledgeable about a lot of games, great pizza. Was not a big fan of the pasta though. Make reservations to get seats!

They said the wait is around 30 mins and they will call us when there's seat. We waited for an hour, no call. We went back to check what's the situation.lots of empty tables. They just totally forgot about us yay

Poor service from the staff. Table wobbled 3" - staff just watched as we tried to level it, offering no help. Forgot our orders, had to ask for basics like napkins and coasters. Forced to move tables, and told the others were reserved, yet for the 5 hours we were there no one showed to claim them. At the time, it was not busy at all, maybe 3-4 tables occupied, and 6 free.
Game selection was OK, missing a few notable games that can easily be played under 2 hours.
Worst thing was the service in general - I get that there is a limit, and we left, came back, and ordered more food and a beer to square it. What was annoying was that we were told we had 45 minutes left, then 20 (when we actually had 25), then told we had only 15 minutes and had to close out tab immediately? I requested that we pay our tab at the end of our 2.5 hour session, since we were just wrapping up our game, but was told, "sorry guys I have to do it right now, " then proceeded to wander away in between ringing through bills so that it used the last of our time! Killed the game and our experience. Would only recommend it for casual 30 minute cards against humanity style games before a movie or something, and even so there are better options out there.

Love this place, so far I've been twice; once for my birthday and recently for my bachelor's party. The food is delicious and the game selection abundant. Staff are friendly and they even have a "Gamemaster" available to teach you a game you may not have played before. The restaurant enforces a 2-hour meal/game time to allow them to still turn tables. Plenty of time for pizza and a round of your favourite boardgame.

Price/Quality ratio could be improved, for the price I feel like it could taste better. I might be biased because I am Italian with high standards for pizza.

Unreliable service. Put my name in the waiting list. They said they ll call back when a table was empty. Waited an hour. No call. Go back to the restaurant and find out there were seats and they said they forgot to call me. And it was 10pm and they close in an hour. Very disappointing.

Not a fantastic boardgame selection. Food is pretty good. The 2.5 hour time limit is pretty frustraing. I understand this is apparently due to liquor laws but the staff were annoyingly pushy about closing out our tabs and moving on our table on despite our groups consistent food and drink orders. Overall unimpressed.

Nice food for a good price, board games selection is awesome. The two and a half hour rule is fair enough on other people, but can be a bit short at times.

Fire roasted pizza that is above average. Will pop in here for lunch which is only open on Fridays. Staff is always friendly and the patio is decent. Yes there is a giant selection of board games to play but it will definitely extend your time there and could lead to a wait for a seat while people play games instead of eating and paying. Definitely a must try at least once for the pizza

Love the place. Good food with a large collection of boardgames. Perfect place to go for friends gathering or even dating!

This place is awesome, incredible selection of games, really nice staff and the pizza is delicious (and I’m picky about this)

Good food - but the atmosphere is great, I.love going here with friends! Pls add some larger pizzas - I have a healthy apetite and the pizza is too small.thanks for the vegan options!

The staff is very friendly and helpful. They're really great at suggesting a good game to play & teaching how to play it. They have a good collection of board games. The food is also good. Tried the pesto pizza and Carbonara. Only con is that sometimes the table can get a bit crowded, with the boardgame and the food. Especially for two.

If you are looking for a place to have fun, pizzeria Ludica is the good choice! You won’t feel bored by different games to play! Staffs alway have smile on face and food quality’s superb