Most of us can probably guess what a board games café is, but some of us can't say we have actually stepped inside one.

Well, right in our borough on Kew Road is Library Pot, a board games café and restaurant offering 850 different board games.

Opened 10 years ago by Rob and his partner Emily, the Library Pot gives people the opportunity to "eat, drink, play games and be merry... until they lose," Rob told Nub News.

Sitting down in the Library Pot, surrounded by board games, artwork and decorations, Rob broke down how the business works, the various board games available to play and some interesting ones.

"On Saturday afternoon, we'd run two sessions, so you can come at noon, say, till 5 o'clock, and it costs you £6.50 per person," explained Rob.

"There's the two-player one, there's a four-player and a six-player and things like that."

As for standout games, Rob ran through some of the Library Pot's easy, fun games such as Dobble, Mind or Battleship, to some of his favourites like Century: Spice Road or Splendor.

How about the oldest game? You guessed it, Rob has a copy.

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"The oldest game, if you go and Google it, is probably something called the Royal Game of Ur," said Rob.

The two-player strategy race board game was first played in ancient Mesopotamia during the early third millennium BC.

Rob continued: "I have got a copy but the rules... it's so old that nobody knows what the rules are, so they've made some up.

"Nobody's played it since we've been here, but I had to get a copy of it because I'm a nerd."

Looking for a new and challenging game? Rob's partner Emily teaches Japanese chess (Shogi) at the Library Pot.

Or do you want to try something more topical? Rob even houses the English-made board game War on Terror.

Described as a Risk-like war board game inspired by modern-day geopolitics, War on Terror gives players a growing empire with the aim of liberating countries or regions controlling oil production and building cities to win the game.

"We get quite a lot of locals, but we get people travelling from far afield, so people coming out from central London," said Rob. "We get a real mixture."

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Unlike regular cafés and restaurants in Richmond, the Library Pot is the only one of its kind in the borough, let alone the rest of the city.

Rob admitted: "There's not many board game cafés around. I know of a dozen or so.

"It's not like a café where you're turning people over as quickly as you can, getting them out for the next person to come in and buy some coffee, or restaurants where you're expecting your table to earn you things.

"We encourage people to sit here and play games."

Aside from its array of board games, some weirder than others, the Library Pot offers guests meals and drinks, including vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.

"We've got a variety of different things to suit people," said the owner. "Small bites and quick food.

"I get some regulars who come in and work through the menu and another who orders Thai green chicken curry and that's what they have every week."

In addition, the fully licensed business serves a French spirit rumoured to have contributed to Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh's mental decline in the later stages of his life – absinthe.

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It was highly popular among the Parisian artistic community during the 19th century, and Rob serves it in its traditional way.

He explained: "It is 68% ABV [alcohol by volume]. We serve it in a twenty-five-millilitre shot with water and sugar in the Parisian way.

"Van Gogh cut his ear off after drinking it."

Outside the Library Pot is a mural of the Dutch painter created by Rob's brother, recognising Van Gogh's local ties, as he lived in Isleworth back in 1876.

"Van Gogh was a local boy," added Rob. "He preached a sermon on the other side of this road.

"Vincent Van 'bloody' Gogh walked these streets drinking absinthe, just walking. He was only 22 or 23 at the time."

Rob's love for board games is clear with his library of 850 titles.

In an age of dependency on the digital world, he believes board games give people an escape from reality and engage their "senses".

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He said: "If you're to ask what we're here for, we sell fun, even if people lose.

"When you're playing with stuff and it's more tactile, you're engaging all of your senses.

"It's not like looking at a flat screen... it's a nice alternative to this digital world.

"The antidote to always online is our catchphrase."

To find out more about the Library Pot on 86 Kew Road, click here.