Thank you to our followers and friends for voting for Critical Grind in the Herald-News Best in Will County Readers Choice Awards!
We are honored and excited to announce we took BEST in Will County for Family Recreation for the 2nd year in a row AND Birthday Party Venue for the 1st time!

The Weekly Grind - October 6th, 2025 Newsletter Happy October!! UPDATESWe're still looking for volunteers to work with us at Lodge Con! Hang out at our vendor table, the game library, our cafe concessions, or even run some board games and role-play...

This week's newsletter is out now. www.criticalgrind.com/post/the-wee...

The Weekly Grind - September 29th 2025 Newsletter Happy National Coffee Day! UPDATESWe're still looking for volunteers to work with us at Lodge Con! Hang out at our vendor table, the game library, our cafe concessions, or even run some board games an...

New weekly Newsletter! Click here to see new upcoming events like our Splendor and 7 Wonders Board Game Tournaments, Murder Mystery Tickets, and more!
www.criticalgrind.com/post/the-wee...

Tickets are on sale now for our 3rd annual Murder Mystery Dinner!
critical-grind.square.site/product/hall...

2025 Herald-News Readers' Choice Awards Vote for your favorite businesses Now through October 5!

Vote for Critical Grind for the Best of Will County Readers' Choice Awards.
Best in Birthday Party Venue AND Family Recreation!!

The Weekly Grind - September 15th 2025 Newsletter Been a very productive and fun week! ANNOUNCEMENTS & UPDATES:Last Tuesday we closed for the morning and our team worked their butts off. We've redesigned a lot of our spaces to create more room for pl...

This Week's Newsletter!

2 places to join Critical Grind this Saturday, August 30th!
Buy some used games from us and check out some amazing vendors at Soundgrowler Brewery.
Or come learn to play some of the new games we brought back from Gen Con thanks to the generosity of several publishers.

Everyday is a great day to share a beverage with someone you love.
🧡🩵
(Pictured: Peach Mango Refresher w/Pineapple Syrup & Sparkling Water, topped with Coconut Cold Foam [left]. Blue Curacao Italian Cream Soda with Coconut Cold Foam [right])

The Weekly Grind - August 18th, 2025 Newsletter Happy Back to School Week! NEW ITEMS & RESTOCKS for retailNEW from Sensory PlayCritical Grind Iridescent Tumblers. We have new tumblers available. They are Matte Black with a rainbow iridescent underl...

Weekly Grind Newsletter is out!

One of these days I'll remember this platform exists.

The Weekly Grind - August 5th, 2025 Newsletter Phew! Ash, Rudy, and I are exhausted from Gen Con and I'm sure the Home Team is too. But I'm really excited to share with y'all some of the games we brought home.NEW ITEMS & RESTOCKS for retailNEW fro...

New Weekly Grind Newsletter!

Will we go to Gen Con? Let's let the fates decide...
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#criticalgrind #criticalgrindgaming #criticalgrindgamingcafe #criticalgrindboardgamecafe #gencon #gencon2025

The Weekly Grind - July 21st, 2025 Newsletter According to my countdown app, there are only 9 days left until Gen Con. Don't worry, the cafe will be open during Gen Con for those of you hanging back, but it will be at half-staff so please be pati...

www.criticalgrind.com/post/the-wee...

The Weekly Grind, The Critical Grind Newsletter, is officially out. We have new products, events, and more.
Link in the comments.
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#criticalgrind #criticalgrindgaming #criticalgrindboardgamecafe #weeklygrind #weeklynewsletter #upcomingevents #shorewoodil #thingstodoillinois

Voting is now open for our July miniature painting contest! Voting will end Sunday, July 27th and winner will be announced and contacted Monday.
FB: Click on the image of your favorite and react.
Bluesky: comment the post with the number of your favorite.
Share the post so we get more votes!

The Weekly Grind - July 14th, 2025 Newsletter For those keeping track, there are only 15 days left until Gen Con. Don't worry, the cafe will be open during Gen Con for those of you hanging back, but it will be at half-staff so please be patient. ...

New Weekly Grind, Critical Grind Newsletter is out now! www.criticalgrind.com/post/the-wee...

We are proud to announce Critical Grind is one of the drop off locations for the Shorewood Kiwanis Christmas in July Toy Drive! Most of the items Critical Grind received last year were for the older kids, who often get forgotten about. We have items here you can purchase and drop in the box!

The Weekly Grind - July 7th, 2025 Newsletter We hope everyone had a fun and safe weekend.NEW ITEMSThese came in last week but I'm really excited about them so I'm gonna leave this here for one more week. Come check them out. We have a couple ope...

Check out our latest newsletter. Specials, new products, and upcoming events are all included in here!
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#criticalgrind #criticalgrindgaming #criticalgrindboardgamecafe #newsletter #criticalgrindnewsletter #theweeklygrind #criticalgrindnewsletter

www.criticalgrind.com/post/the-wee...

Thank you to The Grindhouse Arena and Liquid Kourage Entertainment for hosting this incredible event for the 2nd year! Raising over $1200 for The Trevor Project and had a great day of D&D melee style, chaos fueled, mayhem.
Let's do it again next year!
#criticalgrind #thetrevorproject

The Weekly Grind - June 30th, 2025 Newsletter Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth at Plainfield Fest this past weekend!NEW ITEMSI was hoping to get these before Plainfield Fest but we just received these today! If you're reading this o...

The newest Newsletter is here. :) Read now to be the first to know about some new items, our July Specials, and upcoming events.

Do you have, or need, one of our Grimbeard leather backpacks? Then you also need one of these leather Critical Grind bag snaps! Only $10! Would you like to see any other leather items? Critical Grind journal? Dice trays? Let me know!
#criticalgrind #grimbeardleather

We've got Little Toast Guy enamel pins and stickers available now!

The Weekly Grind - June 9th, 2025 Newsletter I may be on vacation, but I'm still determined to get this out to you each week. SHE DID IT!!! Jay Borsom, our dear friend and partner has successfully reached her goal of breaking the Guinness World ...

This week's Newsletter is out with some great news, updates, and upcoming special events!

www.criticalgrind.com/post/the-wee...

This week's newsletter is a little late but I had to get all the Free RPG Day sign-ups ready! There are a lot of great new events coming up, including the 36-hour Trivia event this weekend, Summer D&D Club, and Free RPG Day.
www.criticalgrind.com/post/the-wee...

This summer, sign your kid up to adventure into collaborative storytelling with click-clack math rocks and their imaginations.
We're hosting a Dungeons & Dragons Summer Club. There are still plenty of spots open! It's not too late to sign your kiddo up.

critical-grind.square.site/product/d-d-...

Lorcana Reign of Jafar is here! Get your new cards here AND come play with us. Many upcoming events, including tonight's Prerelease Pack Rush and next week's release day sealed tournament.
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#criticalgrind #criticalgrindboardgamecafe #criticalgrindgaming

The Weekly Grind - May 26th, 2025 Newsletter This might be a longer one but there's a lot of great stuff here. Please take the time.IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS!The first few sections here are some important announcements.--> PRE-ORDERS ARE STILL AVA...

This week's newsletter is out! It includes things like upcoming TCG release events, Summer D&D Club info, notice about a 36-hour marathon event, and MORE. Please give it a read. You won't want to miss these events.

www.criticalgrind.com/post/the-wee...
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Phil Paulino from Sewer Sharks joins us today on this newest episode of Critical Community. We talk about dreams, life, finding community, and stepping outside of your comfort zone.

Listen now on Spotify, Podbean, or Apple Podcasts.

CriticalCommunity.podbean.com/e/meet-phil-...

Daggerheart is out now! Stop by Critical Grind to pick up your copy today!
#criticalgrind #criticalgrindgaming #criticalgrindgamingcafe #criticalgrindboardgamecafe
#daggerheart #daggerheartrpg #darringtonpress #darringtonpressguildstore

What's the weirdest food item you've found in your kids lunch, when they've packed it themselves? Mine had a whole bag of jelly beans... not weird... just ambitious. 🤣

Kiddo forgot her lunch box this morning. Running the lunch to the school so cafe will be opening a little late.