Open Play Table Hire
Reserve a 4–6 seat table with a bottomless snack board. Pick from our 1,200-title library at no extra cost.
AU$8 per person · 3-hour session
Darlinghurst · Est. 2016
Where tabletop legends and pixel heroes share one table.
Dark Phoenix Realm is an independent game store and play space on Crown Street — 40 seats of open gaming, a curated wall of board games and TTRPGs, retro consoles you can actually play, and a repair bench for the machines you love.
- 1,200+
- Games in the library
- 6 nights
- Open every week
- 40 seats
- Of open play space
A patchwork of the communities we host
- Inner West Dice Guild
- Sydney Retro Collectors
- Crown Street Catan League
- Harbour City Warhammer
- Darlinghurst D&D Nights
Independent & locally owned
— Marlowe Tran, Founder & Head of Game Nights
A note from the founder
We stitched this place together one game night at a time.
I opened Dark Phoenix Realm after a decade of running games out of my flat above Oxford Street. The idea was simple: a warm room where a first-time Dungeon Master and a 30-year Magic veteran feel equally at home, and where nobody gets shushed for laughing too loud.
Every shelf, every hand-sewn cushion and every mismatched calico tablecloth was chosen to feel like a friend's living room rather than a shop floor. We hand-teach rules for free, lend demo copies before you buy, and keep the kettle on. Drop in solo — you'll leave with a party.
Inside the realm
Have a look around the play space.
From the retro console corner to the miniatures painting bench, here's what a night at Crown Street looks like.
The main hall — 40 seats under warm festoon lighting.
What we offer
Everything a game night needs, under one quilted roof.
Table hire, tournaments, lessons and repairs — priced fairly for regulars and newcomers alike.
Weekly Tournaments
Commander pods on Tuesdays, Catan League on Thursdays, and a Warhammer 40k ladder every second Saturday. Prizes are store credit.
From AU$15 entry · Tue / Thu / Sat
Learn-to-Play Nights
Free rules coaching every Wednesday. Bring nothing but curiosity — we supply the games, the pretzels and the patience.
Free · Wednesdays 6–9pm
Retro Console Lounge
Book the CRT corner for four-player Bomberman, Mario Kart 64 or Street Fighter II on original hardware.
AU$12 per hour · up to 4 players
Console & Controller Repairs
Drift-fixing, retro-brightening, capacitor replacement and cartridge cleaning by our in-house tech, Priya.
Free quotes · from AU$45
Private Party Bookings
Hire the whole realm for birthdays, hen's nights or team offsites. Includes a host and a tailored game menu.
AU$320 · up to 30 guests
Good to know
Questions, answered.
Walk-ins are always welcome and there's usually a spare seat on weeknights. On Friday and Saturday evenings we strongly recommend booking a table online or by phone, since the main hall fills up fast after 7pm.
Come say hello
Find us on Crown Street.
Booking a table, planning a party, or dropping a console in for repair? Send us a note and we'll reply within one business day.
- Phone
- +61 2 9380 4487
- [email protected]
- Address
- 156 Crown Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
- Hours
- Tue–Thu 4–10pm · Fri–Sat 12pm–12am · Sun 12–8pm