As an avid fan of cheap entertainment, I’m always on the hunt for bars that feature games of the drunken competitive variety. When some people think of bar games, they envision a lone patron, hogging the stool playing erotic photohunt. Or large groups that play pool all night and shoot you dirty looks because your drink is in the way of their 6 foot long pool cue. Bitching aside, there are plenty of old-fashioned bar games to be found outside of Big Buck Hunter.
Air Hockey
Normally a lighthearted game filling rec rooms with joy across the country can get ugly, fast. If you’re in the city, Manitoba’s is the way to go. Past the punk memorabilia and head downstairs for full-on air hockey action. For Brooklyn dwellers, check out one of my favorite dive bars, Rockstar Bar. It features a glowing machine next to a cave-like dwelling that looks like a set from Fraggle Rock. But if you’re sitting on the sidelines, beware of flying pucks.
Courtesy of Yelp
Ping Pong
The basement of Fat Cat is like a Dave & Busters minus everything that’s lame. There’s ping pong, billiards, shuffleboard, scrabble, chess, you name it. And it’s a jazz bar to boot. Fuel your competitive prowess with cheap beers and stick around for the speak-easy vibe. Squeeze in some backyard ping-pong while it’s still warm at Iona, otherwise known as, magnet for hot European ex-pats. It’s a spacious backyard big enough for a friendly game, but avoid at all costs during “football” season, otherwise you will get death stares for interrupting the match.
Skee ball & Beyond
You don’t have to schlep it to Coney Island anymore for this shoreline favorite. You can ’skee’ to your heart’s content at Hugs bar and finish up with a photobooth sticker to document your victory face. For other high-rollers, there’s duck pin bowling at the Brownstone Billiards. Being a sports bar it can be a bit noisy, but with huge pitchers of cheap beer and pretty decent bar food it can sometimes be worth it. For those of you unfamiliar with duckpin bowling, it’s really just a smaller version of regular bowling with some new rules. They also have karaoke on Sundays to round-off a day’s full of activities.
And for the pinball wizards of Brooklyn, check out the North Brooklyn Pinball Directory for listings of some awesome and ancient machines scattered across the borough.
Let the games begin.
Related posts:
- FREE Games, Beer and Mac n Cheese at Glasslands
A few weeks ago, I accidentally wound up at a bar on bingo night. Apparently, bingo is a game you can be bad at. The... - Scrabble and Schlitz: Great Games to Play Under the Influence
Most us grow out of playing drinking games after it’s no longer socially acceptable to play beer pong past the age of 21. But that... - Holiday Shopping with a Dash of Skeeball
I’m going to assume most of you skipped the crack of dawn, stampede inducing, celebration of blind consumerism that is Black Friday. But let’s face... - Blow Off Some Steam: Go Bowling for FREE
As a zen-like way of letting out some rage, my roommate and I took turns throwing an avocado into the air and trying to slice... - Broke-Ass Guide to Working Out
Like everyone else, I pretty much ate my weight in carbs this past holiday weekend, so naturally I’m looking to drop my phantom baby weight... - Are You There Moriarty? And Other Hilarious Parlour Games!
The Californian in me laments when Daylight Savings ends. I hate the dark. I hate the cold. I would stay in bed all winter if...
Tags: Air Hockey, Billiards, Brownstone Billiards, Chess, duckpin bowling, Fat Cat, Flatbush, Hugs, Iona, Jazz, LES, Manitoba's, North Brooklyn Pinball Directory, Pinball, Ping Pong, rockstar bar, Scrabble, Shuffleboard, Skee Ball, West Village, Williamsburg
Amazing post. Bookmarked it already. cheers, Ahmed.