Friday night after work always brings a rush of relief and excitement, as you’re free to spend the evening knowing you can sleep in the next morning. Grabbing a bunch of coworkers and friends and going to Dave and Buster’s™ gives everyone a stress-relieving, fun time, and has enough excitement to kick that Friday night fever.

For those who have been to a Dave and Buster’s™, you know what I’m talking about — for those who haven’t, you are missing out! It might seem ordinary on the outside, but it’s packed with energy once you enter the doors. It has plenty of good eats for those who might be deterred, thinking this place is just for getting drunk and playing games — that’s definitely not the case! The appetizers are delicious and the meals are filling; they even have great, friendly service. 

But don’t think this place is a dry one — it has several pages on their menu dedicated to various drinks, with no complaints from my party. Try a couple of drinks virgin, for those who are aren’t able to drink alcohol, and it will still make for an giggle fest!

In addition to great food, sitting in the sports bar gives an extra bit of entertainment while eating. Listening to music and playing for prizes in a version of bingo, “Singo”, and interacting with the live DJ gives the group plenty to laugh and talk about. Some of the prizes were board games available in their prize shop, as well as preloaded token cards.

The arcade is the best part. After you finish dinner, you can go and compete with your friends or coworkers in racing, ski ball, piano competition, strength, whack-a-mole and many other games! With loud music and buzzing people, especially with an added mini bar in the middle of the arcade room, this place is hardly boring. 

In case you haven’t been to an arcade in a while, or at least a newer one, they no longer use token chips or give out paper tickets. Everything is now loaded onto a card where you can add money and swipe out your tickets in the prize shop. You can even keep your tickets on your card until next time to add your tickets up over time and get the really big prizes (some worth over 40,000 tickets). 

The games were fun, and the cards last a long time. Most games cost between 2 and 8 tokens/chips per game, which makes the night last a while without having to spend a lot of money. Twenty five dollars got over 150 chips, which can be shared among several people, even when competing against each other. So pool money with a group to put on the card and it could last all night long (until closing at least!). Just remember to share the tickets when collecting prizes. 

If you’re playing for the prizes instead of the mirth, then you might want to save up your tickets over a several trips. There are a wide range of ticket prices in the prize shop, including candy and knick-knacks to BB-8™ toys and ginormous pillows. I opted for a lower end ticket priced stuffed teddy bear and some candy, ending the week stress free and smiling.

Locations of Dave and Buster’s™ in Colorado (both locations are approximately 1 hour south of Fort Collins) :