Social Games That Have Transformed Nights Out into healthier Experiences
Throughout the 90s and early 2000s a night out with office colleagues or groups of friends was usually focused around drinking as much as was humanly possible, before making questionable choices whose consequences you would then be forced to deal with in the days, weeks and months that followed.
Thankfully, that twisted social norm has now been somewhat banished, as new generations look for fun and frolics in more varied places rather than singularly at the bottom of a glass.
Here are some of the most interesting trends that groups of friends are enjoying on nights out, oft times abandoning the need for alcohol completely.
Ping Pong
Many of the weird and wacky games that venues are using to create innovative nights out for people are ripped from tried and tested games. One of these is ping pong, which in some venues has been transformed into a game suitable for not just two people, but sometimes up to twenty.
There are even some places around the world that have adapted video graphics into their tables, making for a truly immersive and inclusive gaming experience, which is complemented by tasty food and drink options, so you can spend your whole night in the same venue.
Axe Throwing
Believe it or not there are people queuing up in venues all over the world, willing to pay good money to launch medieval style axes at wooden targets, grunting like cavemen as they kid themselves that such a skill would mean they could survive one night alone in the wild.
If that brief overview of what’s in store still hasn’t put you off, then why not book you and your friends into one the myriad establishments that continue to pop up in towns and cities, where you can don your lumberjack shirt, grow your beard out, order a craft beer and then sling some axes.
Who knew that throwing an axe could be so enjoyable?
Ball Pools
In the current climate it is unlikely you’ll be dipping into ball pool bars like London, England’s Ballie Ballersonanytime soon, with the risk of more diseases being attached to their illuminous globes than one would normally find on a public toilet seat.
That aside, this spin on the McDonalds play pen can be a lot of fun, as you pick a ball war with other members of the public and attempt to evade the attention of the burly security guards tasked with keeping a lid on the mayhem.
The balls are cleaned on a regular basis, allegedly
Crazy Golf
We know, we know, crazy golf is hardly anything new. But it is worth mentioning here due to the lengths that many establishments are going to in order to take this game well beyond its seemingly limited boundaries.
Perhaps one of the most surreal we have seen is in Ontario, Canada, by the name of Putting Edge, where the crazy golf 18-hole odyssey is decorated with a glow in the dark overlay that’s illuminated by UV light. The result is something akin to an acid nightmare from hell, so maybe give this one a wide berth if you fancy taking someone out for a date, unless they enjoy that sort of thing.
Escape Rooms
Once upon a time, the idea of paying someone to lock you and yours in a confined space with a ticking clock mounted on the wall was even more of a nightmare than a round of UV mini golf, but despite this escape rooms are one craze that shows no sign of losing momentum.
Not content with pretending to be held hostage in a real-life setting, there are now even companies who can treat you to a virtual reality (VR) escape room experience. Just remember that the venue’s owner is laughing at you as he watches you flail around trying to avoid imaginary aliens and creepy crawlies.