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These Missouri Bars Have Game(s)

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Pieces Board Game Bar and Restaurant - St. Louis
Pieces Board Game Bar and Restaurant - St. Louis

Missouri is home to plenty of great places to have a craft beer or cocktail and enjoy a conversation or live music. But for something a little different, stop by one of the following spots for a drink and a game – and we’re not talking sports.

If board games are your thing, Pieces Board Game Bar and Café in St. Louis is your place. The ever-growing game library fills two walls and features nearly 1,000 games, including longtime favorites like Scrabble and Monopoly as well as dozens of lesser-known titles. “Game navigators” can help you select and set up your games. The bar and café serves beer, wine, cocktails, coffee, dinner and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. The on-site bakery makes homemade cookies and donuts every day and cinnamon rolls on the weekend.

Find your favorite arcade games from the ’80s and ’90s, pinball machines, classic Skee-Ball, and life-size Jenga and Connect Four at the Up Down Bar, with locations in Kansas City and St. Louis. The arcade lineup is continually updated and currently includes Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Pong and Top Gun, to name a few. The drink menu has more than 50 beers on tap, including an extensive craft beer selection. A full bar is also available. Top your visit off with a slice or two of house-made pizza.

Club Geek, located in downtown St. Joseph, offers board games and retro video games. Grab a “geek-themed” drink or choose from a wide selection of craft beers and other beverages.

There are several ways to “play” at The Angad Playroom, located on the 12th floor of the colorful Angad Arts Hotel in St. Louis. Select your favorite board game for some friendly competition or choose a musical instrument for an impromptu performance. Order a traditional or “whimsically crafted” cocktail in the classic club-style lounge.

You’ll find 40-plus pinball machines and other classic arcade games, including Dance Dance Revolution, Zoltar and Pac-Man at Silverball in downtown Columbia. Choose from a dozen frozen drink flavors – spinning in mixers behind the bar, or enjoy a craft beer or cocktail.

Test your skills on more than 40 vintage arcade, console and board games at Tapcade in Kansas City. Relive the ’80s and ’90s with Donkey Kong, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Space Invaders and more. Three huge screens show local sports teams in action as well as favorite movies and TV shows. When you’re ready for a break, try the dine-in theater, which screens a mix of independent and mainstream films.

Sip a craft beer while playing vintage board games and ’80s video games at 417 Taphouse in Springfield. The bar and grill offers self-serve draft beer and a full bar along with burgers, salads, chicken and waffles, pasta and “twisted taters” topped eight different ways.

Written by Liz Coleman