It’s human nature: Bringing a kinetic, interactive element into on-premise gaming can help you generate a throwback buzz and create a more social scene in your bar.

Thinking back, the original bar games required some physical activity: billiards, darts, even the occasional backroom poker tournament—they all called for movement beyond the simple pushing of a button, and they all generated some human interaction. These are good things in a bar; it’s what taverns were built for. In all walks of life, however, technology will make itself known. The arcade craze of the 1980s eventually found its way into bars, from pinball to Pac Man, Buck Hunter to Photo Hunt. And when times change, bars (for the most part) tend to change with them. Today, patrons barely have to leave their stool to engage in some video-gaming via bartop consoles, and these types of options are wildly popular across the country.

That said, it’s hard to deny a current trend making its way through some cosmopolitan U.S. cities—that being a return to more human physicality in gaming for patrons to enjoy while they imbibe. Beyond pushing a pole across a pool table or tossing a dart, bar owners are seeing a solid return-on-investment by offering old-school and niche gaming that is more physically active for the participants.

“An active customer is an active drinker,” says Will Hudson, president of Hudson Shuffleboards (www.hudsonshuffleboards.com). “Bars that feature our tables see their customers play for an hour to 90 minutes, typically. It’s a longer experience, compared to something like a Buck Hunter video game. So people are going to spend more on drinks and food while they’re playing longer.”

Hudson, a pioneer of the niche, on-premise gaming market with his beautiful, handcrafted shuffleboard tables, fully realizes the customer’s—and therefore the bar owner’s—desire for something different. “Talking to these on-premise guys, they’re starving for new ideas, and they’re looking for more physicality,” he says. Another interesting point that Hudson makes about this niche gaming wave is the notion of patrons possessing similar abilities upon entering into a contest, and how that benefits bar owners.

“The skill levels in shuffleboard, for example, are for the most part pretty even across the board—most people don’t know what the hell they’re doing at first!” says Hudson. “That leaves it open for the majority of customers to come in and play against anybody else right away and not feel intimidated; for the most part, everyone is still learning this game. But when you compare that to some video games out there—and especially to something like pool, where the skill levels in any given bar can be drastically different because it’s been around and popular for so long—shuffleboard and some of these other new gaming options can provide a more level playing field, more competitive games, and a more friendly and welcoming atmosphere around them, because most of the people playing are learning as they go.” [Ed. note: For an exception to that rule, visit YouTube and search for “Billy Mays Shuffleboard” to see some amazing shots from a man who is far from a rookie status in this game!] Now that we know some of the logic behind offering your customers more physical on-premise gaming and contests they may be unfamiliar with (yet intrigued by), let’s take a look at some specific options out there (in addition to shuffleboard) that are outside of the box, some that should be played outdoors, and all of which come out of leftfield.

Bocce and Pétanque

Personal favorites of the Bar Business staff, both the Italian-bred bocce and its French counterpart pétanque are fantastic bar games, should you have space to accommodate. And keep in mind, you’re not hosting officially sanctioned tournaments—the space required for each endeavor is flexible. In Brooklyn, New York, three bars are seeing booming business behind their bocce and pétanque courts. Both Union Hall and Floyd NY installed full-length bocce courts indoors (Union Hall has two!), and another bar, Court & Spark, utilized their small courtyard space to bring petanque to the people.

Jimmy Drago and Henry Lopez, owners of Court & Spark, decided to invest a mere $200 in some wood and sand to build a slightly small-scale petanque court in their 200-square-foot outdoor space. Has it paid off?

“People are out there playing every single night,” says Drago. “They may not have heard of it before, but they’re loving it now. And the whole time they’re playing, they’re drinking and eating and telling their friends to come down.”

If you’re not familiar, both bocce and pétanque involve players throwing a small ball onto a long court of sand or dirt, and then rolling (bocce) or tossing (pétanque) larger balls in an attempt to land closest to the target ball to score points. It has become obvious that bar owners can expect a great return on a minor investment in these games, as seen by success stories like Court & Spark, Floyd NY, and Union Hall, all of which have been seeing lines of people waiting to roll bocce or pétanque while imbibing.

Click here to read about all the other gaming options in the full article "How To: Raise Your Game On-premise" in the July/August 2010 Digital edition of Bar Business Magazine