Dave and Busters Brilliance

I may be 24, but I prefer to think I'm "playing adult" every now and again.  It's interesting, this whole getting-older thing.  There are daily revelations, and, I will admit, they are not always everything they're cracked up to be.  Yes, I have more freedoms (woo-hoo!).  Yay for no more curfew!  And here's to finally being able to be the director of my own life.  Woot woot!  However, these things that we, as children, look forward to having someday do come with equally weighted costs:  Bills (boo), the work schedule (yay real life!), no more "safety net" (Mom?? Dad??  Can I have 20 buck??).  Yup.  Hello being an adult.


However, have faith.  There is hope.  It's called Dave and Busters.  For those who had the pleasure of fully experiencing Chucky Cheese's, Enchanted Castle, or any of the plethora of arcades as a kid, fear not, there is an arcade for us children trapped in adult bodies.  And it comes complete with arcade games, tickets, and prizes.  And even dinner and a few drinks for those who find that part of adulthood well deserved and worthwhile.  Or maybe even just for those who enjoy letting loose every so often.  Either way, my past Friday "funday" was spent at this amazing Chicago temple.  

Please note:  Dave and Busters is not cheap nor does it pretend to be.  I discovered that fact as I giddily touch-screened my way to a Dave and Busters game card.  You can get really overly excited about very stupid stuff when the people you are with are also equally and stupidly excited about being kids all over again.  But this touch screen machine is a shiny beacon of trickery!  I love touch screen technology, but if I were drunk, this is a drunk's worst nightmare!  Forget buying people free drinks, this thing just begs for drunk people to not read any of the words and happily hit the "yes" button over and over and over . . . .and over again!  Every time you think you're closer to actually getting your card it tricks you by giving you a "would you like more tickets; it's only half of your life savings for 25 more tickets!" option.  NO!  NO!  No I do not want more tickets!  I just want my plastic orange card so I can swipe away my $20 into a night of useless arcade games!  Just give me my game card!


However, once said plastic card is possessed, all inhibitions are to the winds.  Games like skeet ball, Deal or No Deal, Basketball, Jurassic Park, horse racing, and token tossing call your name at every turn, making you incapable of saying "no" at all for the rest of the night!  And the outpouring of tickets is like liquid cocaine to your soul.  It's addicting!  And you can't help but scream like an idiot when you and your best friend actually picked the 600 (top prized amount) Deal or No Deal case!  The tickets just stream out of the machine and suddenly all you want is more tickets!  More tickets to buy more of the useless crap that they have available to you at the end of the night.  Just swipe your card like you're at your college dining hall all over again - immediate satisfaction - and you too can have a furry Fred Flinstone tie or Blue Dolphin at the end of the night for only 450 tickets!  Pointless, useless crap has never been so fulfilling and meaningful, at least, not since you won the overstuffed dog at the carnival playing the ring toss!  And do you know what the best part is?  You end up having so much fun, competing with your friends for top score or who can win the most tickets, that you pass hours playing games you haven't played since you were a child.  You suddenly get in touch with the "fun" side of you all over again, and all the other parts of being an adult are no longer relevant.  All you need is you, your orange plastic swipe-y card, your friends, and the outpouring of tickets you might be lucky enough to win at every turn.  Aaaah, adulthood.  Who thought it would ever be this much fun!?