Dating Games: Board games provide easygoing alternative to bar scene

By Jessica Yadegaran
Contra Costa Times

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The music is booming. The disco ball is twirling. And the liquor is flowing. None of this distracts Kim Newell of Oakland.

The single 29-year-old is trying to knock off the spring-loaded head of her opponent's plastic boxer in a friendly game of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. In less than an hour, she and her friend, Sharifa Sparks of Antioch, will hit the dance floor to rub elbows with eligible bachelors. That's when they lay out the mats for Twister.

"I like this better than the clubs," says Newell, raising her voice over Bell Biv DeVoe's "Poison." She's at Playdate, an alternative night-life experience for those who are tired of bars and clubs, and perhaps yearn for the easy fun of their younger days.

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"Here, you have variety. It's not a bunch of sweaty people standing around. If you meet someone, you can use the game as a conversation piece."

This is the Bay Area's third installment of Playdate. The concept is simple. Playdate organizers Kyion Williams and Lakeisha Johnson rent out a space, fill it with hard candies, classic board games (Hungry Hungry Hippos, anyone?) and a killer DJ who knows his old-school jams. Playdate started in Atlanta in 2005 by Timeless Entertainment Concepts and has since spread to 22 cities.

This particular playground is Jillian's, the sports bar inside downtown San Francisco's Metreon, where dozens of tables are covered with pristine white tablecloths and games such as chess, Uno, Connect Four and Operation.

Football is on the big screen for those interested in that kind of game. And cocktail waitresses breeze by if you need a drink because someone sank your battleship. Previous Playdates have taken place at hotels, including the Oakland Marriott, which drew 800 people in August.

Jasper Smith agrees with Newell. He's sipping a Long Island iced tea and taking a break after a long and spirited round of Jenga, the wooden block tower building game. "The atmosphere is fabulous," says Smith, 24, of Walnut Creek. "Who doesn't want to eat candy and play games?"

Smith is here to hang with his friends and meet women, he says. "No line is needed when you can just stop by someone's table and say, 'I'm good at this game' or 'Can I play?' "

His buddy, Anthony Alexander of Hayward, drew a large crowd as he pulled a building block from a tower on his cocktail table and re-stacked it to wild applause. Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing)" may have been blasting over the speakers, but it didn't faze him.

"I feel good," shouted the 24-year-old, high-fiving his posse.

Nearby, Annika James of Hayward and her two girlfriends were taking on a supersize Jenga tower on the floor.

"This is more fun than I thought it would be," says James, 28, adding that she was taking a break from the clubs because of a torn knee ligament. "It's bringing back the things about childhood that you forgot you enjoyed." James says the interactive nature of Playdate makes it "a nice place to meet a guy."

When she attended the first Playdate in San Francisco earlier this summer, she particularly enjoyed a round of the stop-and-go game Red Light/Green Light. In order to get people up and mingling, Playdate games become interactive later in the evening.

"We want to give people something different," says Johnson, one of the organizers. "We want to remind them how they felt when they were young and carefree, when they didn't have any bills or worries.

"You don't have to dress up or get your hair done to come to Playdate. Plus, playing games forces you to talk to people."

Indeed. After a multi-mat game of Twister at Jillian's, a group of folks in their 20s, 30s, and 40s played musical chairs. By midnight, most games had moved to the dance floor, where there was even a break-dancing competition.

"It was really fun," said Vickie Stephens, 48, of Burlingame, after her elbow gave out in the middle of Twister. She was out of breath, wide-eyed and thrilled. "The last time I played Twister was when my kids were little."

For more on Playdate, including upcoming Bay Area events, visit www.playdatebayarea.com or www.playdateus.com.