Located inside Stormbreaker Brewing in St. Johns, Portland Axe Throwing hosts one-to-two hour sessions, where a trained coach will help customers learn basic axe throwing techniques. If flinging a weapon at a wall works up an appetite, Stormbreaker’s full kitchen menu includes smoked wings, nachos, and burgers, accompanied by the brewery’s wide selection of house ales and lagers. Booking 24 hours in advance is generally required for axe-throwing.

Located right by Providence Park, Mox Boarding House offers a wide variety of tabletop games, with mainstream hits like Catan to Exploding Kittens, as well as obscure European board games and deck-builders. It’s also a full service restaurant, with an eclectic mix of dishes like tea sandwiches, elote queso, and a variety of hardcore burgers. Bartenders pull beers from two dozen taps, and serve a number of involved house cocktails. Private gaming rooms are available, and visitors can shop for their own games from Mox’s retail section.

Located on the third floor of Pioneer Place, Punch Bowl Social is a whopping 32,000 square foot venue filled with arcade games, a bowling alley, and a karaoke bar. With a respectable 12 taps stocked with beer and cider, a variety of boozy punch bowls, fun non-alcoholic spritzes, and a food menu with plenty of sharing-friendly nachos and loaded fries, Punch Bowl Social is a smart choice for parties, regardless of age demographic.

Located in the South Waterfront neighborhood inside Growler Guys, Golf on Tap offers two indoor golf simulators with more than 100 different courses, driving ranges, and golf games. Customers are welcome to grab a beer from Growler Guys’s impressive 59 taps, before hitting up the simulators to play some golf. Prices for Golf on Tap average about $40 an hour for two people.

Owners Shira and Jason Yovu stock Retro Game Bar with their personal collection of cartridges and discs, spanning 19 different consoles from Atari to SEGAs to Nintendo 64s. Although it provides a vast array of options, Retro Game Bar doesn’t quite feel like an arcade — instead, it feels more like a vintage bar, where visitors can play video games at a table or at the bar with friends. Dining options include Japanese comfort food like tonkatsu and curry rice to pomegranate-glazed wings and fries; bartenders shake and stir a variety of game-themed drinks, also serving Level Beer IPAs and CBD drinks.

Located below Grand Central Bowl, Pips and Bounce is all about ping pong, with several tables to rent in 30-minute increments. Pips and Bounce’s chefs top 14-inch pizzas with pepperoni and black olives and load up Juanitas chips with nacho fixings. Cocktails and a small selection of beer and wine are also available. 

The Birdie Time Pub is home to a nine-hole mini golf course, golf and sports simulator, and board games, accompanied by a wide selection of food and drink. The bar’s 36 taps pour beer, wine, and cider, while the ‘Birdie Coop’ serves appetizers, burgers, sandwiches, pizza, and wings. Birdie Time Pub also serves cocktails, and is dog-friendly. 

Wedgehead is one of those unicorns of an arcade bar, where the cocktails and food are just as good as the game selection. In the arcade section of the bar, a maze of lit up pinball machines includes glowing Godzillas and Addams Family characters; down in the kitchen, chefs flip some knockout Painted Hills beef burgers and slather fries with queso. The beer selection includes fan favorite breweries like Pfriem, and bartender KaCee Solis-Robertson serves spiked horchata and tamarind whiskey highballs with names alluding to Bobs Burgers. Unlimited game play is available for $12.

This 21-plus arcade and pinball machine is home to more than 40 pinball machines and more than 55 arcade games, ranging from classics to contemporary; outside of games, Quarterworld also features two full bars and a menu of smash burgers, pretzels with garlic cheese, and pizza slices. In addition to single cocktails, QuarterWorld serves a selection of large format drinks, like the Altered Beast — a mix of tequila, grapefruit, cranberry, and Black Cherry White Claw. Quarterworld charges a $2 entry fee on most days.