W
e all know that feeling: Sometime toward the middle of the summer you get that hazy, been-there-done-that mood that just can’t be cured by viewing a summer blockbuster, hiking in the woods or sitting on the Lake Michigan beach. You just need to do something different. Luckily for us, Southwest Michigan offers a variety of recreation alternatives — from arcades of varying kinds to disc golf courses to indoor rock climbing — to get you out of the house and back to enjoying summer.
And when customers pay to play at one arcade, they’re allowed to play at the other the same day without an additional charge. Cost: $7 per person per day Hours: 4 –8 p.m. Thursday and Friday (2.0 location); noon–8 p.m. Saturday and noon–5 p.m. Sunday (both locations) More info: facebook.com/pg/KlassicArcade or 269-628–9079
Get your game on Who says recreational activity has to make you sweaty? Sure, video games aren’t the most physically strenuous activity, but they are definitely fun and humidity-free. Whether you like your video games old school or straight out of Silicon Valley, there are plenty of places in the Kalamazoo area to check out.
One Well Brewing offers pinball leagues and craft brews.
Classic pinball and games at Klassic Arcade 1.0.
Klassic Arcade 1.0 and Klassic Arcade 2.0, in Gobles, should hit the spot if you’re craving a nostalgia injection, a little bit of competition between siblings or just a way to switch up date night. Housing 140 classic arcade games and pinball machines between them, these arcades have everything from Pac-Man and Donkey Kong to Joust and Space Invaders. Owner Kevin Ketchum has spent more than 20 years collecting and caring for old school video games in his spare time. By 2003, he had accumulated enough to fill a warehouse and opened Klassic Arcade 1.0, at 22711 M-40. It has 60 pinball machines and classic arcade games, almost all of which were new in the 1980s. By 2016, Ketchum had more than 200 machines, giving him enough to open a second location a mile and a half away, at 206 S. State St. That site boasts 80 games. Both arcades are open Saturdays and Sundays, with 2.0 open on Thursdays and Fridays as well. Opposite page: Climbers get a grip at Climb Kalamazoo.
Classic arcade games and Deadpool-themed pinball machines line the walls at One Well Brewing, at 4213 Portage St. as part of the brewery and restaurant’s eclectic décor. One Well opened in 2014 and the next year began hosting its own pinball tournaments and pinball league. The first pinball tournament had only five participants, says owner and pinball lover Chris O’Neill, but the league now has 35-40 players. One Well’s summer pinball league meets at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, beginning on June 12 this year. The cost to join is $5, which goes toward trophies and fees for the league to be part of the International Flipper Pinball Association. “We have forged some great personal relationships through pinball and also gotten a lot better as a whole as players,” says O’Neill. The brewery also holds weekly Two Player Tuesdays and quarterly tournaments. Both are open to anyone interested in improving their skills in a competitive environment. Two Player Tuesdays last from 8–9:30 p.m. and, aside from the 75 cents it costs to play the pinball machines, cost $1 to enter. Tournaments are free to join, but don’t forget the coin drop. “Anyone can join,” O’Neill says. “We have age ranges from children to blue hairs.” Not feeling competitive? The machines at One Well are always ready to be played during its operating hours, provided there’s not a league or tournament players using them. Hours: 3 p.m.–midnight Monday–Thursday, 11 a.m.–1 a.m. Friday and Saturday and noon–11 p.m. Sunday More info: onewellbrewing.com or 459-9240
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