Rainy Day Fun

 

Don’t let the weather outside rain on your parade and force you to live in a parka. Just take your fun indoors. Luckily, there’s so much more than Netflix to help you pass the time in the Bay Area during winter’s waiting season.

 

The following BARTable bars, venues, and game hubs keep things lively even when it might be dreary on the other side of the wet window. Rain? Fog? Cold? Hop on BART and head to one of these spots where you’ll never have to worry about being bored.

 

SPIN is a lively sports bar where the playful focus on ping pong is a welcome change from the usual Bay Area team games on the field or basketball court. It’s a constant ping pong party a short walk from Montgomery Station, where SPIN serves up cocktails and a full food menu complete a hip table tennis scene in SoMA. Shrimp bao bun with your backhand topspin? Warm flatbread with your forehand drive? And when your paddle plays can use some juice, try a craft cocktail in your paddle-less hand.

 

Meditative, competitive, calming, and strategic, this chess is a timeless board game that can be as cutthroat as it is quiet. There are so many reasons why it remains a classic addiction for devoted players, young and old, and it continues to thrive in Downtown San Francisco. Just around the corner from Montgomery St station, San Francisco’s Mechanics Institute remains a longtime forum for chess players of all skill levels and demographics. Frequent chess meetups, tournaments, and free classes welcome the public to partake in intelligent indoor fun.

 

 

When outdoor sun isn’t what you’re looking for, try your hand at being the modern Sherlock Holmes or 007. The Escape Game San Francisco presents 60-minute “immersive adventures” during which players unearth clues and coordinate together to solve a given mystery and complete a designated mission. Take BART to Montgomery St and walk a few blocks to find these escape room activities, where you and your team of two or more can choose your own adventure from “Prison Break,” “The Heist,” “Special Ops: Mysterious Market,” “Playground,” or “Gold Rush.”

 

 

Coffee, beer, and gaming are all conveniently located in one spot located an 8-minute walk from Downtown Berkeley Station. Victory Point Cafe’s light, bright, and wood-adorned setting hosts crowds looking to study, work, and play—open mornings and into the late nights throughout every day of the week. The shelves are stuffed with a vast selection of board games to keep your caffeine high fueling a victorious end. When your competitive nature gets you hungry, toasted paninis, pizzas, and popcorn can help keep your energy going during your next game night in Downtown Berkeley.

 

 

The name says it all. Really, who doesn’t love getting wrinkly toes in a hot tub? Warm up your limbs in winter (or anytime) and de-stress with help from Hot Tubs of Berkeley, located a few blocks from Downtown Berkeley Station. They dub themselves the “home of the 60-minute vacation,” and this relaxing hub of tubs welcomes locals to come in and drift away amidst bubbling bliss for a break from the outside urban rush. Please note you must be at least 18 years old. 

 

Whether or not the Christmas lights are still up, ice skating never goes out of style. Take your tots or favorite date to Yerba Buena Ice Skating & Bowling Center for some indoor action when Bay Area nature excursions can’t make the cut. Just a nine minute walk from Powell St, this family-friendly skating rink and bowling alley has been a standard group destination for more than 20 years.

 

Point and shoot a laser for indoor team play at Q-ZAR Laser Tag, an eight minute walk from Concord Station. Arcade games, air hockey, and (of course) laser tag ensures kids and adults stay lighthearted in the East Bay. Whether it’s a corporate bonding event or a kids’ birthday party, Q-Zar keeps the inner child alive in every player practicing hide-and-seek agility during a game that has all the adrenaline but none of the mess of paintball.

 

Craft beer is the backbone to Golden Gate Tap Room, but the Skee-Ball, air hockey, shuffleboard, pool, and pinball keep this bar more eclectic than your average Downtown San Francisco neighborhood spot. Next to Union Square, just five blocks from Powell St, the entertainment here never ceases. Hop from game to game—careful not to spill that pint in hand—making new friends along the way. Or, come with your large crew to fill the large and lively space.