Not sure.


The one who text messages the fastest?

No...

#1 I don't own a bar, in this case it is my good friend's bar that is looking for ideas.
#2 The smartphone just facilitates the game play.. think of it as a replacement for pen/paper and a moderator. It shouldn't be the entire FOCUS, that would suck.
#3 It isn't really a board game, but will be BASED on the logic structure of Clue. Think more in terms of an interactive murder mystery but not one of those giant gay productions with people dressed up and shit.

I don't see this being a big hit.


I'm not going to call my buddies and say "hey let's go to the bar and play some clue".

The goal is to have something that is far less intrusive than karaoke or even pub trivia... which means it won't distract from drink buying at all. As a matter of fact it will have built in motivation to buy/drink different bottled beers since the UPC code on the bottle could be scanned to get extra clues.

Trust me, as a heavy drinker who gets annoyed by stupid crap in the bar (karaoke) I am the LAST person to design something that would get in the way of anyone's drinking.

I do like the idea of it INCREASING interaction among randoms at the bar though. I'm just not sure yet how that would be integrated into gameplay.

Tell him to find better ways to engage the patrons.

Tavern Owner: "HEY! HEEEEEEEEEY! Listen up! Me and these two lovely ladies: Orchid and Lilly here will be conducting a contest!"

Patrons: "WOOOOOOT! I'd put it in her butt! Wait, is Lilly the blonde or the brunette?"

Tavern Owner: "Here's the rules...."

Now you have the full attention of most of the bar. You hold the brains in a room full of zombies...

The true key to it isn't to act as sole motivation to get people out (though if it was TRULY fun enough it would).. it's bigger purpose is to enhance the experience for patrons on what would otherwise be a slow night... and keep them drinking in the bar longer than otherwise.

So find a reason to make those nights the big one's...

The issue is that that would require a "personality" the idea here is to remove that part of the equation. Just like a jukebox replaces a DJ. Which is great from my perspective since most "personality" types are douches that annoy the hell out of me. Same way I feel about most DJs.

The idea is to crowdsource the "personality" aspect of the game.

Easier said then done.

Let's look at one bar with a decent location and the following drink specials on a Sunday night...

$2 bottles
$2 wells

You can't really get any lower on prices. Having a "game" or "event" is the best cheap way to increase patronage. It's bar promotion 101.

That's ****ing stupid.

Then you have a vendor, no matter what size or location, you don't have a bar.

Period...

How about a bar version of golf? Instead of a huge 18 hole course, just have 6 holes, all arrayed around the same green on top of a table. Since swinging the golf clubs would be dangerous in a crowded bar, you might need a way of hitting the ball that is more direct. The small size of the green would make play a little too easy, so you could add some mini-golf style obstacles. Or, better yet, use the golf ball to strike a target ball to hit it into the hole.

Again, you're not getting anything I am saying here. Remove the monolithic, hired "personality" aspect from the game or whatever not remove the bartenders. I'm not talking about a hostel bar with beer vending machines.

I must not be communicating the concept very well because your objections are kind of out of left field

Are you talking more CLUB or Bar?

If you're talking club I'm out. I wouldn't have the first idea...

I played darts at a bar once. It was fun

In this instance it's a dive bar that has a youngish nighttime crowd. On Thursday I asked about 10 regulars (all between 25 and 35) and they all thought it'd be a great game... but they were all drunk so they likely would have said anything was a great idea at that point.

Remember, the idea for the game has to work such that if you are NOT PLAYING you could easily ignore that it is even going on and just drink. Something that is impossible with Karaoke and difficult with pub quiz.