People weary of the pandemic have expanded the already large numbers of video and arcade gamers. They’re upping their time spent playing as well, and Bloomingtonians are part of the trend. One local place to play is the Cade.
NBA Jam, Ms. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong. Golden Tee, Off road, Atari Star Wars — and other arcade and video games — await players Tuesday through Saturday evenings in this retro-style venue.
All the games are free to play, and Tuesdays and Wednesdays there’s not even a cover charge at the 217 N. Walnut St. bar.
Video games, entertainment options inside a computer, come in many forms. Some are movies that let participants interact. Others are sports, such as NBA Jam’s basketball. Some are board and card games. Some mimic a day in the life; some enable artistry.
In 1940, «Nim» became the world’s first video game. Visitors to the New York World’s Fair in 1939-40 stood in lines to play the Nimitron, a non-programmable computer connected to two miles of copper wire. Its sole intention was to entertain people weary of the Great Depression.
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According to MorganStanley.com, the increase in gamers has created an international market, with people playing one another in foreign countries as well as their own.
AlphaWise, Morgan Stanley’s survey and data department, has recently discovered that not only all ages but all demographics have taken to gaming. Half of the surveyed U.S. residents said they had played a video game after the pandemic began. Some used a personal computer; others used gaming consoles or their mobile devices.
«This is my favorite place in Bloomington to play video games,» said Trenton «Moosy» Musch, a local artist. He entered the Cade late last month with two friends, conversed a little, then picked up a fake gun. He pointed at the machine to which it was affixed, took aim, and in an instant was wholly focused on his electronic prey.
A couple of decades ago, gaming was considered almost asocial, with one person sitting for hours clutching a console and yelling at a screen, alone.
That has changed. The strongest motivator, like the Nimitron at the World’s Fair, is still amusement, but almost a third of the gamers surveyed replied that, by playing, they are looking for social circuits. And particularly for gamers who are younger. More than a quarter of the surveyed participants under 35 believed gaming to be more effective than social media at connecting them with others.
The Cade’s retro vibe makes entering feel like stepping into a 1970s movie or bar.
«Even our younger customers like the nostalgic vibe, and they actually prefer to play our older video games,» said Hannah Rennels, the Cade’s bartender and assistant general manager. She studied environmental management at Indiana University and had nearly finished her degree when the Cade’s owner offered her a good job. The drink she makes and serves most often, she said, is the Mario Tart, with its «secret vodka.»
Rennels has been employed full-time at the Cade since it opened in 2017. She likes working for a family-owned business, «where I can talk with my bosses.» Her personal favorite drink is the Pixel Faded, into which she pours whiskey, triple sec — and secrets.
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The Cade’s location, steps north of the Bloomington square, brings in plenty of age 21-plus IU students, she said, but also older patrons and date-night couples.
The consoles, and all the games, are free to play. The newest console is Nintendo Switch. Nintendo 64 is a hit too, and so is Sony Computer Entertainment’s console PlayStation 1.
PlayStation, with its 32-bit consoles, sent Sony soaring in the gaming scene. Games such as Ridge Racer attracted players, and by 2005 the PlayStation was the first console to sell 100 million.
Game consoles, computer systems that let one or more participants play games, work either with a screen such as a TV or come as held-held games with built-in displays. Unlike a personal computer, which can play many types of games, the console depends on particular game software.
The Cade also offers themed trivia nights every other Wednesday starting at 8 p.m. Past themes have included TV shows such as the police comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,» along with «The Office,» «Pokémon» and «Bob’s Burgers.» The next trivia competition (topic to be announced) will be 8-10 p.m. April 20. Hannah Rennels writes the trivia questions.
The Cade offers space for private events, too.
If neither video games nor trivia appeals, next door the same owner runs the Video Saloon, featuring a pool table and dart boards.
WHAT: The Cade, a Bloomington video and arcade gaming bar and events space for those 21 and older.
WHEN: Opens at 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
WHERE: The Cade, 217 N. Walnut St., 812-287-7181, thecade812.com.
HOW MUCH: No cover charge Tuesdays and Wednesdays; cover is $2 Thursdays, $3 Friday and Saturday.
