Add-a-Ball Bar and Arcade

Hidden beneath the Piece of Mind tobacco shop, Add-a-Ball is a retro-style arcade and pinball joint that also slings booze and snacks. As Seattle’s The Stranger reviewed it, “It’s the basement you wish you could’ve had when you were 14, if you were 14 in 1983.” 

Of course, because this is a bar, 14-year-olds are not allowed. These pinball games are for the 21+ crowd. Between 2 p.m. and 2 a.m., adults looking for a bit of nostalgic fun can pop into Add-A-Ball for a retro good time and cheap drinks.

The games include classics like Tetris and Buck Hunter, as well as novelties like a Lethal Weapon 3-themed pinball machine. The bar hosts frequent pinball tournaments, including ladies-only matches. For the more analog among us, Jenga and table hockey are available for play too.

The arcade approaches all of its endeavors with the same spirit of old fashioned, childlike whimsy. The proprietors have been known to host summertime parties out front using a tarp-lined truck bed as the swimming pool. A back glass-inspired floor-to-ceiling mural of Patrick Swayze graces the Point Break room. Position yourself behind a pinball machine, feed it a quarter, and forget all your responsibilities aside from the left and right flippers.