Just for Bar/Arcades In 2018: Tipsy Raccoons

We’ve been following the “bar/arcade” trend for what seems like an eternity now and contrary to some expectations (including my own), such businesses continue to hold on or in some cases expand their operations. Most of these businesses have kept their game focus on classics from the 80s and 90s; there have been a few manufacturers who have created a game to try and cater to these types of arcades but they have been infrequent (Bandai Namco’s Pac-Man Battle Royale is a good example, the game coming with cup holders).

With it being 2018, indie arcade developments do seem to be on the rise as we have several groups working on projects to appeal to out-of-home entertainment businesses. Now enter a new challenger: Glitchbit. With their upcoming title by the name of Tipsy Raccoons, they have developed something especially for bar/arcades. They seem to really understand the business model that most of these venues uses as this is not a coin-operated game – it’s a drink operated one. From their press kit:

The Tipsy Raccoons Drinkcade (TM) is the worlds first drinking arcade (patent pending.) The game can be played with a beverage that is alcoholic or non-alcoholic in a bottle, can or common glassware. 6 players compete in a collection of minigames and trivia questions. With only 1 button & joystick, players of all ages and game experience can participate.

That’s right, to add a credit to your player, you insert a drink into the cup holder instead of plunking in a coin or hitting a free play button.Glitchbit has developed a patent pending system that identifies the drink you put into the holder on the screen. You can see how that works from this trailer (Age warning – adult beverages are shown and there is a single f-bomb in there too):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c41yO723HXs

One can certainly get the ‘Killer Queen Arcade’ vibe out of this although this is more of a mini-game compilation than a single dedicated title. That is a good thing by my view as mini-game compilations tend to work well in arcades, even though we infrequently see them anymore (I haven’t seen a Panic Park in a good long while). For what this includes, I’ve seen something akin to an old school platformer, a volleyball game, a collect-falling fruit game and basketball as a part of it. UPDATE: The developer reached out to me to add that the game has a wireless connection where “new minigames and content is added every week. This way, the gameplay experience always feels fresh, as minigames are randomly selected from an ever growing pool.”

While I just heard about this, Glitchbit has already put up a good online presence. You can visit their main website here or follow them via various social media means:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tipsyRaccoons
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tipsyraccoons/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tipsyraccoons/
Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/tipsyraccoons

What do you think about Tipsy Raccoons from the info we’ve shared so far? We’ll keep an eye out for more news on it for the eventual release!