DC Geeks Happy Hour Tonight!

by Samantha Tynes

DC Geeks is now hosting happy hours the second Wednesday of every month. That means tonight! This time, we're hosting movie night! And if you can't make it, don't worry. Just set aside August 14 on your calendar for video game trivia.

You know, the one where we show you where best to drink,
while absolutely PWNING at Scrabble (image by Geoff Parsons)

If you’re reading this, I’m assuming you’re familiar with our "This Week in Geek" articles. Every Monday we here at DC Geeks provide you with the latest list of fun, nerdy, niche, and off-the-beaten-path events in the Washington metro area. And we show some love for Southern Maryland, Northern Virginia, and sometimes even Baltimore. 

We like doing things. We like having fun and meeting people and being a part of the community that we've adopted. But one day, an idea began to form:

• What if we had our own events?
• Why not a happy hour?
• What about a totally geeky venue?
• How about Atlas Arcade?

Insert whatever intimidating or awe-inspiring music you prefer here.
(image adapted from AZAdam's photo)

Great idea, right?  We’ve talked about Atlas Arcade quite a few times before. I don’t need to tell you again how awesome it is. But I will anyways in case you're new. Atlas is a great little bar on H Street filled with classic arcade machines, 80's movie posters covering the walls, and G.I. Joe figures hanging from the ceiling.

It’s also the only bar I know where I can order PopTarts with my beer. This 80's and 90's kid dream bar has also been gracious enough to provide space for our Geek Happy Hour. Our inaugural event, A Night with Mega Man, was the second week of June, and we had a blast. We rocked out to Mega Man music from Protomen, The Megas, and more (Get it? Rocked? If you do, you'll enjoy this AMV Hell throwback - the clip only runs from 16:53 to 17:02). Meanwhile, we tried our best to beat levels on the big screen.

One last pun: Megaman knows how to rock.
(image by - EMR -) 

We arrived for set-up to a mostly empty bar, only a handful of people milling about on a Wednesday night. For a moment, I was nervous no one would show. But we went ahead and put up posters and set up games, the Mega Man melodies filling the air and people started to trickle in. Some people were pleasantly surprised to find a themed happy hour going on, joining in in watching as people breezed through levels, or cheering them on as they did their best to stumble through.

As the night progressed, we got an impressive crowd for a Wednesday night, especially since it was our first event. We met new people, saw old friends, and when 10 o’clock rolled around and our original time slot came to an end, people stuck around. I am very much looking forward to tonight (as I mentioned before, it's movie night)! We're eager to see everyone who made it out last time as well as some new faces.