After the show we were going to see was canceled, we were trying to decide how to spend our night. After a little bit of googling, we found this bar and decided to go. We had an absolute blast! There wasn't much atmosphere but we were there on a Sunday night. I personally liked that it wasn't very crowded because my boyfriend and I got to play whatever we wanted lol They have a change machine so bring cash to get quarters! They have a good selection of games and card games too. We spent most of our time playing Galaga and Connect 4 haha Definitely a lot of fun though! We'll be back!! read more

Joystick Gamebar - Love the bathroom artwork! - Arcades Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

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The key is to go here when its slightly busy but not too packed. On weekends, come before 10pm and weekdays anytime is good. The spiked slushies are a unique touch and really hit the spot, and if you get a good table and score the Cards Against Humanity deck - you're in for the perfect evening. It's almost like a club energy with the library cozyness. And they've got some very intense white cards in the deck... read more

Joystick Gamebar - a person sitting at a bar - Arcades Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

Like this spot. Easy and casual fun. Good selection of different games from time past and friendly bartenders (most of the time)

I went to Joystick Gamebar this past Friday for Tom E's UYE (http://www.yelp.com/events/atlanta-uye-joystick-game-bar). Over a dozen Yelpers showed up and we had an absolute blast. Joystick Gamebar opened about 4 months ago on Edgewood Ave. in Old Fourth Ward. It's on the same stretch of road as Pizzeria Vesuvius, Noni's, and Sister Louisa's Church of the Living Room & Ping Pong Emporium. I'm a gamer. I grew up playing video games and I love them. This review will be written from a gamer's perspective. I love the concept of Joystick. It's a bar that contains old school arcade games from the 1980s and 1990s. The owners found and purchased used arcade cabinets, fixed them back into playable shape, and made them all only 25 cents per game to play. For many twentysomethings, thirtysomethings, and even fortysomethings, this is a retro trip back to their childhoods. It certainly was for me. I loved going to Putt-Putt as a kid and playing all the arcade games with my unlimited stash of tokens. Birthday parties at Putt-Putt were da bomb! When I first walked into Joystick, I felt like a kid in a candy store. Here is a list of all the arcade games (12 + 1 pinball machine) they had on Friday night, starting leftmost from the entrance and going clockwise: Rampage: World Tour Galaga X-Men Batman Ms. Pac-Man Neo Geo cabinet featuring World Heroes 2 Street Fighter II (the original World Warrior version) Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time High Speed (pinball game by Williams) Space Invaders Mortal Kombat II NBA Jam: Tournament Edition The owners did a good job of putting all these arcade cabinets in a smallish space. When we arrived around 6:30pm, the bar was mostly empty. By 9:30-10:00pm, the place was packed. If you need quarters to play the games, there are two machines that accept small bills ($5 bills and $1 bills) and they spit out quarters. Alternatively, you can bring $10 cash to the bar and they will hand you a rolled-up stack of quarters. As mentioned previously, the beauty of this arcade is that every game is only 25 cents. I spoke with one of the owners and he told me that some of the "newer" games, such as MK2, were 50 cents or a dollar to play by default. The owners had to figure out how to adjust the pricing so each game is only 25 cents. One design feature about Joystick is next to several of the arcade cabinets, there are countertops for you to put your beer, food, quarters, etc. I wish there was one next to every game. I played every game. A group of 4 of us immediately hopped onto Turtles in Time. We fed a ton of quarters into the game, especially during the boss fights. The bosses were quite difficult, even with 4 turtles! At the end of Level 5, the game crashed. I've never had an arcade game crash on me before, so that sucked. The game did some kind of ROM check and rebooted. I told one of the owners and he apologized and told us he could comp us a game, but I told him it was okay. Speaking of TMNT, Donatello's attack button was sticky. It needs to be cleaned. Another group of 4 started a game of X-Men and they were able to beat that game, which leads me to two observations about the games here. They are: 1. One quarter will get you 9 lives on X-Men. This makes X-Men a fantastic value (and very easy to beat). 2. One quarter gets you only one quarter of play in NBA Jam. What a rip-off! One quarter should allow you one game, not 1/4 of a game. In its current configuration, one game of NBA Jam costs $1 to play. Boo. Galaga, Ms. Pac-Man, and Space Invaders are the oldest games in there. I actually never played the arcade version of Space Invaders until Friday. It's hard. Batman sucks. They should replace that game with something else like: OutRun, After Burner, Chase HQ, NARC, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Simpsons, Killer Instinct, Tekken, Combatribes, Cruis'n USA, Final Fight, or Double Dragon. It appears that the game inside the Neo Geo cabinet can be switched out. Currently, World Heroes 2 is in there, but it wouldn't hurt for another game to be in there. I don't think anyone other than myself played WH2 the entire night. Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja. I always thought it was just "Bad Dudes." Where did the Dragon Ninja come from? Was he (they?) in the NES version? Regardless, it's pretty awesome they found themselves a Bad Dudes cabinet. The High Speed pinball game is fun and addicting. The current high score is 4,000,000+. I was able to get as high as 700,000. I would love to see the high scoring player in action. Speaking of high scores, there is giant blackboard in the back of the bar that has all of the high scores posted. Good luck beating any of them. The food menu here was very limited. I tried some chips and guac and a tamale and they were alright. Water is served in mason jars. I hope Joystick lives long and prospers. It would be awesome if they expand and/or swap out or add more games. read more

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I've been to Joystick a few times to try to understand the vibe of it, but after my last visit I've accepted that Joystick doesn't have a vibe. It's just what it is - a small bar with a nice-sized lounge area, old school video games, and not-quite-the-norm bar food. I've been after work for happy hour where the bar is occupied by a few regulars and a group of 20-somethings just out of corporate training (they were still wearing nametags). I've been on a Saturday night with it so packed that turning around was difficult. And most recently I visited Joystick on a random weekday evening where there were kids present around 9PM (parents just don't give a damn about school anymore.) A new food supplier has taken over since my last visit - Bad Dog Taqueria. I ordered the Jack-Me-Off burger with boniato fries (see photo). The burger tastes better than it looks and although there are two patties, I was able to take a bite with ease (I didn't have to stretch my mouth super wide which was nice.) Even though the burger has pepper jack cheese, it was much spicier than I expected to be, but I LOVED it. The spicy kick was a pleasant surprise. I would definitely order it again. The boniato fries were a disappointment. (Per the menu, the boniato is a white sweet potato.) These fries were really dry. So much so that I couldn't eat them and passed them along to my dinner companions who enjoyed them. I had two cocktails - the Vogue and the Betty Collins. The Vogue is a bit spicy and citrusy thanks to bechorovka (a herbal liqueur) and lemon; I didn't like the combination. It wasn't awful but not my taste. The Betty Collins is very refreshing thanks to vodka and pamplemousse (a grapefruit liquer); I think it's more of a summertime/daytime patio drink, but I would order it again. Street parking is still free after 7:00 thank the Gods! And service is laid-back as befits such an establishment. A part of me wants to love, love, love Joystick, but I just kind of like it. It's a cool place to hang out, get something to eat, lounge or play video games. I gave it 4 stars because on most nights, it's not a place you have to look a certain way for and that's rare for intown establishments. Yelp 100 #10 read more

Joystick Gamebar - Vogue cocktail - Arcades Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

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Thought I reviewed Joystick a long time ago.‍. For me, Joystick is a great place to hit after you've had a afternoon/evening meal and are looking for somewhere light to start your evening. As someone who is approaching my mid 30s (), I remember playing most of these games as a kid in Arcades and laundromats. So to be able to play these games in a relaxed, cool atmosphere as an adult is great. It also doesn't hurt that I can do this while enjoying drinks at the same time. And Of course after a few drinks, anyone can get this work on Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. I haven't played any of the table top games but that's more my preference. read more

Can I leave less??? I was escorted out after losing a game. There was no previous warning or talk. I feel targeted and disrespected. I had previously patronized the bar and talked to several customers. I have zero problems with anyone, yet was given no courtesy for having enthusiasm with one game. Zero stars, do not recommend at all. read more

The bf and I went here bc of the games. Yes, these classic games were only $0.25 apiece. Along with these games, there was a pinball machine, foosball table, and board games. The menu was limited and differed from what they posted online. I guess I should have know that hotdogs were the main items on the food menu. I mean. This place is a bar after all. They were pretty good dogs, but overpriced ones ($8 on average). The only parking available are the spaces in front of the establishment btw. And this area is mad with people on the classic weekend nights so it will be a different vibe than the 15 folks meandering around the games @ 2 PM on a Saturday. read more

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I finally had an opportunity to visit a Yelp favorite and the only thing memorable about the nite was that the place smelled like feet to me. I kept saying it all night, it smells like feet in here. We hit up the ATM machine and I almost bust out laughing at the fact that it spit out all $1 dollar bills We ran through $40 in ones pretty quickly for a place where all the games are a dollar, but will admit that we spent almost $27 on drinks with fancy names but not much kick I like the sitting area although no one was playing board games but mostly chatting, scrolling through their phones and sipping on drinks. I didnt try any of the food. Cool spot if you just want to get out and play old arcade games or sit around and chat with others with a similar interest. I like that its really dark and cool inside read more

Joystick Gamebar - I like dark places and I cannot lie...I do - Arcades Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

I still remember that a UYE was hosted here 1/13/14, not because I was at the event - because I wasn't - but because it was on my birthday so I couldn't make it. But ever since I heard of Joystick through the UYE mention, I had bee interested in visiting. I didn't try the food but it smelled heavenly. I didn't play any of the video games but I'm not a gamer at all, except for my extreme addiction to Candy Crush. We ventured to the back room where we honed in on a couch that another group offered to share with us. They also shared their Jenga game, which was totally awesome. I love the crowd, how open they were to talking with us and playing Jenga with us as if we were already good friends. We sipped on waters one of our friends scored from the bar as we slowly sobered up. Unfortunately, that meant I started drifting into my late night sleepy stupor as I settled further and further into the warm comfy couch. One day, I want to make this my first stop so I can grab food, play a real video game, order a drink, and meet some more cool people. The end. read more

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Looooove 95th street! Everything is GOOD! I suggest the Garbage fries with chicken, ground turkey chili cheese tacos, jerk chicken made as tacos, and of course a few blackberry brambles from Joystick's bar! Oooowweeeee read more

Mason is the reason we tipped! We came in before sunset, the bartendress was less than overwhelming, vaping while serving... The pop up food was FAN friggen TASTIC! Tacos were the best but everything was great!! Centipede game was great! Lots to choose from, bathroom was the best smelling room in the place but dont let that keep you from going!! read more

Went for a kids' birthday on a Sunday afternoon and had a great time. Only had drinks, but I LOVE their cocktail list!!Bartender was great.

I absolutely love barcades. As an introvert that likes to stay home and stream league of legends, these places are an excellent compromise and excuse for me to not be a complete shut in. Unfortunately, unlike the other barcades I've been to around the state of Georgia, this bar has some very unwelcoming staff. I was super excited to check out the mean rockband karaoke in the back room. This place is pretty cool in that it has separate rooms with many activities going on that don't interrupt each other. Anyway I made the mistake of thinking that I was welcome in this establishment as a minority female in Edgewood. I understand the Rockband Karaoke host is supposed to be mean. My main tagline for streaming is that I'm a huge troll. But there's a fine line between being mean and being racist. And I believe that the host needs to reevaluate his comedy material. He even knew the distastefulness of the remark he made about my heritage was wrong because he tried to gloss over it by trying to make fun of my band mates for being white. Did he apologize after? No. Did he acknowledge me as a person? No. The whole experience was disgusting and left a bad taste in my mouth that the cheaply priced shots couldn't wash away. All in all, I would only recommend this bar to you if you are a white person looking for a good time at a good price. If you do not fit that description, you will have a much better time taking your patronage elsewhere or just staying at home. read more

The thought of a video game bar never crossed my mind until I heard of Joystick. It has the potential to be one of the dopest spots on Edgewood Ave. It definitely draws a crowd on the weekend! Man! People everywhere! And I heard the X Men game was back so now I'm super excited about that. The slushie boozy drinks are always pretty good & the food is currently being served by husband & wife team, Tracee & Demayne of 95th Street Tacos. A1 Day 1 when it comes to 95th! I've been supporting them since The Department Store days! Never a dull moment with them or the tacos! read more

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They have only. A few good games but the wings and fry's were super good the drinks were a good price and it was something new and cute 7/10

GUYS THEY HAVE FOOD!? I had no idea they have a small menu at this local favorite on Edgewood. The menu consists of Asian street food bites. what are the most popular that people tend to order is there potato stick. Which is a full potato spiral cut along the skewer served with a delicious Asian asian-inspired sauce. Everything else is tapas sized and just enough to keep your belly coded as the beers keep coming on a weeknight. The arcade games inside of joystick are all super old school. This means they are going to be some of the hardest games you have ever played in your entire life. If you like the idea of retro gaming you probably forgot just how difficult these games can be. Adding booze to the mix doesn't make it any easier. Recently I've been coming to joystick every Tuesday night for their one-off dungeons & dragons night. I am beyond thrilled to say that the crowd that shows up for this is extraordinary really welcoming and fun to be around. You'll never feel like a stranger. I've done it twice now and I have thoroughly enjoyed it each time. They run probably 5 games each night and each game consists of five to six players. This means on even the coldest nights they have an average of 40 people show up to this thing. I have found that there are a lot of doctors and lawyers interestingly enough that show up. As well as improv amateurs who are there to cut their teeth and home their imagination. This is a free event and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for some good organized fun and socialization on a weeknight. Keep up the incredible work fellas. read more

Travis was a great bartender and knew his stuff about recommendations. I would recommend him to any visitors in the future. read more

Joystick Gamebar - Travis was a great bartender and knew his stuff about recommendations. I would recommend him to any visitors in the future. - Arcades Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

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I first came to Joystick back in 2015. Surprised I never wrote a review on it. This is a great barcade located in the hip 'hood Edgewood. Small but functional. It's great for small groups or date night. It does get crowded like crazy on Saturday nights. Best to go in afternoon/early evening. I love the beers and cocktails they serve here. Quite a few bars on the same street too. read more

What a night! What a bar! Joystick Gamebar is exactly like it sounds,a bar bunch of classic arcade games and then board games for you to play with your friends. It's very much decorated like a dive bar. dim lighting and a little rough around the edges but the content is good. Drinks are reasonably prices and games are fun. It's a hip spot with a great crowd. My friends and I arrived and played board games with a couple other people there. Protip 10% off you cosplay in the bar read more

Awesome dive bar with retro gaming all around the walls. Bring a bag of quarters, order a fantastic cocktail (yes, really) and sit out a cold Sunday afternoon with a group of friends. Their post-Halloween cocktail menu was great - the "Disease Ansari" - gin, lemon, sage, lavender bitters and ginger ale - is the best cocktail I've had in Atlanta this year. read more

This place was a TON of fun. I took a group from work for drinks and games. Everyone had a great time. We spent a lot of time at the TMNT game and playing foosball. Played several other games as well. read more

This is pretty much the only barcade in Atlanta. Battle and Brew doesn't count. Unfortunately is pales in comparison compared the one in Nashville or Asheville. The one in Nashville (Two Bits) has free 20+ games and pinball. MK2, SF2, Tekken 3, and Killer Instinct! all free. I've been spoiled. I want more from Atlanta. I'm not going to rate the food since they have a rotating selection of outside vendors. The games are pretty well maintained and the beer selection is good. My only complaints are the X-Men and Simpsons game switches have been set on a higher difficulty than normal. Would I come here again? Sure. There's not much competition for barcades in the area. read more

Awesome place to feel like a kid again. All your favorites arcade games are here. Super fun to spend time with friends and even show your kids. read more

Quasi-divey gamer paradise with full bar, yes please! I really dig Joystick's casual hole-in-the-wall vibe and always love a trip down memory lane. And yeah, maybe it's dating me, but it's not carbon dating. These are literally all the games I grew up playing with my brother and cousins, so I have to admit I can kick some serious ass on the arcade selection here. However, I will give credit where credit is due and did get a beat down by Johnny T as Cyclops on X-Men that night. Thank the stars for pinball in the other room where I was able to mutliball that ass. We checked it out pretty early, so everyone in our group who was down, was able to get their game on. And the crew certainly started to get their drink on. I had a pretty tasty and fair priced cocktail. But, I was totally blown away by the deliciousness of the boozy frozen Vietnamese iced coffee. It was heavenly. Think frozen Irish coffee, with more of actual coffee taste. An added bonus for me is that since it's frozen I couldn't thrown them back as per the usual. Really like this spot and I could see how I could easily post up here, drinks and a pinball machine to pass the night. read more

Joystick Gamebar - Frozen Vietnamese Coffee! Do it!! - Arcades Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

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My favorite bar in all of atlanta! The owners are amazing community leaders and it's just such a haven of quality, and fun. Their well selection is so well curated and is only $5 (well vodka is cathead, which is a mid shelf-premium vodka anywhere) There's literally nothing bad to say about this place EXCEPT... BRING BACK 95th STREET TACOS!!!!!! I'm from LA and I'm somewhat indifferent towards Mexican food, THAT was some damn good food. I haven't tried this new Korean joint but I know it'll be no kogi. You guys have had a lot of pop ups (the pierogis etc) but 95th ST WAS EVERYTHINGGG!!!! read more

This place is not what I expected. If you want a loud place with interesting expensive drinks but get them slowly come here. My friends and me went here to get out and have fun but the place is really small and loud. We also had trouble getting drinks and had to wait so long to get them. Also most of the games here dont work so your stuck waiting for the few available. read more

Me and my friend went there yesterday expecting to have a good time. But it all went south due to the short hair female bartender she walked passed us 3 times and the other bartender didn't even acknowledge us. Then when she finally came to us she was mad rude with an attitude. After that we got our drink and shots and tipped her she told the other bartender that we was rude when we wasn't. So we asked for another round of shots. She then goes to say we didn't tip her and refused to serve us. The guy bartender basically ignored and said he is not even on duty but he was behind the bar serving people around us. Idk what kinda energy they where giving but us a visiting will most definitely not recommend this place to anyone with that type of weird vibe or energy. read more

Top notch game bar but for goodness sake, DO NOT COME HERE FOR THE FRIES! We got the drunkchies and ordered just a side of garlic Parmesan fries to hold us over and it was luke warm undercooked fries. Not sure if they even have a fryer to fry fries but it tasted like soggy and cold undercooked microwaved fries :( -tried to send the fries back to the kitchen to cook it longer but currently no avail, they simply let the fries sit out and just threw more parm on it. Again, great bar so it's definitely four stars worth for that alone. read more

Dope place to visit and reminisce. Arcade game with lounge area for board games, dominoes, spades or whatever you want

I'm going back and forth between 2 and 3 stars. Why so low? Lots of reasons. Maybe it's just me, but I'm not much of a dive bar kind of guy. Well first off, the website is horribly out of date and inaccurate. If you are going to try and guide people about your establishment with a website, then keep it updated. What was out of date? I was looking for a Donkey Kong game for a pretty silly reason and the site said that they had one. We got there and looked around and while there were a few good games, Donkey Kong wasn't among them. They had Popeye. Remember that game? Eh? No? Me neither. There were a few other oddballs there. The other issue with the website is they had a Google Doc to talk about parking. Really? You can't just put it on the website? Oh and the doc is inaccurate. I just took their advice at face value as it said that on street parking is free after 7 PM. Well, I got there after 7 and definitely found out that it isn't free after 7 when I got back to my car. I didn't check, but I'm betting the time they were trying to say is 10PM. My wife wanted to get a drink and had a lot of issues getting the unfriendly bar staff to help her. When she finally did get a drink, it was decent. Oh, the website had a out of date drink menu as well. What really was stupid is how some of the patrons/bar staff acted. My wife was sitting at the bar enjoying her drink while I was trying to remember how to play Galaga and people just decided to crowd in behind her. They were ordering drinks and passing them over her head. Pretty classless. I'm guessing it is the design of the bar as there wasn't an obvious place to stand to order a drink. I'm sure there are nerds who love the place, but that is probably because they have friends there. I did find Donkey Kong. The new Whole Foods in Decatur has a game bar spot with free arcade games. It is pretty dang cool. read more

What a fun spot! I went here for a friend's vintage t-shirt themed birthday gathering. It was like a flashback to my childhood days growing up in the 80's. The spot resembles a basement to me with a bar, old leather couches, old furniture, weird decirations, & old skool arcade games. It's dark yet cozy enough for a fun date nite. They also have board games & card games available.The crowd was friendly & jumped in to play games with folks they didn't know (it could have been the alcohol that inspired them)...lol! I didn't drink cocktails, but my friends seemed to enjoy theirs. The food was catered by 95th Street Tacos. I was too hungry so I devoured my food & forgot to take photos....next time I go I'll be sure to snap a few photos of the food...lol! The beef & chicken tacos were good along with the tortilla chips. Not the best I had, but good enough to pass the taste test. I went on a Sunday so street parking was free. Other times there's paid street parking at the meters. The restroom was a little creepy. Try not to go or do it fast & get out! I'll be back with a date for date nite! read more

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One visit in and I'm already in love. First, a few warnings/heads up's: -this place is small. Don't roll in with your whole posse and expect to take over all of the games. There are only 12 or so games: this isn't Dave and Buster's. -all of the games are old school: Street Fighter II, Galaga, Ms. Pacman. Don't expect high falootin' driving games and the like. -they don't have an ATM, but they do have a change machine. Come prepared. Now that your expectations are tempered, be prepared to fall in love. The bartenders are perfect, the drink list divine (don't miss the Cowboys and Indians cocktail: autumn in a glass), and the games are the perfect way to kill a few hours and your entire 400 toll stash. I was too full to partake in food on my first visit, but when a menu includes goodies like deep fried oreos, I know I'll enjoy it at some point. Also, single ladies: take note. This place is full of dudes. And, it's the perfect place to roll solo. The staff is easy to talk to and the games provide a much more interactive distraction than scrolling through your iPhone. read more

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Old school arcade games +bar + food = heaven!! I came across this place with a group of friends who actually live a few blocks from this eatablisment. It located in Edgewood eight on the new Atlanta street car rail. Not far off of 85/75. The place consist of a fully stocked bar with 4 local beers on Draft and cheap tall boy beers price from2-5 dollars. Specialty mixed drinks from 8- 10 dollars . Food was provided by illegal goods now is bad dog offering tacos and burritos. With my verdict on the new food it ok. Game they have oh my god street fighter to pac man to Mortal Combat. All for a quarter. There is a lounge type set up with sofas and couches in the other room. No tvs in this location. Street parking is only avaliable parking, but it's free after 7 pm. Over all great place to catch a beer play some vintage games !! read more

Joystick Gamebar - New menu - Arcades Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

Old school video games and drinks. Seriously there is nothing wrong it's that sentence. Bring your quarters or get change when here. Street fighter, galaga, mortal kombat, joust, gauntlet, ms PAC man all the good ones Come have the bourbon coffee slushee (four roses and Vietnamese coffee) and play some games. It's never that crazy busy and they even have board games. read more

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I immediately fell in love with the bartender when she told that dude to pull his pants up or get the *#%! out of the bar. (He got the *#%! out of the bar.) This Edgewood hangout is crafted from a selection of very cool, vintage video games and pinball machines. (Yes, a Dolly Parton pinball machine is there. Yes, I played it. Twice.) I would have gone in twice more, but my friends showed up. Quarters are easy to be had to play whatever floats your boat. Give 'em $10, and they'll give you a roll of quarters which you can spend in Rampage, The Simpsons, TMNT, Galaga, Centipede, and many other blast-from-the-past games. The bar is very cool. There's a selection of *very small* bottles next to the register--a variety of bitters, essences, and elixirs to create an excellent cocktail for any discriminating palate. Joystick very intentionally tries to support smaller breweries and distilleries. The dark rums they have aren't Morgan's or Meyers, but they are delicious! Hipsters and geeks alike can kick back and relax here. Comfy sofas. Tables in case you're eating. And street parking is free after 7pm. The food we had came from "Illegal Food." I may write that review tomorrow. In the meantime, I won't hesitate to return to Joystick to hang out for a bit. Holler if you're coming with. And pull your pants up! read more

I'm a fan of old school arcade games. Located in Edgewood Corridor in downtown Atlanta. They serve drinks (well drinks, draft and bottled beer) and snack food. You cannot beat $5.00 well liquors- names like Cathead Vodka, Betty Collins, Nico 75, The Nabokov, Vogue, and my favorite Bourbon-Four Roses Yellow Label Bourbon... You cannot help to order or pass up. I'm also a sucker for junk food. Foods like Grilled cheese, chicken fingers, fish sticks, pork fried rice, blooming onions are right up my alley. My brother and I just had dinner so I was sorry that I had to pass up their meals. Joystick offers popular arcade games from Donkey Kong, Dolly Parton Pinball, Galaga, Mortal Kombat, Ms. Pac-man, Centipede, NBA Jam, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Street Fighter II, The Simpsons and more. There is a charge for these arcade games. There are ATMs in the bar along with change machines. Make sure to bring ID, because you are carded before you enter. Overall, I had a blast being here! The other side of the arcade is a lounge room which was dimmed and cozy. I could have stayed there for hours. This place really took me back to my childhood/teenage years. (grew up in the 80's/90's) THANK YOU.... read more

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I loved the concept. I thought it would be dumb to go there. I don't drink so I'm not a bar person. I'm so over video games. Somehow, this place does it right. They have nostalgic games there. If I was 18, I would think it was lame. Since I'm 34, I thought it was awesome. The nostalgia factor shot through the roof. As of Dec 24, 2012, these are the games I saw: Street Fighter 2, High Speed pinball machine, Bad Dudes, Turtles in Time, Galaga, World Heros, Space Invaders, Ms. Pac Man, Batman, X-Men, Rampage 3, Mortal Kombat II, NBA Jam, and others. They even have a jukebox, but it's not the old-school looking one. I loved how they had Street Fighter 2. It's the original, classic version with only 8 characters to choose from. It's not Turbo, Champion Edition, Alpha, Hyper-Fighting, etc. It was the original 1991 version of Street Fighter 2. That brought me back to my middle school days. I wonder if it had Guile handcuff glitch. Games are only 25 cents, which is awesome. They have a change machine for quarters. If you're short on cash, they have an ATM there too. It dispenses only dollar bills. I thought that was cool. However, they charge you a hefty $2 ATM fee. The space is small and intimate. It reminds me of an old Arcade. Maybe that was the feel they were going for. On a Friday night at around 11PM, this place can get packed. They have bars with cocktails. One of the favorite of Tom E.'s was Cowboy's and Indian. It's like an alcoholic Chai tea. They also had Cranberry Mule, which is spicy like your dad's "friend." It had a good, cranberry taste. I thought it was too gingery though. For parking, you can park on the streets. It's free after 7 PM. Sure, I wish they had more games like the Simpsons Arcade Game, Double Dragon, or Final Fight. They should even have obscure games like Ninja Baseball Batman. But with their space constraints, I think the games they have are fine. Thanks for bringing out my old nerdy, geek in me. read more

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So much fun. I meant to stop in for a beer, but ended up staying 3 hours. Friendly service and a ton of games. Will definitely be back!!

Hand crafted cocktails. Quarter arcades. Board games in a separate lounge area with couches. & Atari. Does that not sound awesome in itself?! We went there to celebrate Acelyn B.'s birthday after dinner. It was a Sunday night so it wasn't busy by any means. Drinks are fairly priced at around $8 per cocktail. There are plenty of seats in the adjoining room for a few large groups of people to enjoy some board games. There's a tv set up with Atari. The arcade games are a little old but hey, they're classics. Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, NBA Jam, TMNT, and a couple of pinball tables are among the notable games in their arcade. Don't come thinking it's some full on D&Bs or Gameworks or anything like that. This place is still pretty much a dive. I went to Ormsby's on my first visit to ATL & loved. But heads up! Joystick is looking to be a good alternative to crowded bar. Well done, Joystick. Well done. read more