On Sunday, I went to the updated Roxy Ball Room on Merrion Street with four friends. After a busy week, we were all looking forward to an afternoon of fun and games.
I travelled over on my bike and found a safe rack for it outside Zapp, whilst my friends travelled by bus and Uber. We convened outside the Ball Room just before 3pm and then headed on in together.
On arrival, we were taken to the basement for our first game – crazy pool. This game is a new addition for Roxy Ball Room and is a mash up of mini gold and pool, with 9 holes of entertainment. We were all intrigued by the concept and keen to give it a go. The space was cool, with neon lighting, music and bright colours. However, whilst we thought the concept of crazy pool was cool, after playing a few holes, we all became frustrated by how hard the game was to play.
The space to get the cue in the right position on most of the tables was a bit limited, so we sometimes had to move the ball in order to be able to play. The tables are made from smooth wood, so the ball moved too quickly and often rolled to the corners of the table instead of stopping when the momentum had stopped, so we all struggled to pot the ball within less than the maximum 6 moves recommended. Whilst the tables had been well made and had some cool structures on them, including loop the loop and bridges for the balls, these structures had lots of areas where the ball got stuck, and again meant that we had to move the balls before we could progress. Despite these challenges, we still enjoyed the game and had fun. Hopefully the teething problems will be resolved before our next visit!
Our next game was shuffleboard, a game in which players push weighted discs across a sandy wooden table to score points. The shuffleboard tables were upstairs and I loved the airy space and design. Whilst we sorted out teams, we ordered some drinks to keep us hydrated. We played a few rounds of shuffleboard to give us time to get into the game and get the knack of pushing the discs at the right pace. I enjoyed the challenge of this game and liked figuring out strategies to score the most points.
After an afternoon of activity, we were all pretty peckish. Thankfully, Roxy Ball Room has some food options, and so we made the most of them. We sat in the bar area and ordered 5 pizzas to share. The pizza bases were fresh and well cooked, although the toppings fell a little bit short of what we hoped for. We also questioned the addition of chicken nuggets on one of the pizzas, but I guess some people really like that.
Overall, we had a great afternoon, despite the challenges of crazy pool. The games were fun and kept us all entertained for a couple of hours.
I think it would be good for Roxy Ball Room to offer game bundles so that the costs can be reduced – especially since extra games add to the cost, and this can easily rack up.
The staff were all welcoming and accommodating. The pizzas were good for refuelling us and ideal for people visiting Roxy Ball Room after a night out.
On Sunday, we had been hoping to give duck pin bowling a go, but it was proving very popular, so unfortunately, we couldn’t get a slot. However, this gives me an ideal reason to go back sooner, and whilst I’m there, I’ll look to improving my shuffleboard skills!
https://www.roxyballroom.co.uk/
All photographs by Gemma Bridge.
