The old layover routine is being rewritten, and if you want to know where the action is, it’s where the controllers are, not the shakers. In cities from Minneapolis to Chicago, we’re seeing venues that put videogames front and centre. They are luring in the crew, the frequent flier and the whole family, with day passes and Priority Pass making it easy to come in and play.
A look at the Portal in Minneapolis
For David Lee and Kassy Yang at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the highlight wasn’t some hard-to-come-by whiskey. It was having their phones to themselves. While they were off scrolling in quiet before a long trip to Asia, their 8- and 12-year-olds were in the thick of it with some Mario Kart and Crash Bandicoot.
They found that kind of environment at the Portal Lounge, where the bar is for the talking and the games are for the doing. The founders, Emma and Jordan Walbridge, put it there on purpose. They were done with the hush of a library you get in a standard lounge. And they have company: a survey from last week has two out of three adults putting in an hour or more of gaming a week.
You can see why this has been making waves:
– A way to get in the zone on a short layover
– Some quiet time with the family, no phones in sight
– A place for both the dabbler and the hard-core type
– The kind of Priority Pass you can put on a credit card
Who is it for?
Too often, time in an airport has been a matter of lukewarm food and hunting for an outlet. We’re trying to make the gameplay part of the let-down. Our aim is not just to keep the little ones from running amok; you’ll see your share of business types and even some of the airline’s own in here too.
It all got going in 2018 with the opening of Gameway at DFW. Today we have 11 of them in the U.S., and a couple more coming this year. The one in Minneapolis is our newest and has a bit more of a presence to it.
We put a little of ourselves into how we run things. I’ve been a Mario Kart guy for years, and Jordan was in the Army overseas when he first got into Halo. We set up a room where you don’t have to be put in your place with a shush, and where a good leaderboard is welcome.
We threw open the doors in the D concourse for Memorial Day. At 3,800 square feet, it’s meant to be a bit of a ruckus, not a hideaway. The lounge is up back, and if you were here on a Friday, you’d see people of every age at the stations.
We have 17 of them, with everything from a Switch to an Xbox to some of our own build. The menu is there to support the main event: you can put together a bowl, have some buffalo cauliflower or a salad. RC is what we put on tap. There are plenty of places to plug in and some music in the air, though no bathroom of our own.
When it comes to a drink, we do a bit of both. You have a robot at the helm-same outfit that does the Bionic Bar for Royal Caribbean-and then our human side for an Old Fashioned or the like. We keep the buffet modest so you don’t lose sight of the screen.
Priority Pass members walk in without a charge. For the rest, a $70 day pass covers your tab for food, drinks and the games. “I can’t say I’ve been in a lounge like this,” says David Lee, an IT man from the city. He put in a few laps of Mario Kart while his wife had the luxury of her phone to herself for a change.
Don’t mistake us for a club with a babysitting service. If we only had the families, we wouldn’t be in business; you can’t count on them year-round.
We’re after the kind of flyer who is looking for something a little more than an outlet and a preflight drink.
Gameway at Chicago Midway: a change of pace
Step across from Gate A5 at Midway and you’ll find a new Gameway that’s been here since earlier in the year. It has the feel of a well-lit corner store, with a fridge full of soft drinks, seltzer and a few beers, and some candy and chips on hand. A lot of people will just pop in for something to take with them.
I was there on a Wednesday and it was fairly quiet. You can put down some cash or, if you have one of the right cards, make use of your Priority Pass. That will set you up for an hour of play and a round of refreshments for you and two others. You’re even allowed to bring your own provisions.
The crew are what they call wranglers – they like to put on a show and talk you into giving it a go. Raycer Martin, 19, was in town for a couple of hours. He’s a student and a chef in Arizona. At first he thought the whole thing was a bit of a joke, but the staff won him over.
He put down $25 for an hour on a PC to run through some Apex Legends and was into it. “It’s better than the usual routine of plugging in and scrolling,” he said. “Zoning out on a game is the reset you need between flights.”
Hands-on
When you’re new to it, a little help from the staff goes a long way. I had a go at Mario Kart with a Diet Coke and some Ruffles. The manager, an ex-GameStop guy, told me I’d be fine once I got the hang of it. I gave Minecraft a five-minute shot and called it quits.
Then again, I’m not exactly the profile they have in mind. I can’t tell you much about the difference between a Switch and an Xbox, and my last foray into gaming was on a Wii. Still, there was a vibe to the room, and the idea of a quick session is made for an airport.
They don’t expect you to be a pro. Some come in for a seltzer before they have to be in line. Others will put in an hour with a game they know to work off some pre-takeoff jitters.
What it comes down to
A lounge where you can game puts a different spin on a layover. Take Portal. It’s 3,800 square feet, so don’t go in expecting a Centurion Lounge. It’s more in the same ballpark as a small Escape. But you get more for your time.
There’s a robot bartender for the spectacle, some good food and places to sit and charge up. No private head, though. In the end, the action is with the controllers, not the bar.
Families like it because the kids are occupied and the parents can put the phone down. For the business flier, it’s an easy way to let off steam without having to hunt for a spot. And for the airport, it’s a wager that experience trumps image when you’re up against the clock.
It’s not all talk. We’re at 11 Gameway spots now, with two on the way. The one in Minneapolis has a few extra frills, like a robot pourer front and centre.
Judging by the people in here, the game has taken over from the buffet. You can have your Old Fashioned and your snacks, sure. But the only screen you really want to be in front of is the one with a finish line.
