Source:
https://scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/2132518/five-indoor-party-rooms-get-hongkongers-moving-and-having Health & Wellness
Five indoor party rooms to get Hongkongers up, moving and having fun in any weather
Jenga, VR games, KerPlunk, alternative versions of pool, soccer and table tennis – with large indoor spaces offering this much fun, there’s no excuse not to get out of your flat
Jenga, VR games, KerPlunk, alternative versions of pool, soccer and table tennis – with large indoor spaces offering this much fun, there’s no excuse not to get out of your flat
If you’d rather get your next dose of exercise indoors, you should check out some of the city’s party rooms, where you can get moving while having fun, working up a sweat and maybe even an appetite. Whether you have a handful of fun seekers or an entire class, these venues have space for parties of all sizes. We scope out five of the best.
The curling area in Ball Room in Kwun Tong.
1. Ball Room
Ball Room has three venues across the city and one in Macau. Each is equipped with different game facilities such as four-way air hockey, pool soccer, shuffleboard and pool (pocket billiards).
The 3,000 sq ft space in Kwun Tong’s Camel Paint Building can host up to 120 guests and has a designated area for curling – a sport where players slide stones across the floor towards the goal. It also has a set-up for rolling Jenga, where the block-stacking, stack-crashing game is played on a rotating floor.
Our favourite is the electric rod, essentially a wire loop game. Running the rod through the circuit without touching the metal and setting off a buzzer requires steady hands and a level head. It is so challenging that completing the mission within the time limit of 150 seconds feels close to impossible, but, according to staff members, at least one Japanese guest has succeeded.
If you need a boost of energy after exercising, the space has a kitchen where customers can cook up their favourite dishes. Advance booking is required, and you must bring your own ingredients.
Camel Paint Building, 60 Hoi Yuen Street, Kwun Tong. Other locations in Kwun Tong, Lai Chi Kok and Macau. HK$40 to HK$55 per hour. Inquiries: theballroom.com.hk/
Korokoro Viking at Best Fantasy in Kwun Ton. Photo: Jonathan Wong
2. Best Fantasy
Also located in the industrial area of Kwun Tong, Best Fantasy is home to whimsical games usually seen only on Japanese television shows. Race to fill up the water tanks above your opponents and drop it on their heads in Rain Biking, or work with your friends to tilt the table to guide the ball through obstacles in Korokoro Viking.
There is also alternative table tennis in which four players sit under the table and poke their heads up through holes to blow the ball towards their opponent’s goal. It is a test of both reaction and lung capacity. Playing this for too long may leave you feeling a little winded – and dizzy.
Unit B, 9/F, Yin Da Commercial Building, 181 Wai Yip St, Kwun Tong. HK$188 for four hours. Inquiries: 9186 8523
VR Arena in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.
VR Arena in Causeway Bay is equipped with Virtuix Omni, a one-of-a-kind virtual reality treadmill. In addition to a headset, players must wear a harness and specific shoes, and stand on top of the motion platform, which allows them to move, run and jump in all directions. Most games engage a player’s full body, rather than just their hands.
Walk – or better, run – through a zombie-infested laboratory in TRAVR: Shadow Ops; or team up with your friends in Omni Arena to fight robots in this multiplayer shooting game.
Give your eyes a break every now and then, by sitting back and relaxing in the mini-cinema or playing a round of table soccer.
Unit A, 23/F Kyoto Plaza, 491-499 Lockhart Rd, Causeway Bay. HK$160 per hour. Inquiries: 6685 5820
The giant cooperative ball gaming machine at Blackroom in Causeway Bay.
Blackroom is also in Causeway Bay, so it is conveniently located for office workers looking for an after-work workout. The company operates three rooms, but our favourite is the original Blackroom.
It has a giant cooperative gaming machine where you pull on strings to manoeuvre a ball through an obstacle course. Step up the challenge by teaming up with a friend. There is also a 1.5-metre-tall KerPlunk where players take turns drawing out sticks while trying their best to keep the balls above from falling. A human-size Jenga game takes this stack and crash challenge to a new level.
2/F & 3/F, 508 Lockhart Rd, Causeway Bay. HK$35 to HK$59 per hour. Inquiries: 9179 0667
The L-shaped pool table at Best Pool Soccer in San Po Kong.
5. Best Pool Soccer
Pool Soccer is your usual game of pool, only on a much bigger scale. The billiard table is six metres long and three metres wide with balls the size of footballs. Kick them into the holes with your feet, or stick to the traditional rules of the game and play with gigantic pool cues. Alternatively, test your skills on a normal-sized, but L-shaped pool table.
This venue in San Po Kong has other facilities to get the adrenaline rushing such as a racing simulator, karaoke rooms, table tennis and two Dartslive electronic dart game machines.
Room 6B, Chinachem Industrial Mansion, 202-204 Choi Hung Rd, San Po Kong. HK$40 per hour. Inquiries: 9186 8523