Are You Game?

Although not designed for kids per se, Dave & Buster’s welcomes families. That is, families that agree to play by their rules.

The 55,000-square-foot attraction, an addition to the Irvine Spectrum Center, offers a Million Dollar Midway--a billiards room, laser battleground, iWERKS Turbo-Ride Theater (virtual, motion-simulated rides) with four films and a mid-priced restaurant.

The brainchild of Dave Corriveau and Buster Corley, the Dallas-based chain (23 locations in the U.S., including one opening in Orange in November; and four abroad expected by the end of 1999), Dave & Buster’s was designed, as one local put it, as “a Chuck E. Cheese for grown-ups.”

As such, it includes a couple of Texas-sized bars in the middle of the action: the Viewpoint Bar with a 20-screen video dome and a second bar in the game area.

Hence, the rules. Don’t worry about remembering these; visitors are briefed on house policies at the door, and there’s a crib sheet.

Guests under 21 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian age 25 or older, with a maximum of three minors to one adult. Minors cannot be seated at the bar (tables in the bar area are OK), and they must stick with their designated adult throughout their stay. At 10 p.m., the underage crowd is outta there, giving sway to its primary twenty- and thirtysomething target audience.

Mike Theriot general manager of the Irvine location, acknowledges that some guests balked at the rules when the place opened in mid-July.

“We had parents who wanted to drop their kids off here while they did some shopping or something, and they were surprised to find that they can’t do that,” Theriot said.

Dennis Paine, Dave & Buster’s vice president of communications, says that while the house rules are meant to maintain a more upscale, adult-oriented atmosphere, families that abide by them also reap benefits in terms of entertainment quality and safety.

The rules promote family interaction, Paine said in a phone interview from company headquarters.

“The other day, my 14-year-old and I played about four rounds of Daytona Speedway,” he recalled. “I had a lot of fun.”

There are more than 200 games, simulators and attractions in the noisy midway. During our visit, Theriot demonstrated a few.

There was the carnival-style D&B; Downs--in which competitors hasten their steeds on a straightaway by rolling balls into holes marked “run,” “trot” and “walk”--and the Lite-a-Line bingo-style game.

About half the games award tickets for points scored; the rest of the area is devoted to non-ticket-earning video games, virtual reality games and high-tech electronic gizmos such as the Galaxian Theater, in which players, aided by yowza graphics and sound effects, keep Mother Earth from being attacked by mutant alien Zolgar.

No game, except for a couple of traditional pinball machines, is more than 2 years old, Theriot said.

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We were stunningly bad at all of them but did manage to glean enough tickets to visit the bounteous redemption center.

Take heart, beginners. Theriot says the games are wired to give at least a few tickets to even the poorest players. Cash them in for goodies from cheap plastic bracelets to a CD player housed in a reproduction of a vintage jukebox (57,000 tickets).

After spending about an hour and $40 on the midway, 11-year-old Christine Morgan of Fullerton and her 7-year-old sister, Kelly, racked up enough tickets to bag a tube of hot-pink cheek glitter and a faux-gold tennis bracelet.

Clutching their winnings, the girls ticked off their favorite games (Austin Powers and Skee-Ball), while mom Deanne and family friend Robert Campton calculated their fun-for-the-money.

“It was a little expensive,” said Campton, who thought they would go elsewhere for dinner.

Zenon Hunter of Irvine, finishing an early dinner with his children Johnny, 10, and Cassandra, 13, said they would all probably stay and play for a couple hours, leaving before the evening crowd arrived.

“It seems well-controlled, not rowdy,” observed Hunter, who had visited with adults. “I think it’s a decent place for kids, as long as you come early enough so there’s not a lot of drinking going on.”

* Dave & Buster’s, 71 Fortune Drive, Irvine, in the Irvine Spectrum Center. Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-1 a.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Minors must be off the premises by 10 p.m. Admission is free, except Friday and Saturday at 10 p.m. and later, when there is a $5 cover. Games require the insertion of a rechargeable Power Card ($1, plus whatever value you purchase in credits). Game prices range from about three to five credits; some of the more elaborate electronic games cost up to 20 credits. Call (949) 727-0555.