Facilitating social gaming by providing various consoles hooked up to their seven LCD screens, the Mana Bar in Fitzroy is the first and only of its kind in Melbourne. Games including Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and Mario Kart are played in a fun, friendly atmosphere which conveniently has beer on tap.
Each night, different games from a pool of about sixty are selected for patrons to play. A small place, the main room houses most of the screens, however there is a smaller room behind it which houses one further screen. Despite the presence of a switched off retro game machine, the only consoles are modern- Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii. Each screen has a small table in front of it with controllers attached to it, accommodating several players.
If you spend too much time gaming and not enough working, don't despair- the only thing you will pay for at the Mana Bar is your drinks. Entry and using their consoles is totally free.
Despite its geeky slant, the Mana Bar is really a bar, serving plenty of alcohol. They have an extensive themed cocktail and shots list, with names referencing aspects of games, such as their peachy gin cocktail called Princess Peach.
Watching the bartender whip up a Health Potion and Mana Potion, pictured below, was quite exciting as he expertly made both at once.
Health Potion (red) and Mana Potion (blue) cocktails, $15 each.
A few display cabinets showcase gaming memorabilia, so even if you get bored and your eyes start wandering to the décor, you'll still be immersed in gamer culture.
The Mana Bar first opened up in Brisbane in 2010, and moved to Melbourne amid much popularity in mid 2011. While there are a few similar bars around the world, the Mana Bar has a monopoly on geek nightlife in Australia.
Take a look at the video below, which shows the Mana Bar's founders in the process of setting up their brainchild in Brisbane. These days, you may be able to spot some of those shown in the video behind the bar in their Melbourne location.
