Have you ever been bored and tired of being stuck in your house or room all day? You decide to take a drive through downtown Tifton, and you come across all the different shops. One of these many shops in downtown Tifton turns out to be a lounge, but not just any lounge, a gaming lounge. Madhouse Gaming lounge has become one of Tifton’s newest hotspot. The lounge is a place for everyone to come and enjoy some video games by themselves or with some friends.
I remember visiting the place with my friends on its grand opening day this past Halloween. While in costume, I was in awe of what I witnessed when I walked into the place for the first time. I remember seeing the glowing lights from different screens, and all the people there having an amazing time playing arcade games, fighting games and many other games. The first person that greeted us was the manager of the Madhouse Gaming Lounge, Jonathan Day. He gave us great information on the place and an amazing tour.
We were first shown the area we were currently in which was the front area. This area was filled with all the arcade games, which to my surprise attracted a lot of the smaller kids that were there. The arcade games were packed with all of them taking turns playing different games together. I guess what makes this area popular for the younger crowd is the snack area that’s at the cash register. The amazing part about the snack area is that most of the snacks were cheap. There were chips, drinks, desserts and more. They ranged from $1-$5, with most of the snacks being on the cheaper end.
My favorite design in this area is the big painting of the Nintendo Switch that they have. With the Switch being one of the hottest consoles out right now, it really modernizes the place. Another nice touch added to this area was all the gaming and anime posters that sat above the arcade games, it gave the area a nice aesthetic that made the environment more impactful. Lastly, this area can also be used to host birthday parties.
The next area we were shown was the main area of the gaming lounge. This area is where all the console games can be played. There were various games being played such as “Super Smash Bros.” “Mortal Kombat,” “Streetfighter” and more. There were nice lounging areas for people to just hang out and talk with their friends if they didn’t want to play the games. The main area was such a chill environment. It reminded me of hanging out in a friend’s living room, and just watching tv or talking about the day.
The main area of the lounge is where all the tournaments Mad House Gaming Lounge hosts are located. The lounge hosts many different tournaments, some of these tournaments are a bi-weekly “Smash Bros.” tournament, “Fifa” tournaments, and “Mortal Kombat” tournaments. These tournaments usually happen on weekends, and I’m sure you could talk to the managers about hosting a tournament for a game you like that they didn’t know about.
The last area of the shop Jonathan showed us during the tour was the card games area. This area of the shop has recently opened but wasn’t opened when the tour was given. From what I have seen recently, people can rent out this area to host their own gaming events such as “Dungeons & Dragons,” “Magic the Gathering” tournaments, “Yu-gi-oh” and others.
Mad House Gaming Lounge is opened Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m.-10 p.m. It’s open from 3 p.m.-11 p.m. on Fridays. The lounge is open from 12 p.m.-11 p.m. on Saturdays, and on Sundays, the lounge is open from 1 p.m.-10 p.m. The lounge is pay to play by the hour. It’s $5 an hour or $20 for an all-day pass. However, if you’re a Tift County or ABAC student, all-day passes are 50% off on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Mad House Gaming Lounge is the perfect place to spend some downtime with friends at a reasonable price.
