For those familiar with Dave & Buster's......

[tarheelmjfan]

In your opinion, what is the best deal on chips for a group of 4? The 4 player pack appears to have the most chips for the money, but I don't know how it works. Are the chips divided between the players? DS & his GF will need more chips than DH & I will. Could they use ours on the 4 player pack? Is there a reason we shouldn't go that route? Also, how many chips should we purchase for them to be able to play as long as they want? I'm guessing they'll want to play an hour or so, after we have dinner. Last question... is there any benefit to going by there & purchasing a power card in advance? We're going for DS's birthday tomorrow, but could go by there today to purchase a card, if there's any advantage to doing so. Thanks in advance for your patience with all my questions.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I do not see any advantage to purchasing a card in advance. They do charge you for the card so keep it if you ever plan on going back.

I think you can divide up the money and/or add to a card with no problem. There are no 'chips', it is just a card now.

 

[bcla]

Yeah, I was wondering what this "chip" thing was. Did they use tokens at one time, before going to a magnetic card?

OK, I looked it up, and they had a "chip" system (kind of an equivalent of tokens on a magnetic card) at one time before they moved to points. I guess points are more flexible.

What I found odd was that they weigh redemption tickets.

 

[bcla]

I do not see any advantage to purchasing a card in advance. They do charge you for the card so keep it if you ever plan on going back.

I think you can divide up the money and/or add to a card with no problem. There are no 'chips', it is just a card now.

I found out that "chips" we're sort of an equivalent of tokens stored on a card.

I mentioned something about points, but that may only be for the location I visited.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Yeah, I was wondering what this "chip" thing was. Did they use tokens at one time, before going to a magnetic card?

OK, I looked it up, and they had a "chip" system (kind of an equivalent of tokens on a magnetic card) at one time before they moved to points. I guess points are more flexible.

What I found odd was that they weigh redemption tickets.

Yes they used tokens in the beginning, it was fun.

Not odd that they weigh the tickets, it makes things faster.

 

[bcla]

Yes they used tokens in the beginning, it was fun.

Not odd that they weigh the tickets, it makes things faster.

It's not very accurate though.

I could be wrong about the whole "chips vs points" thing.

 

[RedAngie]

I'm not really sure how accurate weighing the tickets is. But plenty of arcades at beach resorts do it these days too.

I rarely win enough tickets to get more than a plastic spider ring.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks for the input, I've replied to your posts below.

This is from D&B's site, "When you charge your Power Card you are purchasing chips. These chips are used to pay for many of the games in the Dave & Buster's Midway. Different games require different numbers of chips."

Do any of you know which games don't accept chips? There's no need to put a lot on the card, if most of the things they want to play don't accept them.

I do not see any advantage to purchasing a card in advance. They do charge you for the card so keep it if you ever plan on going back.

I think you can divide up the money and/or add to a card with no problem. There are no 'chips', it is just a card now.

Thanks for the reply. You convinced me to wait until today to get the card. We'll just have to figure out the best way to buy
chips, when we get there out of there without spending $100 on games.

See my reply on chips below.

Yeah, I was wondering what this "chip" thing was. Did they use tokens at one time, before going to a magnetic card?

OK, I looked it up, and they had a "chip" system (kind of an equivalent of tokens on a magnetic card) at one time before they moved to points. I guess points are more flexible.

What I found odd was that they weigh redemption tickets.

As you discovered, I got the chip lingo from their site. Apparently, they put what they call chips on the card. The chips appear to be equal to points that deduct based on the number of chips/points that are required for each game played. I don't understand how we're all supposed to play from one card, but we'll figure it out. Since we've never been to a D&B, I have no idea if they all work that way. It appears the one near us in Ft. Lauderdale works on this chip system though.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

It will be hard to all play off of one card unless u all plan to play the same game or near each other.
D&B is a lot of fun but definetly could get pricey
We pick a day or two to visit during the winter to have some inside fun.
It's easy to go through $50-$100 in no time , especially with food and drinks.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

As you discovered, I got the chip lingo from their site. Apparently, they put what they call chips on the card. The chips appear to be equal to points that deduct based on the number of chips/points that are required for each game played. I don't understand how we're all supposed to play from one card, but we'll figure it out. Since we've never been to a D&B, I have no idea if they all work that way. It appears the one near us in Ft. Lauderdale works on this chip system though.

You buy a card for everyone and redistribute the money. You can always put more money on it. So it is 2 bucks extra for each card.

$2 activation fee for NEW Power Cards includes 10 chips. See store for details.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks for the additional replies. Do either of you know which games don't accept the card?

It will be hard to all play off of one card unless u all plan to play the same game or near each other.ly
D&B is a lot of fun but definetly could get pricey
We pick a day or two to visit during the winter to have some inside fun.
It's easy to go through $50-$100 in no time , especially with food and drinks.

Thanks for all the info. This is our first time going, but I'm sure it will be expensive. We weren't including the food bill in that $100. We're expecting to spend over $100 on food & drinks for four adults. Hopefully, we can get out of there spending less than $250 for everything. It's for DS's birthday, so we're willing to pay whatever necessary for them to have a good time. Spending $250+/- at a place like D&B on any other day would be a different story. That's the reason we've lived within 15 minutes of a D&B for 2 years & never gone.

You buy a card for everyone and redistribute the money. You can always put more money on it.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[bcla]

All games take the Power Card. They don't have any games that are set up for any other kind of payment.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

All games take the Power Card. They don't have any games that are set up for any other kind of payment.

Thanks. That info helps a lot. The wording on the website had me wondering what we should do.

 

[nj disney family]

When we go we do the Eat and Play combos, not sure if they all do it. You get your meal and a $10 card for $16, or with a $20 card for $24. It's a limited menu, (burgers, chicken fingers, etc.), but a pretty good deal if you're going to eat anyway.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

When we go we do the Eat and Play combos, not sure if they all do it. You get your meal and a $10 card for $16, or with a $20 card for $24. It's a limited menu, (burgers, chicken fingers, etc.), but a pretty good deal if you're going to eat anyway.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[sksjasams]

There is a D & B near my mom's house so we do that sometimes when DS17 and I visit her. A lot of times he brings a friend along. We have 3 powerup cards, and each friend has their own card from the first time they came with us.

The biggest savings, IMO, is to sign up for their emails. I have signed up with my home email, work email, DS's email and my mom's email. Every couple weeks they send an email that has a coupon with a bar code that when you purchase $20 of gameplay, you get an additional $20 gameplay free. We bring 4 coupons and 4 powerup cards. We end up with $160 in game play - $80 for each boy (each boy uses two powerup cards). My mom and I sit and visit while they play.

This coupon deal is not good with the Eat and Play deal, but this works out better for us and doesn't limit your menu choices.

The other thing to mention if you go periodically, is that you can earn points from buying food. I think for every $100 you spend on food you get $10 in gameplay (something like that), so be sure to have the server scan your card to get credit for that.

Also, if you don't want to buy anything with your points that day, you can let them accumulate on your card and save up for a bigger item.