Mixing alcohol with pointy projectiles might not seem like the best idea at first glance, but anyone who has ever been a decent pub will know how well a rousing game of darts mixes with a few drinks.
Whether you’re an amateur looking to have a laugh with your friends or an aspiring expert looking to polish their game, the Flight Club franchise has something for you.
Flight Club is trying to bring the darts experience to the mainstream with an upbeat atmosphere, a drink menu of high class, ‘bespoke’ cocktails, and a menu designed for sharing.
But does the so-called ‘social darts’ experience live up to the hype? Is the fancy grub and custom cocktail menu worth the price bump over your local dingy pub of choice, or the dart board in your buddy’s garage?
Read on and find out!
What Exactly ‘Does Social Darts’ Mean?
No matter where you’re playing, the game of darts tends to be a social. As long as you’ve got friends to play with, it’s got to be social, right?
So what does the Flight Club ‘social darts’ experience entail, and what makes it superior to the boring old regular variety?
Flight Club takes some of the best elements of bowling alleys and private karaoke parlours to deliver a curated, unique experience. That means private screens, score tracking, and more.
Intended for groups of 12 or more people, the extra layer of polish, along with the socially-focused menu, aims to give patrons a memorable experience, more akin to a party than your average game of darts.
But don’t just take our word for it. Here, straight from Flight Club’s own site, is how they describe the social darts experience:
We’ve reinvented darts for the twenty first century, developing a range of fast and exciting multi-player games, built to bring people together and designed to keep you unexpectedly hooked, insatiably entertained and full of joy. Whether you’re an expert darts sniper or a total beginner, everyone has a chance to win when they step up to one of our multiple throw lines.
Servers can be summoned with the push of a button, special screens and games keep the party rolling, and the fun doesn’t even stop when the game does.
In fact, 24 hours after your booking, you will receive a ‘story’ in your inbox detailing your experience at Flight Club.
What’s a Story?
The Story of your booking, a multimedia summary of your visit that will be emailed to you within 24 hours of your booking, is one of the more unique elements of the Flight Club experience.
Containing pictures, gifs, video highlights, and leaderboards, the Story is a tangible memory for all participants to share.
This might just seem like a fun gimmick at first, but it is in fact another element designed to enhance the shared experience of playing darts at Flight Club.
Having control of what gets recorded and emailed to all participants means that no one will be feeling the pressure to record things themselves. That means more time having fun and less time staring at your phone.
Stories are not displayed publicly on the Flight Club website, but emailed via unique link that will only be sent to authorized participants. If it hasn’t been accessed in 28 days, the content is deleted.
Drinks & Food
Flight Club takes the idea of social darts very seriously, having designed every element from the ground up around a positive shared experience.
This extends to the food & drink menus as well, as each Flight Club location has package deals for large groups.
Food menus are full of shareable options, with thin-crust pizzas, sliders, and all manner of delicious treats geared towards being perfect for parties.
Gluten free, vegetarian, and vegan items are all clearly marked on the menu as well.
Drink menus, full of what Flight Club refers to as ‘bespoke cocktails,’ are full of fun and fancy mixological creations worthy of even the choosiest influencer’s social media feed.
For the more traditionally-minded there are also plenty of beer, wine, and non-alcoholic options as well.
History
Founded in 2012 by friends Steve Moore and Paul Barnham, Flight Club was inspired after the duo witnessed a particularly raucous game of darts in a local pub.
Wanting to capture the high-energy, frenetic experience for themselves, and combine it with the welcoming, relaxed atmosphere of an English pub, the idea for Flight Club was born.
The first place they tested their idea was Moore’s shed. More than a million test darts later, and the social darts experience as they envisioned it really started to take shape. Now, Flight Club has four popular venues in four cities with strong pub cultures of their own.
Locations
Flight Club has four total locations across the US and the UK: London, Manchester, Chicago, and Boston.
Detailed pricing information for bookings and menu items can be found on the Flight Club locations’ web sites. Prices are largely comparable across venues, with booking rates fluctuating between peak and off-peak hours.
Reviews & Customer Consensus
At the time of writing, patron reviews online seem to be almost universally positive, praising the atmosphere, service, food, drink, and overall experience of every Flight Club location.
While such things can (and often do) change, it’s certainly a good sign that each Flight Club location has a solid, 4+ star rating online.
Fast Facts
- An ‘oche’ (rhymes with hockey) is the dart term used to specify one of Flight Club’s play areas. This is where you will be seated if you book with Flight Club, the area where your darts, dinner, and drinks will all take place.
- There is no dress code at Flight Club. As long as you don’t show up naked or dripping with mud, you’ll be welcome.
- There are other areas for groups to hang out and drink once their booking has ended, but generally, the oche will have to be vacated to make room for more bookings once your time is up
- You cannot bring your own darts to Flight Club. Their dart boards are specially designed to only recognize their own special darts.
- It is recommended that you arrive 15 minutes before your booking so that the staff can get you set up in time to maximize your reserved play time
- Drinks can be pre-ordered along with the booking to ensure that your entire party has fresh and cold cocktails waiting for them upon arrival
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