elfs | Southcenter Acme Bowling makes bowling a "multi-sensory experience." Go to Round One instead.

Ugh, our local bowling alley, the Acme, has gone multi-media. Massive TV screens above every four lanes, blasting out some movie or other. The last time we went, they were playing The Phantom Menace above our lanes, but Parks and Rec on the lanes over. It's insanely distracting. They've also added lots of blacklights everywhere, so that people glow wherever they're wearing anything even vaguely florescent.

We decided instead to go to Round One, which is an "entertainment center" at the local mall. It has a huge arcade, billiards tables, and a twelve-lane bowling alley. I had trepidation about going there; the place is usually noisy as heck and full of teenagers beating up the various modern arcade machines, machines which have to be physical and device-oriented (dance platforms, gun stations, that sort of thing) because everything else can be had at home on the X-Box for less quarters.

Instead, it was a lovely experience. The alleys are fairly quiet, well-maintained, and easy to use. The heaviest ball they give us is a 15 pounder, which was a bit of a wimp, but I'm still nursing a sore ankle so it wasn't too bad. And best of all, no multimedia "experiences" blaring into my eyes while I'm trying to concentrate on converting a 7-10 split.

So, yeah, if the Southcenter Acme Bowling Alley triggers your ADHD, go to Round One instead. It won't be the full barcade experience, but it'll be damn quieter.