EightyOne Arcade Bar puts a joystick in one hand and a drink in the other, and somehow that combination works better than it has any right to. This is downtown Sioux Falls' answer to a night out that doesn't require pretending to enjoy small talk over loud music.
EightyOne stocks a floor full of classic and modern arcade games alongside a bar that serves actual drinks worth ordering. They cover the basics — pour beer, mix cocktails, run games — and they do it without charging you per token like it's 1987. The crowd skews toward people who'd rather beat a high score than stand around looking at their phones.
Locals pick this spot when a bar by itself feels like too little and a restaurant feels like too much. The arcade element isn't a gimmick bolted on for Instagram — it's the whole point. On Phillips Ave, that's a specific kind of confidence, and it holds up on a Tuesday just as well as a Friday.