Press Play

First of all, most of the upper management team & the OG owners (Mike Boselli and Jesse Gossett) are complete scumbags. The rest of the poor bastard employees are treated like garbage, so no one cares about anything, not customer service or the overall quality of the bar itself. I also heard they fired a bunch of people that worked there like 6 months back because they were hustling as drugplugs to pay the bills because the higher-ups are all cheap jerks, and no one has any proper employee benefits or a livable wage. Also, tons of the arcade games are perma-broken and will 1000% steal your quarters, and no, you don't get a refund; boohoo baby, go cry about it (basically). According to other reviews I've seen, most of the door security (the girls especially, I saw mentioned) have been accused of confiscating people's legitimate IDs and passports, which is illegal and problematic af, claiming they are fake IDs when they actually aren't; the bouncers just aren't knowledgeable on the variety of design from state to state on ID Cards and licenses.Also hear me dudes, y'all should bring back karaoke night and say f off to trivia. It's boring as heck. Press Play has been around and on downtown redbrick Pearl St for 10 years at this point and it's always had a vibe of being underwhelming and lame in all categories.The weekly rotating drink special menu will put you to sleep and it never EVER changes. I've also observed that there is obviously also clearly no effort to maintain and update the website for the bar, especially the calendar events tab. The last update or post made was in 2022; honestly that's really embarrassing. And the real truth of all this nonsense is that Press Play is just a rip-off of another better local arcade bar, 1-Up, located in Denver, but Press Play in Boulder is far more poorly executed. Honestly, 1-Up is pretty awesome, and I definitely would recommend it if you're in Denver. They have two locations now, I frequent the Colfax location more personally but the LoDo location is also nice.Also to just name it and call a spade a spade: the Downtown Pearl St nightlife scene just isn't what it used to be in general but still, boo press play especially Y'all are straight haters drinking Haterade

One of the worst bars I've ever been to. Only reason it's not getting 1 star is because Abby was a good bartender. The bartender that was helping me was the second worst bartender I've ever seen though. She sat in the corner on a barstool, on her phone, and barely helped out. She also was wearing an oversized tee and yoga shorts while Abby was dressed very nicely. The worst bartender I've ever seen acted the same but also chain smoked cigs behind the bar too. Not sure how she still has a job. Aside from that bartender, the drinks were absolutely the worst drinks I've ever had. Firstly they poured .75oz in drinks, usually they have 1-1.5oz, I can count pours in my sleep. I had a bourbon ginger ale for my first and could barely get it down, I thought the ginger ale was bad (tasted like ginger beer). I ordered a whiskey coke for the 2nd round since coke has a stronger taste to drown out bad tastes, I could barely get that down too. So even though it was a light pour, it was definitely the whiskey that was the issue. I've never tasted such a bad whiskey in my life.Next point was the music, more specifically the acoustics. I sat at the bar and couldn't understand a single lyric in any of the songs that were playing. I barely even could tell there were lyrics. All you could hear was the bass, muffled mids, and the loud parts of the treble. It sounded like loud music coming from a car next to you at a red light that has its windows rolled up. You know there is music playing but it's unrecognizable. Lastly, they have fake advertising. They advertise "25cent drinks all night" on Wednesdays from 10pm-close. They actually have 3 rounds that last 20min during that time frame where you get discounted drinks. Only the first 20min round is 25cents then each round after that increases in price. The 20min "panic hour" (how is 20min called an hour?...) are completely random so you never know when they will happen. So you have to get there at 10 and hope the first round starts shortly after that, if it doesn't you're out of luck. If you show up at 11, you might be out of luck also. It's extremely manipulative and untrustworthy.I really wish I went somewhere else, this really ruined my only night in Boulder. Not to mention, it tempts patrons to chug as many drinks as they can in 20min intervals. No wonder 3 people fell into me while I sat at the bar...

Good little bar that seems like a hole in the wall. Drinks are so so, however the atmosphere makes up for it. There are a few retro arcade games to play along with ping pong, foosball, and air hockey.There's a DJ that comes around 10 pm and turns into a dancing area.

So so glad this spot finally reopened! I literally walked by a few times a week during pretty much the entire height of the pandemic. I was overcome with joy when I saw the "we're hiring" sign. Finally the opening day came! I headed straight over from work with my bestie in tow. We just had to be the first to play big buck hunter & ski ball (these have been moved to the back room). New staff, new drink specials (I recommend the Mermaid Tail) and new games (I recommend the motorcycle racing) added to the adventure and excitement. And did I mention? They also offer pizza baked right in house (can't wait to try - I love pizza).Since the reopening I've been back every weekend. There is no better spot in Boulder to get your dance on. Just walk by late night and count the number of people in line anxiously waiting for others to leave so they can get in. There are many reasons this is my to go dance spot: 1.) The lighting lends to the atmosphere. Sexy and. A bit dark with a light show that enhances rather than disrupts the experience, 2.) The acoustics are top notch. They even have their own sound technician to ensure the dj' as music hits just right., 3.) The mixed drinks are tasty!, 4.) The staff are efficient and friendly. Highly recommend dropping in anytime but especially to shake or leg or post work happy hour & games.

Overall: Fun dive bar option for a casual late night. Crowd can be mixed and the later it gets, it leans more on the young side (college). The music is spot on and very danceable - dj knows how to read the crowd.Space : Divey, meaning it's a bit grungy. Sticky counters and floors. Chill vibe. The back area behind the second bar turns into a dance floor at 10pm.Staff: Quick considering how crowded it can get. I'm very impressed by the bartenders' hearing.Drinks: Nothing fancy. Standard dive bar options plus 2-3 mixed drink specials on the menu, which are surprisingly done well and not watered down.Games: Nice variety and spread out in multiple rooms. I wish there was another pool table or air hockey table. Those are quite popular and seem to have a wait whenever my friends and I are here.

If you're looking for cheap drinks to go with the best old time pin ball machines and video games, this is the place to be! Tucked in the basement/downstairs level of the mall.... this little treasure makes the kid in me jump for joy! They have great happy hour specials and a cool, dark atmosphere that makes you feel like you can kick back with your friends and stay for a while. Stop in just to check out the games if you don't want to drink! It a wild trip dOwn memory lane that you don't want to miss out on!

Press play is definitely aimed at a more younger crowd but a great casual spot during the day! We always pop in on weekend afternoons post brunch for a cheap pitcher and some ping pong

5STARS FOR KATE!! She was very hospitable and had a great attitude!! Keep smiling we had fun playing games and taking shots!!

Staff is rude and negligent. Someone fell off a bar stool and hit her head and they did nothing about it. When asked why they didn't do anything, a snotty brown-haired bartender replied, "well she's drunk! It's her fault." If she were so drunk, why would you let her in and serve her more alcohol? When we asked to speak to the manager, she ignored us. It was a terrible experience. Give your money to another business. ANY other business.

My fiancé and I just stopped by here to check it out. Pool tables are fun and we like the ambiance. Unfortunately, one of the staffers decided to pick up his drink to clean up, even though he had half the drink left. This was his 2nd drink and they decided to not even let him finish it. We were gonna check out the DJ but decided to close out and leave instead. Otherwise, it's a nice place.