Nightclubs? They’d Rather Play Shuffleboard and Jenga.

This story is a part of an occasional collection exploring nightlife in New York.

On any given Friday night time, you’ll in all probability discover Jonathan Schnapp racing amongst 10 shuffleboard courts in a thrift-shop jumpsuit, doling out guidelines and strategic knowledge to Brooklyn’s latest gamers.

Mr. Schnapp, 49, opened Royal Palms Shuffleboard Membership practically 10 years in the past in Gowanus, Brooklyn. And though the area features as a nightclub on weekends with blaring music, glitter-covered bartenders and cocktails named after shuffleboard greats, the sport is about way over consuming whereas banging pucks round.

“It’s like attempting to love be the anti-nightclub in a approach,” Mr. Schnapp mentioned final weekend, as a Pitbull track blasted over the membership’s audio system. “By no means so crowded, by no means so costly, by no means door stress, by no means cowl prices, by no means any of this stuff that make it so we don’t wish to exit anymore.”

His technique is working — on high of a devoted league that often performs on the courts on Mondays and Tuesdays, Royal Palms attracts a whole bunch of consumers every weekend who play till the membership closes at 2 a.m.

However shuffleboard isn’t the one recreation that New Yorkers can play into the night time. There are bocce courts at Brooklyn’s Union Corridor; desk video games at Cellar Canine in Greenwich Village; a number of Barcade areas, which regularly have pinball machines and video video games alongside drinks; and loads of pool halls (together with Amsterdam Billiards Membership in Manhattan and Break Bar in Queens) sprinkled across the metropolis.

There are additionally a handful of board recreation cafes. The Uncommons, in Greenwich Village, routinely has a bustling crowd and a look ahead to tables within the night.

Eden Buenaventura, 30, and Cristhal Fuertes had been celebrating Ms. Fuertes’s thirty first birthday on the cafe final Friday night time, enjoying rounds of Guess Who and Wavelength — a “telepathic board recreation” that neither of them had tried earlier than. They mentioned they picked the sport as a result of it had a colourful field, which complemented Ms. Fuertes’s puffy purple gown and every of their brightly painted nails.

“It’s so a lot better than simply going out and consuming,” Ms. Buenaventura mentioned. “That is enjoyable as a result of it’s an exercise, ? It’s extra participating.”

Ms. Buenaventura, who additionally participates in an archery league at Gotham Archery, mentioned that whereas she additionally loves going out dancing, these game-oriented areas have been an effective way for her to attach with buddies and meet new folks.

“You possibly can study your mates, like new belongings you didn’t know earlier than,” she mentioned. “It’s good to get the hell out of your condo.”

Greg Could, who owns The Uncommons, together with two Hex & Firm cafes on the Higher East and Higher West Sides, mentioned that these areas are an vital nightlife choice.

“We’re very non-drink pleasant,” Mr. Could, 40, mentioned. “We’re not a bar — we’re a bar different.”

(He mentioned that all the cafes promote espresso, tea, beer and wine, however the Higher East Aspect location additionally has a full cocktail menu.)

Brooklyn has a number of areas for players to congregate. The Brooklyn Strategist, in Carroll Gardens, affords varied video games and scheduled tournaments, whereas Park Slope’s Sip & Play affords bubble tea together with its assortment of video games and snacks.

“Me and my co-workers come right here each Friday night time,” mentioned Bella Faye, a bubbly 21-year-old faculty pupil who was there enjoying Magic: The Gathering. “It’s a bunch of nerds, and it’s simply enjoyable.”

“Particularly Magic — there’s so many people,” Ms. Faye mentioned. “It’s a really common recreation that’s been round because the ’90s, so it’s a very enjoyable dialog starter.”

Jonathan Li, the 24-year-old proprietor of Sip & Play, mentioned that recreation nights can be a pleasant solution to join with a special aspect of individuals.

“As an individual that additionally goes out each infrequently, typically it’s simply an excessive amount of,” Mr. Li mentioned. “Right here you possibly can nonetheless hang around with your mates in a extra healthful setting. Seize some bubble tea and occasional as a substitute of alcohol and simply sit back for a pleasant Friday.”

The place to Go

Manhattan

• The Uncommons, 230 Thompson Avenue, uncommonsnyc.com

• Cellar Canine, 75 Christopher Avenue, cellardog.internet;

• Amsterdam Billiards Membership, 110 East eleventh Avenue, amsterdambilliards.com

• House Billiards, 34 West thirty second Avenue, Ground 12, spacebilliard.com

• Hex & Firm, a number of areas, hexnyc.com

Brooklyn

• Royal Palms Shuffleboard Membership, 514 Union Avenue, royalpalmsbrooklyn.com

• Sip & Play, 471 Fifth Avenue, instagram.com/sipnplaynyc

• Union Corridor, 702 Union Avenue, unionhallny.com

• The Brooklyn Strategist, 333 Court docket Avenue, thebrooklynstrategist.com

• Barcade, a number of areas, barcadenewyork.com

Queens