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Part III – Shopping the Geek Life in Portland

Dang it, I meant to get this review posted while I was away from the gloriously green and cool City of Roses. Alas, I was suffering from Geekus Droopus aka. Aaron does not do well in Nevada. My trip did make me appreciate the wonderful places in Portland that one might get out of the sun (and moon) and get down to some serious Geek fun! Taking a short departure from reviewing Geek shops, I want to turn your attention to a couple of Portland locations that make a great way to spend an afternoon or the perfect Geek date.

Fragging and caffeine in Chinatown:

Backspace - 115 NW 5th Ave. Portland - 503.248.2900

A longtime favorite of your friendly neighborhood Geek, Backspace just recently celebrated their 2-year anniversary. A large building right in the middle Chinatown, Backspace has everything the happy Geek needs! Only at Backspace can you order Stumptown coffee (strong as hell), Hot Lips Pizza (one of the best in town), and play games of all kinds (digital, table, old skool, and pool). In addition to their fine gaming equipment, which includes an X-Box room and tons of connected gaming computers, Backspace is a huge sponsor of the local Portland art scene. You can take in some interesting and non-traditional artwork and it is not uncommon to meet the artist hanging out. Many nights at Backspace also include some great music being spun by local DJs. If there is one complaint one may have about Backspace, it is that there is simply so much going on, it is pretty easy to have some sensory overload. Thankfully, the boys at Backspace keep their fine establishment open until the wee hours of the morning and you can step out, reboot your brain, and get back in for some fun and frag!

Ground Kontrol - 511 NW Couch St. Portland – 503.796.9364

Those who are good with Portland’s mapping system will quickly notice that Backspace and the old skool fun that is Ground Kontrol are neighbors! Ground Kontrol is the best place to spend your leftover laundry money as it is filled (literally) with dozens of good times stand-up arcade games. While I could never list all the games that fill the Geeky walls of Ground Kontrol a few of my personal favorites include: Battlezone, Gauntlet II, Moon Patrol, Raiden II, Star Wars (1983), and Tempest! They also cater to the pinball freaks that still have tilt dreams (like me) and are the hosts of the Portland Pinball League. League members play on multiple pinball machines at a new location every Wednesday night from 8PM-10PM, tally their scores, and then compete in a showdown at the end of the fifteen-week season. Ground Kontrol is a great place to take your Geek on a brew and bytes date as Ground Kontrol recently started serving beer. Ground Kontrol can also play host to any event you have planned. If you pine for days of high scores and fast eating centipedes, Ground Kontrol is the place to play!