THAILAND: Game Over Cafe-bar And Gaming Centre, Bangkok

This new ‘electronic playground’ also stocks more traditional board games and does a tasty sideline in gourmet burgers and craft beers.

Tucked away at the far end of overly hip Thonglor road, Game Over is a welcome, cosy contrast to the dozens of identical, hyper-stylised speakeasies that clutter the neighbourhood. It feels more like stopping by a friend’s pad than a bar, albeit a friend with a serious hipster-geek sense of style. The walls are exposed brick decked out in graffiti murals; the couches are comfy; and there’s nary a stiletto in sight.

There’s no fussy cocktail list either, just a solid menu with imported craft beers and the kind of deliciously caloric comfort grub that should always accompany them, such as warm sticky date pudding and brownies. NERD, the bar’s internal restaurant, also serves lamb burgers and truffled parmesan fries courtesy of Mark Falcioni, owner of a local food truck with a cult-like following.

Of course, the main reason guests come here has little to do with the food or the booze. Game Over stocks all manner of PC and console games, as well as more old-fashioned diversions from the usual pool table to Jenga, Risk, Monopoly and Cards Against Humanity. In an area that’s all about seeing and being seen, it’s a relief to kick back in a place that’s about just having fun.