h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Dave and Buster's now offers Power Hour cards as an alternative for price-conscious consumers. The cards will allow you to play any game(s) you like with no spending limit, but will expire one hour after the first game has been played.

The cost seems to vary by location, but is usually quite reasonable. Really, the biggest problem with Power Hour cards is the security measure they include. You see, the chain understandably wants to prevent people from sharing their Power Hour cards with others. So the cards will not allow you to use them until 30 seconds after the last use.

If you are playing a particularly impossible game or are a particularly untalented player, this can prevent you from continuing a game where you left off by swiping the card again. If your game ends within 30 seconds, you're stuck starting over. This is particularly frustrating for young children.

That said, Power Hour cards can be a good solution for corporate sponsored visits. You can be reasonably certain of herding your employees or customers to lunch or the office after play time is over, since a time limit is built in.

Interesting....

I have yet to patronize the new Dave and Buster's in my hometown. I almost went once, but my younger sister tagged along and they wouldn't let us in (she's under 21 and I'm not over 25).

I'd expect these "power hour" cards would be good for practicing some particularly expensive game. I don't know about the 30 second time limit for future use, though. I don't know any games which are so difficult that I cannot survive for 30 seconds.

Only because you haven't been at Dave and Buster's...