In the early 2000s, I was a young teenager. Around this time, high speed internet existed, but wasn’t particularly common. The same goes for personal/gaming computers. With PC games, there was a lot of overhead for a LAN party–it wasn’t uncommon for friends to not even have a computer that could run the games we played–like Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, or Axis & Allies. Thus, the cyber cafe was born.

I had one summer in particular around 2003 in Long Beach…My friend Ryan’s mom was a manager at a pizza joint directly next to a gaming cyber cafe. That summer, we’d play Counter Strike, Half Life, Starcraft Brood War, and other games for hours on end.

When we got hungry, we’d head next door to check in with his mom and for free pizza. The pizza joint had a few arcade games, so we would keep occupied while we waited & ate pizza. Garlic knots, pinball, Cruisin’ USA, and a few others.

Bouncing back and fourth between massive 20–30 person FPS LAN parties and free pizza/arcade games was a blast. It made for a really incredible summer. I’m grateful for the memories.

If mid-scale gaming cafes were still a thing, I’d probably still go. It’s so much fun to game in mid-to-large groups in person… When you make a good shot, across the room you can hear someone yell “FUCK,” conversely if you helped rescue a teammate you might hear a person in the room shout “THANK YOU!”

Gaming on devices doesn’t need to be an isolating experience. We can all still create the option to game together, IRL. I would hope that IRL gaming clubs, such as I’m describing, would someday come to replace the bowling/social clubs of the past (which have lost memberships & popularity.)

It is important that we humans find ways to connect, compete, and to learn from each other peacefully IRL.

I am so grateful for that summer of free pizza, communal gaming, good friends & vibes. I hope we can find a way for future netizens & people to enjoy something similar.