Skee Ball League keeps rolling into the new year

Arcade enthusiasts crowd around tables, tugging masks down to sip from pints of beer and cider as Quarters Bar and Arcade Owner Luke Kunselman explains the rules for Tuesday night’s Skee Ball league finals.

The game is more than just rolling balls up the slope to rack up points — the Round Robin Tournament had the added challenge Kunselman called “Rolling the Cycle.” Each round, the two-person teams must land a ball in each of the rings to earn bonus points. Nailing the 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 100 point rings earns the team an extra 200 points on their score, with another 200 points if the team also hits the second 100 point ring.

Players of all ages compete for glory, trophies and a t-shirt, with the added bonus of the champion team getting their name on a plaque hanging between the bar’s two Skee Ball lanes.

The bar and arcade hosts league nights on Mondays and Tuesdays with around 10 teams each night, according to Quarters co-owner Emily Kunselman. The league offers seven weeks of league play, three rounds per team each night, and the eighth week is a bracket championship.

More than just a way to bring in business on slower Monday and Tuesday nights, the Skee Ball league is a great way to get to know the community, Emily Kunselman said. Players like Teresa Lask come up from Lafayette to drink beer, make friends and roll the lanes.

“I’ve been addicted to Skee Ball since I was a kid,” Lask said. 

Growing up on the East Coast, Lask said she’s always loved the game and has fond memories of playing at arcades and amusement parks. 

Lask is one of the previous league champions at Quarters, with her name on the plaque. Her husband, Scott, wears one of the Quarters Skee Ball t-shirts as well. The couple have a strategy, Teresa Lask explained, where she rolls for the 100 point rings and he goes for everything else.

Lask visits Quarters for more than just the Skee Ball and beer selection, she said.

“Luke and Emily (Kunselman) are great. This place just feels like home,” Lask said.

Kristie Anderson also drove up to Quarters from Lafayette with her wife, Molly Creek. The couple are teachers, they explained, and visiting the arcade when school is in session is a challenge.

“We’ve been trying to come here for a long time,” Anderson said. “This place has been on my bucket list.”

Anderson and Creek didn’t know about the tournament beforehand, but jumped at the opportunity when they walked in. The couple were more concerned about having fun on their winter break than winning, but got into the spirit with their team name, “All Skee, No Balls.”

Though the couple were eliminated early in the tournament, Anderson and Creek said they’d be back to Quarters again at the first opportunity.

“We like the Pong table and it's a little out of our price range to buy, so we’ll just have to come play it here,” Creek said.

The victors of Tuesday night’s tournament were “Skee You Next Year,” Luke Kunselman said. 

The next round of Quarters’ Skee Ball League will start early next year. Monday nights will begin on Jan. 10 and Tuesday’s league will start Jan. 11, with tickets available for purchase through Quarters’ website. Additionally, the Kunselmans are adding a Wednesday night pinball league next year, starting on Jan 12.