Flight Club Reading is opening this week, bringing Social Darts to the town – and it’s very different to what you might be expecting. Above all, it’s a fantastically fun night out with lots of laughter.
Jim Bowen has it right: you can’t beat a bit of Bully. In recent years, darts has undergone a renaissance fueled in part by modern stars of the game, including Newbury’s Luke Humphries, and teenage sensation Luke Littler. We’ve even gone Bunting Mental for another star of the oche, Stephen Bunting.
Now, Reading is gaining Flight Club: a uniquely designed bar that specialises in Social Darts, meaning not everyone has to be a whizz with the trebles to have fun at the oche. Add in an impressive cocktail menu and tasty bar food, and you have all the ingredients for a fun night out – and no speedboat in sight.
In fact, the Flight Club Reading team promises to deliver a social experience like no other. Visitors can expect addictive and high-energy games, with semi-private event areas in a bar where fairground buzz meets pub warmth.
It opens in Station Hill – the new development that connects Friar Street with Reading Station – on Friday, 1 May. We enjoyed a sneak preview with a night at the flagship branch opposite London Victoria station.
This is set out with a fairground theme, with a helter-skelter turned into a staircase, and several themed rooms. The detailing is incredible, with everything from a disco phone booth to a shed-like snug. Exploring this is just as much fun as playing darts, and the Reading branch will be just as unique.
Visitors hire an oche for a set period of time and play as many games as they like. A press of a button allows them to place food and drink orders, which are then brought to the table.
The menu includes an impressive array of cocktails, mouth-watering small plates, and stunning sourdough pizza with a range of toppings.
Darts can seem daunting for novices: keeping track of the score, knowing where to stand, and what to aim for are all tricky for the unwary. Is that a double or a treble? Do you need to start on a double? Flight Club removes all that stress by fusing the sport with fun darts games that fuse throws with video games so that anyone can enjoy without prior experience.
That can be a game where the aim is to hit a certain area of the board, or to score the lowest possible amount. Another is a darts-themed twist on Snakes and Ladders. All are simple to grasp, easy to play, and invoke smiles all around as people hit or miss their targets.
To ensure scores are tallied accurately, Flight Club uses special cameras around the board to track where darts land. With this in mind, everyone can have a go, and there is usually much camaraderie during the games. For those winning moments, the cameras can give action replays and take team photos: these are emailed out, so those moments of glory can be shared on your socials.
Add in DJ sets and all-round immaculate vibes, and Flight Club Reading will be a great place to share memorable moments with friends, family and colleagues for birthday celebrations, corporate events or just because. They are even ready for the World Cup.
Reading really hasn’t had anything like this before, and it’s certainly a great addition to the new Station Hill development, which also includes Siren Craft Brew’s RG1 bar. The dart games are easy to navigate, and live up to their billing: they are fun, even if you have never picked up a dart before.
The clever touches dotted around make the venue a delight to explore, while a wall-mounted counter shows how many darts have been thrown in Flight Club venues around the world. It’s impressive stuff, and with special offers such as bottomless brunches, student nights and team building events, Reading will benefit hugely from this brilliant new bar.
For more details, or to book, log on to: https://flightclubdarts.com/location-reading
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