Coming to SXSW? Stop by Polygon’s speakeasy arcade

SXSW is an annual gathering of tech startup wunderkinds, cinephiles, and indie musicians — and for a little corner of The Belmont in downtown Austin, it’s also home to a bar-turned-speakeasy-also-turned-arcade curated by us.

Polygon’s parent company, Vox Media, is renting out The Belmont — 305 W 6th St, between Guadalupe St. and Lavaca St. — and has found room in the bar for us to set up a few games to play.

We’ve got an assortment of both classic titles and some of our favorite independent games — and bridging the gap between the two is Multibowl, the brilliant and bizarre multiplayer minigame compilation of 80s and 90s classics from Bennett Foddy (Getting Over It) and AP Thomson.

Our lineup:

• Multibowl
• Minit
• VOLLEYGON
• Witchball

Classic cabinets include:

• The Simpsons (yes, that one)
• Mortal Kombat
• NBA Jam
• Pac-Man
• X-Men

If you’re in Austin Mar. 9 - 11, come by and check it out. (And because it doubles as a bar, heads up you’re gonna need to be 21+ to enter the arcade. Sorry!) There’ll also be live shows from our Vox Media family, including Vox’s Ezra Klein, Recode’s Kara Swisher, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, Recode’s Peter Kafka, the hosts of The Verge’s Vergecast and Why’d You Push That Button? podcasts.

• What: The Nest Speakeasy and Polygon arcade, part of “The Deep End by Vox Media” SXSW event
• Where: The Belmont (305 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701)
• But like... where, exactly? From the main entrance, head upstairs and look for the blue doorframe with the Nest Hello doorbell. That’ll get you in.
• When: Mar. 9 - 11, 2018
• The fine print: The Deep End by Vox Media is developed in partnership with Superfly, the creators and producers behind festivals such as Bonnaroo and Outside Lands, and is brought to SXSW 2018 in partnership with Nest, Tempur-Pedic, and Great Clips.
• Anything else? You can RSVP here!