This post comes to us from DCist contributor Rob Birgfeld

In the eyes of many, a good bar must have certain things. Ambience, a good DJ, a nice selection of fine wines, liquor, and various micro-brewed beers. To others, the list of requirements is far shorter; Cheap beer and pinball. Despite the incredible advancements in video game graphics, story lines, and the countless renditions of Golden Tee, pinball remains king of the American dive bar. So is it nostalgia? Is it the game’s simplicity? Or do the breaks between turns lend themselves to a night of intermittent swigs of beer?

Regardless of the reasons, many bars in the District still use the lure of flippers, bumpers and silver balls to draw in patrons. Asylum keeps the replays going with the recently released “The Sopranos” pinball machine. Stetsons finally replaced the epic but awful Dr. Who pinball game with the vastly underrated World Cup Soccer ‘96. Black Cat, famous for attracting cutting-edge musical acts, also has a knack for rotating legendary pinball machines through its doors. The venue that once housed Elvis Pinball and “The Simpsons” now offers “The Sopranos” and the classic 90s machine Jackbot. Months ago, Wonderland Ballroom decided it was time to part ways with the one-flipper edition of the venerable Hurricane. Well, at least they still have a Ms. Pac-Man table.

So now we turn to you — what other establishments around town offer pinball? What other classic games are barroom favorites? Centipede? Asteroids? Arkanoid? BurgerTime?

Game on.