For more than two decades, solids and stripes have caromed across 16 regularly resurfaced Brunswick Gold Crown III tables, filling Eastside Billiards and Bar with the sharp clicks of physics in motion. Brunswick Centennial balls glide across verdant swaths of tournament-grade Simonis 860 cloth at the prodding of frequently re-tipped Cuetec cues. Revelry drifts from players in a co-ed pool league, rising above the staccato chatter of foosball games and scale-size referees. During private parties, tournaments foster good-natured competition, and trick-shot specialists perform miraculous bank shots and show how to hide an extra cue ball in one's sleeve. Students chat with skilled instructors in lessons, soaking up advice in the warm glow of neon beer signs.

Alongside an eight-foot Stiga ping-pong table, glasses sing brightly together in jovial toasts. Patrons enjoy athletic contests on five big-screen televisions and select the evening's soundtrack on an MP3 jukebox stocked with more than 400,000 tunes and one robotic emotion. Other games include foosball, skee-ball, Mrs. Pac-Man, and Golden Tee 2013 Live.