This year is a landmark birthday for me, so instead of celebrating turning older I figure why not celebrate my misspent youth? The Arena Interactive Lounge in West L.A, a gaming lounge complete with TVs and video game consoles galore, sounded like the perfect place to be a kid again.

They have every gaming console for the past 20 years, ranging from Intellivision to Super Nintendo to Xbox 360. They even have Street Fighter II, one of my childhood faves. (Gotta love that Chun-Li and her lightning kick.) Online reviews I’ve read of the lounge recommended it for its novelty and the fact that you can BYOB and food.

Party stats:

• They can do all types of parties for all ages.
• They have 15 gaming stations with plush couches (subwoofers integrated into each couch) and each can hold up to four players at once.
• The two most popular games are Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution.

But when it came down to costs, it seemed a bit much for what I had in mind.

Prices: On a weekday for 10 people — $175; Friday/Saturday private party — $2,500. Cost for 20 people maximum upstairs on a Saturday night for 3 hours is $750; downstairs for 50 people is $1,200.

Arena is definitely fun and different but I won’t be able to invite more than 50 people, and I want this year’s celebration to be a blow out that won’t kill my checkbook. So the search for a perfect bday venue continues.

11512 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90025
(310) 479-9759