hitting the target : February 15 2025

6 days ago · 4 min read · Shinjuku

saturday was quite dry, it started dry. i was just in bed most of the time and enjoyed some anime. but the day ended in full colors. welcome to regalo, the darts bar!

^{here is my entry to #pobphotocontest having colorful as theme for the week.}

regalo

i was quite amused when i heard of the shop's name; regalo means "gift" in both cebuano and filipino, two languages spoken in the philippines. so i was quite thrilled how and why this shop was called like that. what "gift" could they offer to me?

this was what was written in one of the walls of this darts bar. with that motto, this place really meant business. my friends were already there when i arrived, @wittyzell was busy hitting bulls-eyes, another was busy learning how to throw with such a high left feet recoil, the other was busy coaching her, and the "varsity" darts player just sitting comfortably with his "highball" drink. that was the situation when i arrived. i ordered some "orange" cocktail for starters.

regalo was very cozy! quite different from the other darts bar we've been to where cigarette smoke lingers in the air, this one had fresher scent. i'm not sure how they did it, probably it was a non-smoking space or the exhaust was working extremely well. either way that made me very happy, i am not too fond of cigarette smell. it was quite spacious with one side full of darts machine, they really meant darts business through the core. at one far end, they had a vip room with a private darts machine and a karaoke. this is great for a party or just some private time with your company of friends.

they also serve food in here, one can eat a full range of meals, pasta, salads, and snacks. but everyone just came from dinner, we just needed some light snacks to chow down, just something to keep the mouth busy. this platter was perfect: cheese, popcorn, mixed nuts, edamame beans, and potato fries.

@appleeatingapple and @ohlnwwlknat came a bit later and they dominated the game from then on. i managed to capture one of @appleeatingapple's bulls-eye in this shot. i am still amazed at how well they throw, they could manage to completely get a zero in a "count down" match. very impressive! a "count down" match is basically a raise to zero, whichever you hit will be deducted from a predetermined starting score until someone reaches zero or the rounds ended. the difficulty raises a bit near the end when people reaches a certain small number. by then, no one is allowed to hit over the remaining score for they get "busted". let's say, you finally reached 2 (which always happened to me), you are now only allowed to hit a single 2 or until a double 1 to end the game. and that requires precision, which i am not good at.

we played hidden cricket one time and i got lucky. in this game, one is allowed to hit only seven numbered targets on the board just like a normal "cricket" game, but those seven are hidden and must be uncovered by hitting. if you hit a hidden target first, you get a bonus +1. and hitting each target 3 times "closes out" that target, hitting more on your "closed out" targets will give corresponding penalty scores to all those who have not yet "closed out" that specific target. the "double" and "triple" spaces on the board will also be counted accordingly. whoever has the smallest penalty score at the end of all rounds, or "closes out" all targets first wins the match. i happened to "close out" all targets. got very lucky indeed!

this night was just so much fun! it has also been a while since the last darts game i had. still not precise in my throws but most of us aren't so i guess i can manage. and i hope you can try playing darts as well.

as always, AMPING KANUNAY!