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[Tom_Cody]

http://www.vice.com/read/why-do-people-keep-getting-in-to-fights-at-chuck-e-cheeses

Although their slogan is “Where a Kid Can Be a Kid,” Chuck E. Cheese's prepares kids for some of the greatest truths they’ll run into as adults: the addictive thrill of gambling, the drug rush of salt, sugar, and carbs, the economic shortfalls of a monopoly fixing both the means of production and the mode of distribution, and the crumbling disappointment of seeing grown adults beat each other with their fists at what is, essentially, a playground.

Just this Monday, Chicago police arrested two 21-year-olds after a fistfight in a Lincoln Park area Chuck E Cheese's. The argument began over prize tickets, which are literally worth their weight in paper, and ended with three people injured and one bleeding.

This is far from being an isolated incident.

Chuck E. Cheese's offers some of the most entertaining bare-knuckle brawls outside of the MMA. Shit, even the Romans didn’t let the young around gladiators. At Chuck E. Cheese's, it’s mostly the kids trying to break up the parents while doing their damndest to avoid injury, both physical and emotional.

Here’s a roundup of the nastiest fights at America’s second favorite mouse-themed recreational facility, rated from 1-10 for brutality, hilarity, and innocent bystanders.

The article has a rundown of some infamous Chuck E. Cheese altercations and then has a short interview with their director of corporate communications, Michelle Chism.

This one comes out of Memphis, Tennessee, where 18-year-old and pregnant (+2 points) Juaneka Key was taking photos at her two-year-old’s birthday party when another woman, exasperated by the long wait, asked, “Dang, how long are y’all gon be?” Then her stepfather punches the inquisitive girl in the face (+3 points). Juaneka, her mother, sister, stepfather, and boyfriend were arrested for inciting a riot, threatening police (+1 point), and marijuana possession (+1 point). Juaneka denied any involvement, saying, “If I’m pregnant, why imma fight?” 7/10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgdyhe0OZXw

I've been aware of this phenomenon for a while. What say you GAF, why is Chuck E. Cheese a magnet for violence?

 

[EmCeeGramr]

because i wanted the nintendo but two hours only got me enough for a spider ring and a keychain

 

[HeisenbergLannister]

Cheap ass pizza and stupid parents who think they can take their kids there, take a few hours off from "parenting" and let their brats run wild.

 

[backflip10019]

I think I've seen more fight videos at McDonald's than at Chuck E Cheese. I guess the two kind of go hand in hand, though.

 

[shira]

Lines too long wtf. Need more casa bonitas

 

[notworksafe]

Because birthday parties always lead to groups of people that don't like each other be forced to be in each other's company (divorced parents, their family, maybe new SOs). Some people can't be adult enough to be around people they don't like without finding a reason to swing at someone.

Basically, grow up and act like adults for two hours for the sake of your kids.

 

[Slayven]

Vice too scared to go to a Huddle House?

 

[Joni]

Probably Atari fans.

 

[SUPREME1]

I stick to hosting get-togethers at my house. Be it a party, bbq, or sporting event. I fire up the grill, load up on good beer... and invite only people who I respect and know respect me. Loved ones as well (lol).

This way I know we can get shit faced and rowdy but won't end up in a fucking brawl with some random jackass.

 

[Damaniel]

Loud, bratty kids, plus a bunch of other loud noises, plus overpriced, crappy food and video/redemption games equals a disaster waiting to happen.

You couldn't pay me enough to go to one of those places. (It's not like that would ever be an issue though; as an adult, childless male, it's practically illegal for me to go there anyway...)

 

[Kallor]

What a terrible place to waste your money.

 

[MonkeyKing]

It's loud, too loud really. That in itself can irritate people. It's minimally supervised by staff. Too many misbehaved kids and parents that don't know how to manage conflict,

It's gotten better though. They've turned down the volume and slightly improved the food. The real trick is going at non peak times. Set your party for Sunday 11am and you generally have free run of the place.

 

[zomaha]

slummy places attract slummy people

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Dave & Busters is barely better, and they even pretend to be for adults. Haha.

Oh what I'd do to be in Austin for a real arcade experience...

 

[ChubbyHuggs]

It's loud, too loud really. That in itself can irritate people. It's minimally supervised by staff. Too many misbehaved kids and parents that don't know how to manage conflict,

It's gotten better though. They've turned down the volume and slightly improved the food. The real trick is going at non peak times. Set your party for Sunday 11am and you generally have free run of the place.

Hahaha, what? The weekend is birthday party time. By 11-12 is when the rush starts.

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

They got like, 24 oz beers, at least last time I went there. I ducked into one with a friend while he was couch shopping. During the day on a wed so it was dead.

 

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

I wouldn't call salt, sugar and carbs a "drug-rush" per se.

 

[MonkeyKing]

Hahaha, what? The weekend is birthday party time. By 11-12 is when the rush starts.

Depends on location, but that's when we set our parties and its never too crowded. Two hours later the mob has arrived and you're going home

 

[foxtrot3d]

“If I’m pregnant, why imma fight?”

 

[Tain]

article title straight out of @vice_is_hip

 

[GungHo]

I have to give it to Vice... they can make a report on a visit to CostCo to buy hamburger buns sound more harrowing than trying to fight off Somali pirate zombies while landing a 757 full of Sponge Bob pinatas in the Hudson River.

 

[Stet]

Hard-hitting Vice journalism. You're next, Disney World!

 

[Hari Seldon]

Hard-hitting Vice journalism. You're next, Disney World!

That is funny, I was at Disney land a few weeks ago and one of the staff got punched during the "herding of the people" for the parade haha.

 

[mackattk]

Last Chuck E Cheese I went to was run down pretty badly, carpet was in desperate need of replacement, old arcade machines, many of them out of order, water damage to ceiling tiles, etc. These places feel like a relic from the 80's, and unfortunately, that look that way too.

Why do people keep getting into fights at Chuck E Cheese? Look at the clientele who goes there. I often feel sorry for those kids.

 

[snacknuts]

I think I've seen more fight videos at McDonald's than at Chuck E Cheese. I guess the two kind of go hand in hand, though.

But there are far, FAR more McDonald's locations than Chuck E. Cheeses. I'm guessing the latter has a rate per capita rate.

 

[Magwik]

How did I know this would be in Michigan?

 

[BattleMonkey]

slummy places attract slummy people

Bingo

 

[DrFunk]

Waffle House, past 11:30pm

There's your story Vice

 

[Savitar]

Yeah it's definitely the client base that explains it.

 

[ArjanN]

slummy places attract slummy people

This.

Fast food places are full of people who eat at fast food places all the time, i.e. morons.

 

[PushTheButtonMax]

1) This place attracts the dregs of society.

2) Parents can get unreasonably defensive when it comes to their children.

3) Beer

 

[lunchtoast]

They need better training to diffuse these kinds of situations

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nfXTfXi6HA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhSHOh9Q8tQ

 

[wsoxfan1214]

Good to know my parents were "slummy" and the "dregs of society" for taking me to these when I was a kid.

I had always assumed, oh, I don't fucking know, it was because it was fun for me and my brother and I always asked to go there.

But carry on, GAF.

 

[BertramCooper]

'Cause we can't stop.

And we won't stop.

 

[HammerOfThor]

Whatever Discovery Zone and the Little Ceasar's Place where better.

The only good thing about Chuck-e was the Ninja Turtles game with the ping-pong ball you drop. That shit was the bomb.

 

[Cipherr]

When I was little, it was Showbiz Pizza. And I never (thankfully) saw any fights or ridiculous behavior there. (Or maybe I didn't notice it because I was like 5?)

Oh well.

 

[See You Next Wednesday]

Why do people keep getting into fights at Chuck E Cheese? Look at the clientele who goes there. I often feel sorry for those kids.

Clientele, scummy?
What the fuck. Has Chuck E Cheese morphed that drastically over the '80s & early-mid '90s to be that bad?
Do people sell crack in the corners & the order counter started selling alcohol inside the place pr something?

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Because Chuck E Cheeses are ghetto as fuck. They are like the WalMart of kids/theme restaurants.

 

[shuri]

Good to know my parents were "slummy" and the "dregs of society" for taking me to these when I was a kid.

I had always assumed, oh, I don't fucking know, it was because it was fun for me and my brother and I always asked to go there.

But carry on, GAF.

slum-shaming on gaf again. Hmm hmm!

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Waffle House, past 11:30pm

There's your story Vice

I'll say I don't even want to know and secretly want to know still. Never been in one of those places, but they seem so alluring.

 

[Nikodemos]

the order counter started selling alcohol inside the place or something?

Some locations do. At least beer and wine.

They got like, 24 oz beers, at least last time I went there. I ducked into one with a friend while he was couch shopping. During the day on a wed so it was dead.

 

[Kazerei]

Whoa, there are Chuck E. Cheese locations that serve alcohol? Huh. Well now I know where I'm going when I just want to kick back, get drunk, and let my hypothetical kids run wild.

 

[Desi]

Even my friends have stories about getting into brawls at Chuck E Cheese. it's a battlefield.

 

[dead souls]

It seems pretty simple to me. Most of the adults that are there have absolutely no desire to be, so they're already in a pretty shitty mood. It only takes a little bit of drama from there to start an altercation.

 

[PushTheButtonMax]

Good to know my parents were "slummy" and the "dregs of society" for taking me to these when I was a kid.

I had always assumed, oh, I don't fucking know, it was because it was fun for me and my brother and I always asked to go there.

But carry on, GAF.

I'm sorry, I should have made it clear that I wasn't generalizing. I was taken there myself as a child after all.

 

[The Internet]

Didn't know it was a frequesnt thing, we laugh about the one that happened in Calgary all the time :

http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/03/2...-weekend-brawl-and-chuck-e-cheeses-restaurant

 

[Dude Abides]

Nobody can stay calm when that band is rockin' out.

 

[IISANDERII]

What say you GAF, why is Chuck E. Cheese a magnet for violence?

All those little kids running around and screaming makes you crazy.

prepares kids for some of the greatest truths they’ll run into as adults: the addictive thrill of gambling, the drug rush of salt, sugar, and carbs, the economic shortfalls of a monopoly fixing both the means of production and the mode of distribution

Heh, I like this.

 

[RustyNails]

Chuck E Cheese's is actually an allegory of Hell. Loudness, disorientation, food that tastes like cardboard, demons everywhere. Chuck is Lucifer himself.

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

Some locations do. At least beer and wine.

Whoa, there are Chuck E. Cheese locations that serve alcohol? Huh. Well now I know where I'm going when I just want to kick back, get drunk, and let my hypothetical kids run wild.

In Texas at least. The one we went to was well kept, in a nice area. It tripped me out they had booze. The limit was two per person but they were either 24 or 32 Ozers forgot which.