Conroy D.
Yelp
I am mediocre at Duckpin bowling, but I really enjoy it so I was very excited to try out this place in Nashville. Pins Mechanical is located in the bottom of apartment buildings or condos, so it doesn't look that big at first glance. But once you realize how much ground it covers, you will see that it is huge!
There is a bar right when you walk in, two sections of arcade games, and toward the back there are a number of bowling lanes. Fortunately, we were able to walk right up and play a game. Gameplay was very smooth and it moved pretty quickly since there were just two of us. It's harder than it looks because you can't roll the ball too fast since the pins are on strings, so you really have to be strategic. You do get three rolls which is very generous.
Besides the game, my favorite part was the *FREE arcade section. I walked right up to Tapper, one of my go-to games, and played several rounds. The only word of caution is that these games are free, so you get what you pay for. Several of the games were out of commission and some that did work had faulty buttons.
The beer selection is pretty good and the prices are reasonable compared to other places we visited. However, I learned a hard lesson about the liquor tax. At one point, an employee was walking around with pink shots for breast cancer, and I bought two for $7 each. It ended up costing me $20! That was unexpected and put a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, which was pretty pink after the shot.
Overall, this is a nice place to go for a family, big group, or a couple of friends. There's enough room to spread out, the bowling is very fun, and if you can find your favorite arcade game for free, it's even better.