Kids, co-workers and daters are throwing flamethrowers at each other, as a new generation of video game parlors burst onto the scene.

FeedRoom

Games Turn Up At City Hot Spots

"They're very popular," said Soul Doumouya, of the Game Time Nation. "Everyone that comes here loves it. They're drawn to it. Every day the same customer come again, come again."

Of course you have to pay to play, the cost -- about $5 per hour.

More laid back than their manic arcade predecessors of the 80s, the lounges offer a relaxing alternative to your own couch. And they have become the latest place to meet and compete, whether it's an after-work or after-school hang out.

What's so fabulous about these lounges is they have taken technology and turned it into something highly sociable.