Last Stop in Auburn: BYOB and possibly get hooked

The problem with Chuck E. Cheese, of course, is that all those kids monopolize the games.

I've stood for 30 minutes or more waiting to get my club on Whack-A-Mole.

Sure, there's Dave & Buster's. But that joint only works if you happen to be in the Rhode Island area. For most of us, the commute from Maine isn't worth it.

But hark! There, just up I-95 in Auburn, it's the BYOB sanctuary Last Stop. Can you see it?

It may appear to be just another average convenience store, but turn the corner and find your way to the Last Stop doors.

Last Stop is a medley of pool tables, giant Jenga, giant Connect Four, beer pong and video games. Each room divulges yet another oversized game or thing-to-do. In yet another room, I was informed, we would find an inflatable boxing ring. Duos can don monstrous inflatable boxing gloves on knock the dickens out of each other...without actually causing one another to bleed.


We opted to stick with a game of Jenga to start - there's less punching.

There are two giant Jenga setups, positioned smack dab in the path of people passing from the beer pong room to, say, the dance floor. (Oh yes, there's also a dance floor.)

In this game of Jenga, you're battling physics, gravity and clumsy patrons.


One friend and I stepped over to the giant Connect Four, constructed of wood.

Ah, the memories of childhood! I hadn't played Connect Four since I was about six, when the game probably felt just as huge. Of course I hadn't started drinking quite yet then, so the experience had a whole new feel.


Some other friends took advantage of an open beer pong table. (To clarify, the cups are filled with water, per liquor licensing guidelines.) But that didn't hinder the competitive spirits. There's also a handful of tables and chairs here, for folks too exhausted from a riotous round of Duck Hunter to stand any longer.

We soon found out that the boxing ring that typically settles into the next room on Saturday Nights wasn't there. Instead, we discovered tattoo artists from Artistic Creations Tattoos (in Auburn) stationed there.

Behind their table, a nearly sheer parachute hung from a construction of wood beams. I could barely make out something inside. So I asked, "Mind if I peak under?"

And there, under the draped fabric, hung a harness. No piercing chair, no tattoo guns. A harness.

Turns out, these guys offer customers more than a permanent depiction of your girlfriend's face rendered on the canvas of your skin.

They'll obligingly put hooks into the flesh of your back and hang you, three feet from the ground, from said beams. [Like this example. Careful, it ain't for the faint of stomach.]

Unsanitary conditions being what they are in a bar, no skin hooking was done here. Instead, they invited anyone who was willing to get into the harness and dangle from the beams to get an idea of what the whole hook-hanging experience was like.

I tend to think hanging from a harness is probably quite different than hanging from your own pierced and stretched back skin, but then it's been a long time since I've dangled from hooks of any sort.

But hey, the $5 "donation to dangle" went to a Lewiston animal shelter. Not a bad excuse to hang - and spin - for all of Last Stop to see.


In case you didn't catch the BYOB reference earlier, let me mention it again. Last Stop is BYOB. Grab a bottle or two of your beloved brew, shove 'em in a small cooler and you're set for the night. No messing with bar tabs, $5 drafts or waiting in line.

We spotted one fellow pulling around a cooler on wheels. Accommodating? Of course. Mildly excessive? Absolutely.

I have no idea what the folks with the gallon of milk were concocting at a nearby table. Mudslides? An Allen's Sombrero? No matter, it's all welcome here. And if you forget your favorite ale at home, never fear. Just pop into the conveniently attached convenience store.

And while all the game-playing is free, there is a $10 cover to step foot in the place. On Saturdays, ladies get in free before 9 pm or pay $5 between 9-10 pm. It's $10, just like the boys, after 10 pm.

Check out Last Stop's MySpace page for more info.