‘Flappy Bird’ Arcade Machine Appears In English Pub

Flappy Bird is officially off the market, much to the dismay of those who arrived late to this strangely addictive party.

If you’ve never heard of the Vietnamese game developer Dong Nguyen’s endeavor, then you’ll have to find a suitable alternative to experience the title. As of this writing, Flappy Bird is no longer available on any platform. However, there are presently an increasingly large number of clones and knock-offs to keep you busy for several weeks.

Since there are several folks who still want to test their luck and patience on the game, a patron who frequents The Imperial pub in Chorley, Lancashire decided to give his fellow drinkers something to do during their stay at the establishment.

Paul Jackson reportedly crafted the Flappy Bird arcade machine for free. In addition to giving folks a chance to play the cancelled game, he also added a leaderboard so pub patrons could compete against one another for the high score.

He recently told the Mirror:

“I was talking to a few friends in the pub after ‘Flappy Bird’ was pulled. We all played it and I got thinking about creating it as an arcade game for the pub. I tinker a bit with arcade cabinets, software programming and writing apps, so to recreate ‘Flappy Bird’ like-for-like only took me about 3 or 4 hours and cost just 50 pounds. It is exactly the same — apart from adding the high score board so that people can compete against each other.”

Jackson was reportedly inspired to make the Flappy Bird arcade machine after he noticed people were asking Dong Nguyen to port the game to other platforms. Instead of embarking on these endeavors, he encouraged fans to do it themselves. Although Jackson is proud of his work, he said he would gladly remove the game if its creator insisted.

“The arcade machine has been very popular and has had a lot of people flocking to the pub to try it out. Unless anyone else has done the same thing — this has to be the one of the only places left to play the game in the world,” Jackson said.

All Flappy Bird enthusiasts have to do is drop a coin into the machine to satisfy their addiction. Considering the game is notoriously difficult, the pub could generate a hefty amount of pocket change within the span of a few hours. Considering Google Play and the App Store are cracking down on clones, this is probably the best way for folks in the area to get their fix.

What do you think about the Flappy Bird arcade machine that’s presently available at an English pub? Do you wish your local watering hole would install something similar?