• Having games on hand can add some life to your home wooden bar.bar image by Jerome Dancette from Fotolia.com
  
  You've just installed a classic wooden bar in your basement or rec room. You've invited a group of your closest friends to celebrate. Now you're wondering what games would be most appropriate with your bar. The good news is that several classic bar games fit with the style of such bars. By appointing your bar with these games, you never run the risk of taking away from the classic look and feel of a wooden bar.
  
  

The Classics

• A wooden bar brings a feel of old-time leisure activities. It's appropriate, then, to outfit your bar with some classic games of strategy. Make sure your bar's storage area holds a chess board, backgammon set and checkers game. These are the games people like to play when they are relaxing at a friend's bar.
  
  Do some shopping and you'll find these games come in a wide variety of styles and price points. It's possible to find a chess game, for instance, that comes outfitted with a stylish wood box, or a checkers board backed by lush green fabric. The right style of these games can add even more class to your wooden bar.
  
  

Playing Cards

• No wooden bar is complete without several decks of playing cards. Playing cards are extremely versatile: Hardcore players can use them for intense games of poker, while amateur gamblers can try their luck at blackjack. Even children enjoy games of Old Maid, Go Fish or Crazy Eights. Because many card games are relatively easy to learn, they are great icebreakers for your visitors.
  
  Even better, decks of cards are relatively inexpensive, meaning you can buy several at a time. This is important: Cards tend to get wet when they're played at wooden bars.
  
  

The Sporting Life

• What do people often discuss while socializing at a bar? Sports, of course. It never hurts, then, for bar owners to equip their bars with classic hand-held electronic sports games.
  
  You remember these games: In the 1970s and '80s companies such as Coleco and Mattel sold hand-held football, basketball and baseball electronic games. There were no graphics: Players were merely electronic dots or dashes on a small screen. But the games were undeniably addictive.
  
  Hide some of these classic games---which you can find online or at garage and estate sales---in your bar's storage spaces. Then surprise your guests by bringing them out. They'll be happy to see these reminders of the days before the Wii, PlayStation or Xbox 360.