Union Rack and Roll

The bowling ally is shorter than the standard length, pool tables are great (felt is relatively quick), and there is a variety of selection in the arcade room.

My hubby and I play pool here sometimes, generally when the Vault isn’t open yet for the day or we need to waste an hour between a movie and meeting up with friends.
Pros: Tons of tables, the pool side is never busy. I’ve never seen more than three other tables being played on. There are some good weekday deals. You can bring in outside (non-​alcoholic) food and drink.
Cons: On weekends it’s expensive compared to playing other places. It’s priced by hour, at around $ 7 an hour. At places with a $ 1 per play tables $ 7 lasts about twice as long as an hour. You also need a Purdue ID to use a table. That isn’t a big con, but if you’re visiting to look at the school or you’re someone like me, who is not a Purdue student but is constantly up there, you can’t play on your own.

We went to this place late Sunday afternoon. It was clean and the staff was nice. That’s the one star. There were 4 of us. Halfway through the bowling game, 6 other people showed up and were put on the lane next to us. This ruined everything. There was not enough seating so half of everyone’s group was always standing. Because the seating area is right on top of the bowling lanes, while seated you get a great view of the backside of the person standing. The lanes themselves are very narrow and frequently do not properly reset which means you constantly wait for assistance. Overall, hated this experience. Would never go back.

Amazing place. Had loads of fun here. Especially on Thursdays nights. Service and maintenance has been top Notch.

The fact that the name of Purdue’s student-​run bowling alley is itself a ‘double-​meaning’ is a good sign. Wait, what? The Memorial Union’s «Rack and Roll» is a play on the phrase ‘rock & roll’ (which they have playing through speakers), as well as describing exactly what you can do there: shoot billiards (‘rack’ the pool balls) and go bowling (‘roll’ the… well, duh).
So the name is (perhaps unintentionally) clever, big deal. But is it still worthy of a 5-​star rating? Absolutely.
Their pool tables are either in good or great condition, depending on which one you choose, but the lighting is perfectly appropriate for the nature of the sport. The arcade games are excellent as well – they have 2 pinballs, ‘Family Guy’ and ‘Iron Man’ (both newer Stern tables in fine shape), in addition to a Guitar Hero Arcade version, high-​definition Terminator shoot-​em-​up, and several others.
The bowling area is just as well-​maintained, as I’ve never experienced an issue with balls getting stuck in the gutter, needing a pin reset, etc. The animations that are displayed after a throw (e.g. spare, strike, 7 – 10 split) are cute, sometimes funny even, and I’m fairly certain that they’re student-​made on behalf of the college of computery-​people. I recall the price to bowl being very reasonable, and often times students can do so for free during special events.
I loved coming here as a student to roll (just NOT on Shomer Shabbos), and I’m looking forward to many happy returns as an Alumni. The Union’s Rack and Roll is a terrific place to relax in between classes or decompress after a 2-​hour differential equations final.
«Well, that’s like, your opinion, man.»

This place rocks! You can come here if you want to go bowling, playing some billiards, or enjoy the arcade games. The price is really good and it’s a very cool place to relax and have some fun…