Introduction
The UK nightlife economy is in a difficult place. Venues are closing, dance floors are disappearing, and the overall mood across the hospitality industry has felt pretty bleak. Rising costs, changing habits, and shifting behaviours have taken a real toll on traditional bars and clubs.
But here’s the twist — not everyone is struggling. While one side of nightlife is under pressure, another side is absolutely booming. People aren’t necessarily staying at home; they’re changing how they go out. They’re looking at experience over just drinking — competition, interaction, and a genuinely fun night out.
And no brand better illustrates this shift than Flight Club.
Launched in Shoreditch in 2015, Flight Club has reinvented darts for the modern night out. Their parent company, Red Engine, is still expanding while other venues are closing. This is the story of how competitive socialising is finding light at the end of the tunnel — told through the insights of Juliette Keyte, Marketing Director of Flight Club, on the podcast After Dark: The Nightlife Economy, hosted by Sam Dimond, owner of Spotlight Sound.
What Is Competitive Socialising?
Competitive socialising is a sector of the hospitality industry built around activity-led social experiences — where an interactive game sits at the heart of the night out, rather than just drinks.
Flight Club and Electric Shuffle are both brands owned by Red Engine and sit at the forefront of this space in the UK. Both formats are designed to bring groups together around a shared activity, creating memorable experiences rather than passive evenings.
The key distinction — as Juliette explains — is that at these venues, a night out “is not centred around kind of pints and things like that.” It’s about having a game, letting loose together, and creating something more memorable.
Why People Are Changing How They Go Out
The shift toward experience-led nightlife reflects a genuine and ongoing change in how people think about going out.
As Juliette Keyte puts it: “People are much more discerning with how they’re spending their time and how they’re spending their money.” A lot of behaviour has moved away from just going to the pub for a drink. When people do go out, they want it to mean something.
This is especially true for Gen Z, who are notably more fitness-focused. They want to be clever about how they’re spending their time and their calories. Competitive socialising gives them something different — a reason to go out that isn’t centred around drinking.
There’s also a broader desire for escapism. As Juliette describes it, Flight Club allows people to go into “almost like a childlike state” where they forget about what’s on their phone, what’s going on outside the four walls, and just enjoy themselves. In a world that can feel pretty bleak sometimes, people like the chance to be truly present and in the moment.
How Flight Club Reinvented Darts
Darts and pubs are synonymous in the UK. But Flight Club took what was a traditional pub dartboard game and turned it into a high-energy centrepiece for the modern era of socialising.
The key innovation: you don’t need to worry about the mental arithmetic. The technology handles scoring automatically, removing one of the traditional barriers to the game. And crucially, it doesn’t even matter if you’re that good at darts. It’s just about having fun with your friends — and that’s something that sits at the base and core of who Flight Club are.
This approach makes darts accessible to everyone in the group, regardless of skill level or experience. The game becomes the reason to come together, not a test of ability.
Flight Club turned 10 last year, and they are now closing in on hitting a new milestone of a billion darts thrown worldwide — a number that, as Juliette acknowledges, none of them thought they’d reach when they started back in 2015.
The Experience Is the Point: Memory-Making Over Drinking
The nights out that succeed right now need something more than just a drink. They need to offer a memory and an experience — a sense of theatre around being out, something that genuinely answers the question: is it worth going out for?
Flight Club’s answer is to engineer moments throughout the visit that guests will carry with them long after the night is over. Juliette talks about the concept of “core memories” — making something that sticks with you.
This is visible in how guests respond in the venue itself. When action replays happen and guests see key moments played back — whether they’ve knocked their friend out on the dartboard or a hockey moment unfolds — you hear screams and roars around the venues. That’s the memory being made in real time.
And Flight Club doesn’t charge anything extra for this. The memory-making is part of the offer.
Design, Immersion, and In-House Creative Teams
One of Flight Club’s most deliberate differentiators is their approach to interior design. These venues don’t feel like sports bars. They’re much more warm, fun, and immersive — and that environment is a crucial part of the success.
The Pub and the Fairground
The combination of pub and fairground in the design language reflects the heritage of darts — that’s where darts began, way back when. Flight Club pays tribute to that. Signature design elements you’ll find across venues include:
- Ring lights that move in time to the music
- Grandfather clocks held upside down
- Banquette seating
Whilst no Flight Club is the same — they don’t do a cookie-cutter approach — you should always know you’re in a Flight Club.
Some venues are much more fairground-led. Flight Club Victoria, for example, has guests walking up through a helter skelter to get into it — you can’t get much more fairground than that. Flight Club Shoreditch, the original venue, is much more pub-orientated — more antiques, more wood features. Electric Shuffle, the other brand, has a completely different interior design: a modern retro direction with a lot of nods to musical history.
Each venue has its own personality, and Flight Club incorporates nods to local neighbourhoods in each location. At Flight Club Islington, for instance, there is a custom mural of Upper Street where each shop front features a different member of staff’s surname — Juliette’s own reads “Keats Gazette.”
Everything In-House
What makes this level of design consistency and evolution possible is that Red Engine keeps almost everything in-house:
- Interior design team
- Dressing and production team
- Antiques, sourced by the team and held in a warehouse in Birmingham, then used to dress all venues globally — including franchise partners in America and Australia
- Gaming and UX design
- Sales, marketing, people, and finance teams
The in-house team includes people from backgrounds including ex-NASA and Disney. This setup enables a hyper-focus and passion to keep striving forward — being present in the venues, watching how guests respond to games, and taking design nods from new venues to retrofit into existing ones as the brand evolves.
Gen Z, TikTok, and How Discovery Has Changed
The way people discover venues has changed dramatically. When Juliette started at Flight Club 10 years ago, it was all about Facebook and TripAdvisor. Then it shifted to Instagram. Now, TikTok is the search engine — it’s not Google anymore.
For brands like Flight Club, this means being present and front of mind when people are searching for things to do in Manchester, Birmingham, or London.
Gen Z in particular are very discerning about the brands they choose to spend their time with. They care about what a brand is doing — whether it’s CSR initiatives, the treatment of staff, or the care and passion that goes into the venues. The quality of interior design resonates with them too. It’s a combining element.
Flight Club Stories: Turning Moments Into Shareable Content
Technology plays a central role in Flight Club’s experience. During gameplay, key moments are recorded and packaged up, then sent to guests the next day as Flight Club Stories — or Electric Shuffle Stories across the other brand.
This gives guests hand-created social media content. If they want the bragging rights of posting online — on Instagram or TikTok — it’s ready and waiting for them.
Juliette is proud that a lot of people aren’t on their phones while they’re at Flight Club. But she also wants guests to be able to tell the story afterwards — and this is where Flight Club Stories comes in.
The result? People are sharing the moments, not drinks around the table. They’re sharing highlight reels of what they’ve done on the night, the good times they’ve had with friends. Guests are always really surprised when the first action replay happens — and you can hear the screams and roars around the venues as people see their key moments played back.
It’s a lasting memory — another value add — and Flight Club doesn’t charge anything extra for it.
Expansion: New Venues, New Cities, New Countries
While other venues are closing, Red Engine is actively opening new locations.
Recent Openings
- Flight Club Newcastle — opened last year
- Electric Shuffle Chicago — opened last year
- Electric Shuffle King’s Cross, London — opened last year
- Flight Club Reading — opening 1st of May (announced)
Red Engine currently operates 19 venues in the UK across the Flight Club and Electric Shuffle brands.
International Presence
- United States: Red Engine owns and operates Electric Shuffle in the US. Flight Club operates in the US through franchise partner State of Play Hospitality.
- Australia: Franchise partners
- Dublin: Franchise partner — just turned one and performing really well
- Future conversations: Northern Europe and the UAE are both actively being explored
Competitive socialising is not as established in the US or Australia as it is in the UK — they’re a few years behind. But that represents a huge opportunity, not only because the market is younger but also because of the sheer size of both countries. Being one of the first movers within that part of the sector is something Red Engine believes will pay really well for them.
The Bigger Picture: What the Industry Needs to Do
Juliette is clear that it’s not all doom and gloom across the wider hospitality industry. Yes, there have been really difficult headwinds — coming out of COVID, rates really changing, minimum wage going up, and numerous other challenges. But she doesn’t think that tells the full story.
The key is making sure everyone is striving to move forward.
When Flight Club joins a new neighbourhood, it’s not just about them. It’s about how they can contribute to others — bringing footfall to an area and helping lift the neighbours. The mentality is “all ships rise” rather than trying to come and dominate. And hospitality is amazing, she notes, for how much everyone looks out for each other.
She also points to the importance of focusing on what makes you unique. If everyone starts looking the same, how is somebody going to decide where to spend their night out? The answer is to go back to your USP — keep investing in new games, improving the interior design, and joining new cities.
“You can’t rest on your laurels in hospitality. We’ve all got to be relentless and keep busy. And I think that’ll be the key to success of everyone keeping moving in 2026.” — Juliette Keyte
Expert Insights: Juliette Keyte, Marketing Director, Flight Club
Here are the key insights shared by Juliette Keyte directly from the conversation on After Dark: The Nightlife Economy:
On why competitive socialising resonates: “For a lot of guests, it’s more than just your average night out. People are much more discerning with how they’re spending their time, how they’re spending their money.”
On what people are actually looking for: “If you’re going to go out less often, you should want it to be somewhere that you’re really going to enjoy and that your friends are going to kind of take away core memories from.”
On escapism: “You kind of go into a bit of almost like a childlike state where you kind of forget about what’s on your phone, what’s going on outside of the four walls that you’re in and just enjoy yourself.”
On innovation: “We don’t rest on our laurels. We’re constantly trying to innovate, whether it’s adding new games, improving the interior design, really reinvesting in our offering to make sure that we deliver the best possible experience for our guests.”
On community: “When we join a new neighbourhood, it’s not just about us, it’s about how we can contribute to others. We know and hope that we bring footfall to an area, so it then helps lift the neighbours. All ships rise rather than trying to come and dominate.”
On 2026: “You can’t rest on your laurels in hospitality. We’ve all got to be relentless and keep busy. And I think that’ll be the key to success of everyone keeping moving in 2026.”
Best Practices from the Flight Club Model
Based directly on what Juliette Keyte shared in this conversation, here are the core principles that define how Flight Club and Red Engine operate:
- Make it about more than a drink. The game is the centrepiece. Drinks are part of the offer, but the experience — the competition, the laughter, the shared moment — is what people come for and come back for.
- Remove the barriers to participation. No mental arithmetic. No need to be good at darts. Everyone can play, regardless of skill or experience. The more accessible the game, the wider the group it serves.
- Never rest on your laurels. Flight Club constantly adds new games and reinvests in the experience. A new game was launched at Flight Club just before Christmas. Staying still is not an option.
- Keep creative teams in-house. Design, gaming, production, and dressing are all done internally at Red Engine. This enables the passion, focus, and quality that drives the brand forward.
- Design for the neighbourhood. Every venue has its own personality. Custom murals, local references, and neighbourhood-specific design details create warmth and a genuine sense of place.
- Let the experience market itself. Flight Club Stories gives guests hand-created content to share on social media the day after their visit — at no extra cost. The experience generates its own reach.
- Expand with a considered approach. Every new location is about adding something to the community and neighbourhood being joined. That mindset — all ships rise — is at the heart of how Red Engine grows.
FAQ
What is competitive socialising?
Competitive socialising is a sector of hospitality built around game-led social experiences. Brands like Flight Club and Electric Shuffle — both owned by Red Engine — put an interactive game at the centre of the night out. The focus is on groups having fun together and creating core memories, rather than just drinking.
When did Flight Club launch and how big are they now?
Flight Club launched in Shoreditch in 2015. They turned 10 last year and are now closing in on a milestone of a billion darts thrown worldwide. Red Engine, the parent company, currently operates 19 venues in the UK across the Flight Club and Electric Shuffle brands.
Who owns Flight Club and Electric Shuffle?
Both brands are owned by Red Engine. The company keeps almost everything in-house — including interior design, gaming, production, dressing, and marketing. Juliette Keyte is the Marketing Director of Flight Club. The podcast host, Sam Dimond, is the owner of Spotlight Sound, which installs sound and lighting in bars, clubs and venues across the UK.
Is Flight Club only in the UK?
No. Flight Club operates in the US through franchise partner State of Play Hospitality. Electric Shuffle is owned and operated by Red Engine in the US, with a venue in Chicago. There are also franchise partners in Australia and Dublin. Red Engine is actively exploring expansion into Northern Europe and the UAE.
Why is competitive socialising growing when traditional nightlife is struggling?
As Juliette Keyte explains, people are much more discerning about how they spend their time and money. When going out less often, the expectation for what that night out delivers is much higher. Competitive socialising venues offer something beyond just a drink — a game, a shared experience, and core memories that people carry with them and want to share.
Conclusion
The picture for traditional nightlife may feel bleak — but Flight Club and the wider competitive socialising sector show there is genuinely light at the end of the tunnel.
When people go out less often, they want it to count. They want more than a drink — they want the experience, the game, the memory, and something worth talking about the next day. That’s exactly what Flight Club and Electric Shuffle have been built to deliver.
From a single venue in Shoreditch in 2015 to a global brand closing in on a billion darts thrown worldwide, the story of Flight Club is proof that when you prioritise experience, invest relentlessly in design, keep creativity in-house, and never rest on your laurels — the model works.