Drew Thomas swigs a Harpoon IPA as a bowling ball cracks down a line of pins behind him. He and six buddies are out on the town, taking in the neon-lit lanes at Kings this particular weekday night.

"There’s nothing like this [back home]," says Thomas, 29, who recently moved from San Francisco with his wife, Elizabeth, to Brighton. He’s impressed with the latest Lyons Group retrofitted lounge that features bowling, billiards, and video games, along with food and full bar. "They got TV, got bowling, black lights," he declares. "They got everything you’d want!"

Indeed, Kings, located in the old Cheri movie theater, is among Boston’s numerous night spots that are more than just watering holes: they’ve also got stuff to do. Be it "low-tech" luck at the foosball table or the high-tech heat of a virtual-horseracing machine, bars and clubs are creating more spaces to play than lounges in which to laze. Of course, we need both. But Thomas is one of many who prefers some action with his IPA.

"When you go out just to drink," he says, "it’s all focused around the drink, which is always a good time. But another activity mixes it up a little bit and gets people more involved."

Here are some places and activities for interaction.

There’s something about Kings that’s distinctly ’60s/’70s. Maybe it’s the tipped-crown logo on the candlepin head. I think it’s the big balls, real bowling balls — the kind that weigh six to 14 pounds, have three holes for your fingers, and offer a graceful thud as you roll them down the neon highway.

Opened in March, Kings rides that balance between yesteryear's bowling alley and today's upscale outing. Sure, the complex boasts three bars and the DeVille Lounge, but the bowling alley — with 16 lanes — is the main attraction here. For those with ADD, there’s plenty of opportunity to be distracted by the flat-screen TVs above each lane. There’s also the private, four-lane King Pin Room, often booked for corporate parties. In the billiards lounge, you can cue up at one of eight Brunswick Gold Crown pool tables, or you can just eat, drink, and chat over former Sonsie sous-chef Art Welch’s American comfort food, including crispy-crust pizzas, burgers, chicken wings, and seafood.

The joint’s only drawback is the automated scorekeeper, which allows no dickering over spares and strikes. But, as GM Stephen Coyle says, "We’ve got balls."

If Kings is the latest entertainment arena, then Jillian’s is the pioneer. Owners Kevin Troy and Steven Foster turned a warehouse into a three-story playland 15 years ago, and they’ve opened some 40 other clubs nationwide since. In Boston, Jillian’s is 65,000 square feet of music, TV, video, billiards, bars, and eats, and the club is celebrating its 15th anniversary with $5 million in renovations, including the addition of three high-definition giant-screen TVs to its first-floor Atlas Sports Grill. The second floor has activities like darts, foosball, table hockey, and ping-pong, while the third floor features games for gadget geeks and pool sharks. You’ll find a sea of 54 pool tables and video games galore. And, as part of its renovations, Jillian’s is adding 18 bowling lanes.

Seabiscuit, move over: the latest captivating electronic sport at Jillian’s is Derby Owners Club, a virtual horseracing-and-breeding video game. Here’s where you can train a horse (feed him, work him) into a champion, then breed with another champion, then race ... all on the third floor of Jillian’s. Or you can just play darts.

Or you can head to the Milky Way Lounge and Lanes. Since its opening in 1999, this has been the grooviest neighborhood haunt, with interactive opportunities like bowling and pool. It also has a retro aura, with its kitschy Christmas lights and disco-ball appeal. Says bartender Pete Vasconcellos, "It’s rockin’ with a Star Trek twist." (Plus, you can order a great pizza from Bella Luna restaurant upstairs.)

Every night the Milky Way offers something new. Sundays are "Candy Land" gay night, which features drag bingo (nothing but interaction); Tuesdays feature karaoke. On the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, rip out the hip-hop verse and lay it on during open-mike night. The only condition for performing, says Vasconcellos, is that "you gotta keep it clean." And a house band will back you up.

While it’s debatable how interactive karaoke can get, it’s damn sure you can’t keep to yourself if you’re belting out "Piano Man" and the stranger next to you is doing the same. Sing-alongs are alive and well in Boston. Two places where it’s worth exercising your vocal chords are Jake Ivory’s and Jacob Wirth. Bring cash when you come to Jake Ivory’s: it’s an all-party atmosphere as the crowd vies for songs played by dueling pianists; someone will pay $1 to hear a song, and another will slap down $2 to stop it. So the night goes on, starting, stopping, and singing.

Manager Brian Folan says he’s seen people shut off tunes with offerings of $100 and $200. "It’s either ‘New York, New York’ versus ‘Dirty Water,’" he says, or an Irish song versus an Italian one. And, Folan adds, "Barry Manilow gets stopped every time." Jacob Wirth, an 1860s landmark pub, can be a little more predictable but still engaging with its Friday night sing-along, a staple for 15 years.

If you’re hankering for batting cages in December, Good Time Emporium is your park. It’s an indoor beer garden with so much to do you might find yourself spacing out in front of a 15-foot TV to cure your sensory overload. Once you get up the gumption, you can engage in free billiard lessons (Monday nights from 7 to 9 p.m.), join in a game of laser tag, or shoot some hoops. There are some 200 arcade games and kid-friendly rides, including bumper cars for kids and adults.

We don’t care (although we’re proud) that MIT is ranked the country’s top choice for an engineering graduate degree. What we want to know is if its informal office, Miracle of Science, provides other stuff besides good eats and brews for the brain-endowed. Indeed, this might be where the next generation is sketching tomorrow’s molecular breakthrough with chalk (just ask your server) on fire-slate tabletops. While kids are given carte blanche to doodle on the tables as they please, adults are welcome, too. Add to the mix the bartenders’ favorite music (from Def Leppard to Radiohead), and Miracle of Science is a real live specimen of free speech and discriminating taste.

Okay, so we’ve dismissed club dancing as interactive because the music’s too loud to allow any meaningful (verbal) interaction. What about escaping to the Burren for a little set-dance lesson and a laugh? This Irish enclave, with its live Irish music, will turn your blood green as you train your feet to Ger Cooney’s instruction. A lass from Galway, Cooney gives lessons in the pub’s back room on Monday nights. It takes four couples in a square (it’s okay if you don’t come as a couple) to set dance, and a great deal of interaction to create the traditional steps. Then it’s out to the front room to test what you’ve learned — and interact with a Guinness.

At the Sevens Ale House, a quintessential European pub on Beacon Hill, the jukebox can barely be heard over the deafening din of conversation. This is one neighborhood joint where the art of gab remains the favorite pastime, along with a pint of Harpoon’s Dark 7’s Ale and the dart board — the center of action on Tuesday nights, when the Minuteman Dart League attempts one bull’s-eye after another.

Darts are the only distraction, unless manager Lily Lowry bends your ear. She says her gift of gab keeps regulars returning. "People come and drink and talk," says Lowry, who knows all the regulars and knows if you’re new. Here, it’s the people themselves who are the interactive activity: "We have a dart team," says Lowry, "but they don’t come just for that. They come to see me."

Naomi Kooker can be reached at nkooker@verizon.net