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As airport time killers, cocktails will never lose their most-favored status. But the race for novel concessions inside the terminal is becoming more, well, playful. Especially when it comes to mollifying less-than-happy passengers.

Last month, the first U.S. airport video game lounges opened with three dozen Microsoft XBox rigs at Dallas-Fort Worth International, while John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York is hosting the first virtual-reality “experience center” this summer for the 70,000 travelers who traverse Terminal 4 each day.

The goal is a deep desire among fiercely competitive airports to offer harried travelers something different when the TSA sets them free. In a world of endless McDonald’s outlets and magazine racks, game lounges may very well stand out. For airports, the period when a passenger is waiting to board, “dwell time” in industry lingo, is a prime selling opportunity.

Beer, burgers and duty free are stalwarts of the trade, but a chance to market an experience to the anxious, weary masses is rapidly gaining critical mass. And when it comes to video games, there are eager players across Generation Z, millennials and even Generation X.