Gamers can compete in ‘Monkey Ball’ for charity at upcoming tournament

Dec. 9, 2020

Found yourself playing a few more video games given the cold and COVID-19 pandemic? You can put that skill to work for charity at a tournament this week.

Entertainment company Urban Nerd has organized a “Monkey Ball” tournament at 7 p.m. Thursday at EightyOne Arcade Bar, located inside The Carpenter Building at 221 S. Phillips Ave.

To enter the tournament, participants simply need to donate a toy valued at $5 or more, or at least $5 cash at the door. Prizes include gift certificates to Last Stop CD Shop, GameStop and Starry Eyed Studio. 

“Monkey Ball” is a Sega arcade cabinet where players tilt the controller to move the world around an animated monkey in a ball, guiding the character around obstacles to reach the end of a level before the time runs out and without falling off platforms. Louie Benavente, owner of Urban Nerd, said he chose the game because of its simplicity and accessibility to a wide audience.

Originally envisioned as a ’90s nostalgia store, Urban Nerd was founded by Benavente, who opened a storefront in July. Because of the pandemic, business was slow, forcing him to close the store in October. 

Benavente said he wanted to offer a one-stop shop for fans of ’90s-related pop culture.

“There are existing businesses, like Rainbow (Comics, Cards and Collectibles) and Last Stop, but nowhere where you can go somewhere and get like a wide range of different stuff,” Benavente said. “So I thought that was a good idea. Unfortunately, I decided to open it during the pandemic.”

While the storefront is gone, Urban Nerd lives on through partnering with local businesses to host pop culture-related events. By pivoting away from retail, Benavente has found success with events and tournaments like the upcoming “Monkey Ball” tournament. 

Benavente is the events coordinator at Bigs Bar, where he has organized joint events with Urban Nerd. He’s learning on the job about running a venue in the hopes of reopening Urban Nerd in a few years as an entertainment venue. But until then, he’s happy to infuse a bit of nerd culture into Sioux Falls with his events. 

“(I’ve received) nothing but positive feedback,” he said. “I have advertised in states like Minnesota and Nebraska, and I’ve gotten, you know, the typical pandemic response, you should all stay home and stuff, but I’ve been doing really great here in South Dakota and Sioux Falls.”

Want to stay in the know?

Get our free business news delivered to your inbox.



Gamers can compete in ‘Monkey Ball’ for charity at upcoming tournament

Do we have any “Monkey Ball” fans out there? Put your skills to work for a good cause.

News Tip

Have a business news item to share with us?

Scroll to top