You might be dying to see the new Star Wars convention or check out the opening of an anime store, but not everyone shares our love for standing in line to see CGI or crazy hair. But you can use your geekiness to impress your date by thinking of common interests the average Joe (or Joey) might forget about.

Laser tag

It’s immature, frantic, energetic, and might include little kids running around, but that just proves it’s an excellent first date. It’s casual and lets you interact with your date, while creating good conversation material for the hot dog dinner afterward about who kicked who’s ass (looser buys, and you always let your date win…at least until the third).

Movie/music festival or convention

As long as it doesn’t feature anything called Star _____ or cartoons from foreign countries, this is a great date. The best kind are all day events, found in most cities (scheduling can be a chore) where you can walk around looking at salespeople’s displays of old movie posters, costumes, and other hilarious trivia. Plus, with tons of screenings and shows, you give your date options.

Arcades

Girls and even some guys scoff at arcades, and while they’re hard to find, everyone ends up having a good time because, let’s be honest, video games are awesome. It sucks to spend the money at an arcade when you have every system at home, but for a first date, this is a casual way to have fun and get to know your date. We respect members of the opposite/same sex now don’t we.

Bowling

Take a break from Wii Sports and try the real thing. Maybe you’re game’s improved.