EMPATH: THE LUCKIEST SMURF
"An Overview Of Tapper's Tavern"
Story by Vic George
Based on the Smurf concept of characters by Peyo

Tapper's Tavern is one of the most popular entertainment centers in the Smurf Village.  Originally known as the Smurfrock Tavern and operated by Tapper's forefathers, it is located near the village center square and can accommodate as many as 100 Smurfs on a given busy night.  Tapper, the current proprietor of the establishment, runs the tavern every day usually in the afternoon and evening hours (though on some special observance days such as Redemption Day and Unhappiness Day, it will be closed all day), allowing Smurfs who are weary from their daily village tasks a place to sit and relax and enjoy themselves.  The tavern can also be used for birthday celebrations and other special occasions.

REFRESHMENTS

Tapper's most commonly-served drink in the tavern is sarsaparilla ale, which he makes nice and frosty and with the right touch of taste that makes drinking it a total pleasure for his patrons.  He also serves a wide variety of flavored seltzers, including smurfberry fizzies, which he serves to the Smurflings since they are not old enough to handle sarsaparilla ale, plus regular seltzer water for people such as Polaris Psyche who prefer their drinks without any flavor to them.  On cold and/or rainy days, Tapper serves up hot beverages such as his potent cinnamon tree bark brew, which he makes from ground cinnamon and acorns (and sometimes spiced with sarsaparilla), as well as a variety of flavored teas. Eggnog is commonly served around Christmas, and smurfberry wine is served on special occasions such as weddings.  Tapper will on occasion develop special experimental drinks for his customers to try out.

ENTERTAINMENTS

Tapper's Tavern on the main floor has a dart board, a pinball machine, and a record machine stocked with enough music to keep people listening (and sometimes dancing) all night, while the basement features a pool table and an ample supply of card and board games.  Occasionally new games would be featured at the tavern, such as Polaris Psyche's Psychelisphere puzzle game (though it is not known exactly how the game is generated), and live music would be performed by various types of artists.  Other times the Smurfs would bring their own entertainments such as various craft projects.

ATMOSPHERE

The general atmosphere of Tapper's Tavern is friendly and laid-back, with its bartender eager to converse with his patrons and give counsel whenever it may be needed, and a comfortable enough noise level for people to have private conversations.  Though friendly competition is encouraged, particularly in contests such as arm-wrestling, Tapper totally discourages any behavior that may lead to loud arguments and fights, and has Tuffy on hand to evict any customers that refuse to settle down.  He also actively discourages excessive drinking of sarsaparilla ale.

POPULARITY

Although Tapper's Tavern had been in operation since Tapper and his fellow Smurfs had turned 120 years of age, it currently competes with the Imaginarium as far as its popularity goes.  Of course, Tapper does occasionally run his business in the Imaginarium within particular fantasy environments such as the beach setting during special holiday celebrations and other types of events where weather may make certain outdoor activities impossible to hold.  For the most part, though, Tapper is happy to keep his tavern the way it has been for the years he has been running it, without any need to expand upon it.