What was the name of your childhood arcade?

[guitargary75]

I grew in Lexington, KY and we had two arcades that everybody went to. Aladdin's Castle and Tony's arcade. I spent hours in those places and alot of cash. Of course they have long since gone, but I miss them alot. One of them is actually a gamestop now. So what was the name of the arcade you went to back in the day? Just curious?

[Sudo]

Salem Willows in Salem, MA. I only got to go there a couple times a year, so I had to make the most of it.

[Deadman]

The chain and mall-based arcades here were "TILT" and "Aladdin's Castle". But I have to say that most of my gaming was done in the back room of Pizza Places and ice cream shops! Mama's Pizza, Polar Bear Ashburn's, Taco Bueno and of course, the little side room in EVERY 7-11!

[Sniderman]

We had an Aladdin's Castle at the local mall too, but my favorite local mom & pop arcade had a great name:

"Beepz"

[GrandAmChandler]

"Space Port"

http://timeouttunnel.com/images/pictures/album_thumbs/spaceport_training/spaceport0.jpg

EDIT: Some Pics here: http://timeouttunnel.com/album_spaceport_training.htm

Looked just like that, but darker and smokier.

[InsaneDavid]

Bullwinkle's Family Food & Fun in Santa Clara was a kick ass over the top arcade that threw Chuck E. Cheese to the floor, I miss it dearly. The big upstairs TILT in the Vallco Fashion Park mall in Cupertino always brings back great memories, first place I played Virtua Racing, Time Traveler on the Sega Hologram system and others. They had a four player cocktail Hot Rod in the back corner, not to mention the big pneumatic shooting gallery - I imagine it's what the Nintendo beam gun shooting ranges in the 1970's were like although the one at TILT was like a setpiece from Pirates of the Caribbean (the ride, not the overhyped film series).

Alas though, my favorite would have to be the old hole in the wall Galaktican Arcade that used to be over on Prospect in San Jose up until about oh, ten years ago. Small, always hopping until well into the early morning, complete with what one could I suppose consider underage hookers outside at the front door. LOL

Still do have the Golfland in Milpitas however, I swear - that place hasn't changed a bit. The games may come and go but the atmostphere of a crowded arcade remains the same. :D

[RadiantSvgun]

Namco had a place called "time out" that used to be filled with tons of fighting games. Now its gone.....

[diskoboy]

Dear God - I had several, since I moved around so much, as a kid...

-Irmo Skating Rink (Irmo, SC. - long gone. It's where I discovered Pac-Man.
-Family Video Center (Irmo, SC. - Had my 7th birthday there. It was a Captain D's that was turned into an arcade. It was gone 2 years later. But they had some great games. I'd spend most of my time playing Crazy Climber)
-Barrel of Fun (used to be at Dutch Square Mall, Columbia, SC. My next door neighbors ran the peanut/candy shop next door... I believe it was called 'Cromers', The one with the live monkeys....)
-Land of Oz (Later an Aladdin's Castle. in the now defunct Bush River Mall, Columbia, SC.)
-Bentwood Fun Factory (Brentwood, TN. - I was getting a haircut, next door, the day they were raided for gambling machines. The building was torn down about 2 weeks later. This was 1984...)
-Putt-Putt Golf & Games (Columbia, SC. and Knoxville, TN. - The Knoxville one had a dedicated Major Havoc machine for the longest time...)
-Aladdin's Castle (West & East Towne Malls, Knoxville, TN - the one in WTM is gone now, the ETM location had a dedicated I, Robot machine. And Century Plaza, Birmingham, AL. - the only place I've ever seen a Frenzy machine in the wild. Also gone. I'd go to this one when visiting relatives.)
-Gold Mine (Hickory Hollow Mall - Nashville, TN. It's still an arcade, I think it's a 'Tilt' now. They own the space. It was bad-assed during the golden age. And when there was no crime in that end of town. It sucks now.)
-ANY Chuck E. Cheese/Showbiz Pizza from 1981-1985.

Current arcades....

Snookers - (Nashville, TN. - The seediest pool hall you can imagine. But a damn good selection of games. New and old. They've had a Time Pilot and Centipede machine there for as long as I can remember.)
Dave & Busters - (Opry Mills Mall - Nashville, TN. - I CAN SMOKE IN THERE!!! A fairly good selection of very new games - ours has 2 HotD4 machines, 2 Ghost Squad, and a twin After Burner Climax. Thrown in with some oldies - Namco Class of 81, Space Invaders Sliver Edition, and DK/DKjr/Mario Bros.)

[thom_m]

Zig Zag. There was another one, but I just can't remember the actual name. We refered to the place as "Fabinho's", after the owner (Fabio, which I know is a pretty funny name for americans because of that weird model guy. "Fabinho" = "Little Fabio"). He was a very nice guy, and quite popular among gamer kids back in the day...

[otaku]

Pojo's family fun center
Game world (not alot of games but they were expensive games and you used cards instead of coins to pay)
Boondocks fun center

[namzep]

Aladdin's Castle was the local arcade. It was in a strip mall with a cheapy pizza joint. Sadly, both are now gone (I miss you Pizza Shuttle, especially your broccoli and onions with butter sauce).

edit: I also used to frequent a Chucky Cheese (early on actually a Showbiz) in Oklahoma City.

[MrRoboto19XX]

Ah, the memories.

My first primary arcade was "Dream Machine" in Westminster, MD at the then Cranberry Mall, I think it goes by "Town Mall" now (which is a terrible name). The arcade eventually changed locations, and became "Recordtown Games", and then it closed down.

I'd say my Secondary Arcade was the nearest Aladdin's Castle in Hanover, PA at the North Hanover mall. They had that sweet 4 player X-Men setup, great times.

Still though, nothing will ever beat playing Spy Hunter at Dream Machine...

[MrSparkle]

Cyberstation in the galleria mall in middletown ny, its still there (though in modern bastardized arcade form). i had my 10th birthday party at this place! i remember they had a cool multiplayer tank sim that we all blew alot of tokens on during that trip (4 per play). they recently sold their galaga/mrs pacman 20th anniversary arcade machine which is pretty much the final nail in the coffin as far as im concerned. now its just a "wretched hive of scum and villainy" aka ddr, and kiddy skill games!

[mailman187666]

funworld in Nashua, New Hampshire. They used to have every game imaginable. First place I ever played Final Fight. Its still open but its mostly ticket games and some light gun games. The place isn't really being kept up and I'm pretty sure it will go out of business sooner than later. My favorite arcade still to this day is Funspot in Laconia, NH.

[rvcontre]

In Terre Haute, IN, Galaxy in Honey Creek Mall. Great little arcade. Always had the newest fighters right away. The old creepy bastard even got that Sega hologram cowboy game which the title, obviously, escapes me. :P

[Brian Deuel]

Funway Freeway, Aladdin's Castle, Someplace Else, Silver Castle, Crazy Cone, Putt Putt Golf and Games, Showbiz Pizza, Chuck E Cheese, Fuzzy's Arcade, and Dave's Place, just to name a few. We had a million different arcades.

And just for a laugh, this picture is what Fuzzy's is now:

http://atari.vg-network.com/arcade.jpg

[Pantechnicon]

"The Happy Bear" in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They operated under that moniker for the first half of the 1980's, after which they changed the name to "Jets" owing in part (I assume) to the installation in the place of a full-sized DC-9 cockpit mockup. Must have been part of an old flight trainer or something. I think they closed around 1995 or so.

Last time I went by the place it had become a wholesale outlet for Southwestern-style pottery. :shameful:

But if you really wanted the kick-ass arcade experience the place to go was the Malibu Grand Prix track here in Albuquerque. Wall-to-wall (mostly) Atari cabs and of course go-karts. The Malibu is now a used car dealership, which is sort of ironic, but at least that's a more dignified fate than their track in Houston (http://www.abandonedbutnotforgotten.com/abandoned_malibu_grand_prix_in_houston.htm). That's just depressing...

[Bojay1997]

Fun Fair was the main one I would visit in Chula Vista, California. We also had a Malibu Grand Prix in the Miramar area of San Diego and Gold Mine at University Towne Center Mall. So many memories.

[Hep038]

The main one was called Jolly Ox arcade. It was in a shopping strip called Greens corners in Norcross, GA. The arcade at the mall was called Gold Mine I think, and I believe it was a chain.

[thetoxicone]

Besides the usual alladin's castle the only other place was in the old mall in my hometown and didn't have a name that I could remember.

[BydoEmpire]

There was an Alladin's Castle in the mall, and downtown was Fantasy Isle. The first floor was a D&D shop. You'd go up a winding, wrought-iron staircase to enter the arcade. The walls were done up in paper mache or something to make it look like a cave. It was awesome. I loved that place.

[DigitalSpace]

At first, it was just Chuck E Cheese. One of the main reasons my mom bought me an NES was so I wouldn't ask to play arcade games at the store or when we were at the mall, though sometimes I'd get lucky and she'd let me play a round of Donkey Kong Jr. or Pac-Man while we were at the laundromat. Every once in a while, we'd go to Chuck E Cheese for a birthday party or because I had a good report card.

When I was in high school, I'd go to the Wunderland near Clackamas Town Center with a friend every month or so. That Wunderland later relocated to a theater in downtown Milwaukie - they gutted one of the three auditoriums and put arcade games in it, and the other two auditoriums show cheap second-run films. However, the Clackamas Wunderland was just an arcade.

Anyways, here's the arcades I remember seeing around town back in the day:
-The one at the old Eastport Plaza mall that I can't remember the name of. I think it had "Electric" in the name. When we first moved by Eastport Plaza in the early 90's, my cousin and I went in there one or two times where hanging out. It closed shortly before the mall did (today, Eastport Plaza is a large strip center).
-One at Clackamas Town Center, next to Arby's in the food court. Can't remember the name of that one either. After it closed, the space was closed off and used as storage or a mall office or something.
-A Tilt at Lloyd Center, next to the theater in the food court. It's still open.
-The Wunderland at the Avalon Theatre on Belmont. Also still in business.
-The aforementioned Wunderland on 82nd near Clackamas TC. Unlike the Avalon and Milwaukie, it was just a large arcade.
-The aforementioned Chuck E Cheese, on 92nd and Powell. Still open.
-Bullwinkle's in Wilsonville. Still open.

[Mianrtcv]

We had Super Amusements (verrry original), Adventureland & Peter Pan.

[Soviet Conscript]

"Giggles" at the washington mall in washington, PA

played alot of my favorite games there and even had my birthday party there once. my reletive owned the pizzia shop right across from it as well so it was always nice to stop by and grab a slice of pizzia after some arcade gaming

[scooterb23]

I can remember 3 arcades in Muncie, Indiana.

1. Aladdin's Castle at the mall - this is where I had my proudest moment ever, by getting a crowd of people rooting me on as I totally destroyed Discs of Tron. Also, where I first played pinball.

2. In the strip mall at the corner of McGalliard and Wheeling... I think it used to be called Insert Coin or something like that. First place I ever saw the Nintendo vs. cabs... I was a master at Tennis.

3. Village Bowl - the arcade at the bowling alley had better selection than the mall, it's where my love affair with Bubbles began.

A special note to the Fun 'n Games at the Washington Square Mall in Indianapolis...as this is where I first got to play the Hercules pinball machine. Another not so great game, that I always remembered fondly.

[Speed Racer]

I'm pretty close to Lexington, KY and I remember going to Alladin's Castle but probably the one I was at the most was Tilt in the Florence Mall.

[Smashed Brother]

The arcade that I remember playing at the most in my early teens was the "Tilt" in Westdale Mall, located in Cedar Rapids Iowa. It used to be an "Aladdin's Castle" and was kinda small, but nearly quadrupled in size when it became "Tilt". My friends and I would literally ride our bikes all the way across the city just to go spend a couple of dollars there! Sadly, on a recent visit after some odd 14 years away, I discovered that Westdale is a former shell of itself :( Some of the other arcades that I remember throughout my youth:

Quik Trip (Cedar Rapids, IA): A gas station that had the first TMNT, Superman, and one of the Neo-Geo MVS units. A gas station!!

Kwik Trip (Cedar Rapids, IA): Different gas station from the above... they had Final Fight and the Pinbot machine.

Chapman's Fun Center (Cedar Rapids, IA): It was a very small amusement center by K-Mart, but they had a decent arcade. I first played Kangaroo there.

Mayfield Bowling (Cedar Rapids, IA): They vastly expanded their game room one day, and it went from having just SFII to having around 20 arcade units or so.

Worlds of Fun (Kansas City, MO): My mom brought me here for vacation and the first thing I did was check out the arcade. First time playing Super C, Temple of Doom and The Goonies.

Gameroom in the BX (Lackland AF Base, San Antonio TX): During boot camp, a few others from my squadron, along with myself stopped here while getting some provisions. First time that I ever played Ehrgeiz. Unfortunately, one of the TI's discovered that we weren't supposed to be in there.... lucky for us, he didn't rat us out!

[Flack]

I grew up in Yukon, a suburb of Oklahoma City. In the 80s, Yukon had several arcade: there was one over by the bowling alley (long gone), one called "Starbucks" off Vandament and Holly and another one that I've forgotten off of Vandament and Cornwell. Then there were the ones in the bowling alley and skating rink which were large as well. In Oklahoma City there was Cactus Jack's (still there) and a few others (I went to the same Showbiz that Namzep mentioned). Crossroads Mall had an Aladdin's Castle (still there), plus there were a few Tilt's around as well.

I mentioned all of these and told fun stories about them in this podcast (http://www.robohara.com/?p=1059).

[MrSparkle]

"Giggles" at the washington mall in washington, PA

played alot of my favorite games there and even had my birthday party there once. my reletive owned the pizzia shop right across from it as well so it was always nice to stop by and grab a slice of pizzia after some arcade gaming

haha thats the name of a strip club that used to be open around me.

[Rogmeister]

There were no arcades during my childhood...considering I grew up in the 50s and 60s :D

[Cryomancer]

I had an Aladdin's Castle I tried to get to whenever possible and a Tilt that was even more rare to get to. There was also some namco based one in themall for awhile.

East peoria had a local one for about two seconds (it was gone by the next time i was in town), deer creek had a place with a jukebox and a pinball table that lasted a similar amount of time. there was recentely a pool hall with some games in the back that closed before I even got around to going to it. it's closed now, still with it's "grand opening" sign above it.

the current mall arcade was a decent cyberstation but is now a dinky time out.

[gameofyou]

There's one that stands out in my mind. It was called "Old Town". Good times...

[Greg2600]

Kiddie Karnival - Route 46 East - Pinebrook, NJ (mid 1980's)
Plaza Game Room - Route 46 West - West Paterson, NJ (late 80's - early 90's)
Fun and Games - Willowbrook Mall - Wayne, NJ (90's through 2007)
Sports n Games Funplex - East Hannover, NJ (late 90's - early 2000's)
Flashbacks - Seaside Heights, NJ (only arcade I bother going to anymore)

During summer vacation down the Jersey shore....

Belmar boardwalk
Midway Arcade (I think) - Wildwood boardwalk, NJ
Jenkinson's - Point Pleasant boardwalk, NJ
Showboat Casino game room - Atlantic City, NJ

Plaza Game Room will always be my favorite though.

[drewbrim]

It's hard to pick a favorite since there were several I used to frequent. They all have a special place in my childhood. But my favorite memory was from the Red Baron. I had a birthday party there once and it was only open to my friends and I, and all of the games were turned on "free play". Best two hours ever!

[guitargary75]

There were no arcades during my childhood...considering I grew up in the 50s and 60s :D

Hence, "the old man in the cave." Just kidding, but I always forget other people outside my generation played video games. I grew up in the late 70's and early 80's and I always felt that generation had to be the only one playing video games. Of course I was wrong and all people of different ages play them. However, when I think of my childhood, the arcade is one of the places I will always miss that I cannot go back to. It's a shame the new generation of players will never experience what it was like.

[Masco73]

Gold Mine

[Streetball 21]

I grew up and still live in San Antonio, TX. I remember going to Gold Mine and Aladdin's Castle in the local malls. However, the main arcade I went to the most was Diamond Jim's, which later turned in to Diamond J's. They had two locations, one at the local mall (Westlakes) and one in a shopping center, which had a bad ass snackbar and pool tables. I believe the location at the shopping center closed and the one in the mall remained. After a while they changed the name to Robotar. Tuesdays was the best day since it was 10 tokens for a dollar. I spent most of my time playing Rastan, Cyberball, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat and many other games. About a few years ago, the arcade closed and so did the mall that it was in.

Only one arcade that I know of still remains at Ingram Park Mall here in SA. They have all the usual popular games and they also have Mario Kart GP!!!!!

[ccovell]

Growing up in (North) Vancouver, B.C., the arcades that I remember best from my childhood were:

Circuit Circus: Your typical small arcade that got in the latest games but closed in the mid/late-90s. I used to head down the street (Lonsdale) on weekends with my brother and we'd play Midnight Resistance co-op there.

Hippo Club arcade: A slightly seedier, larger place in lower Lonsdale that had a whole lot of imported arcade games with squiggly writing (to a kid), in small, weird, sit-down cabinets (Astro City, now I know) that had ashtrays so the kids could smoke and not make a mess. Was gutted by a "fire" in the mid-90s, IIRC. A cool, mysterious place with a game called Super Pang that I liked to play with my bro.

And finally, I spent some time at Vancouver Airport. The international terminal had many cool arcade games, of which I remember playing Elevator Action. The domestic terminal had only 1 or 2 games, IIRC: Donkey Kong and Frogger.

[Pete Rittwage]

Game Trek - in Madison, Ohio

They also rented video tapes before such a thing was popular (early, early 80's) and sold the Bally Astrocade and some console games.

[vgc]

I grew up in North Olmsted, Ohio. About 15 miles west from VGC and my Current Home. I used to go to The Great American Gameroom in Great Northern Mall, Up to Par Arcade & The Local Dairy Queen and Godfathers Pizza. Bring Back the Arcades!!!!

Mike : )

[Melf]

In Hollywood, FL back in the mid '80s it was Bally's Aladdin's Castle in the Hollywood Fashion Center and Circus Playhouse right across the street from it. BAC used to have an offer on Sundays where from 10-1 you could pay $5 to get in, and all the games were set on free play.

Circus Playhouse had awesome Friday specials from 6-10 p.m. where you paid something like $10 and had a great pizza buffet and all the games on free play.

I miss that so much. :(


Namco had a place called "time out" that used to be filled with tons of fighting games. Now its gone.....

Puerto Rico still has Time Outs in just about every mall. There are three with 10 miles of me actually. Lots of redemption games though.

[Haoie]

Time Zone, in Lower Hutt. It was closed down a few years ago.

Well to be fair, it was relocated and substantially altered, to a competing cinema complex.

[ShinobiMan]

The arcade I remember as a small child was called The Cave located in the West Wood Mall. This is circa 1991. Another one we often frequented was a family fun place called Celebration Station.

I miss arcades.

[zemmix]

Bullwinkle's Family Food & Fun

Bullwinkle's for me too. Except not the Santa Clara one but the one in Montclair (socal). I wish I could see it again today as it was. Its still there and its still an amusement place called family fun center or something but it's just not the same.

Edit:

Tomorrowland Arcade in Disneyland! I almost forgot that one. It was located next to the Space Mountain exit and Star Tours exit. Two floors of gaming goodness with a huge scale X-Wing fighter hanging from the ceiling. They had tons of great games back in the early 90s or so. Still is an arcade but only the bottom floor and its all either racing games or music games.

[SpaceHarrier]

Golfland - Torn down, turned into a housing tract -- Garden Grove, CA
Bullwinkle's - Changed names; to Boomers arcade/restaurant -- Fountain Valley, CA
Camelot Golfland - Still there! Still a favorite (they have Mario Kart GP and F-Zero GX) -- Anaheim, CA
Redondo Fun Factory - Still there, I think (Planet Harriers!!! Alien3: The Gun) -- Redondo Beach, CA
Balboa Pavilion Arcade - Was closed last time, maybe still open on weekends? First and only time I played Space Harrier: actual arcade version some 15+ years ago) -- Newport Beach, CA
Buffalo Nickel Arcade, Knott's Berry Farm - Still listed on the website, who knows, they closed the Dinosaur ride it was connected to...haven't been there in 4 years -- Buena Park, CA

edit: I seem to remember the Buena Park Mall having an arcade back before the mall became just a desolate, empty hallway connected to Wal*Mart. Seems to be happening to alot of malls around here these days..

Hey guys, you remember when almost every mall had an arcade? I miss those days.. I know only one mall in a 30 mile radius that has an arcade these days..

[zemmix]

Buffalo Nickel Arcade, Knott's Berry Farm - Still listed on the website, who knows, they closed the Dinosaur ride it was connected to...haven't been there in 4 years -- Buena Park, CA

I was just there the other month. The arcade is still there but it is sorely run down. All the machines in there looked like crap! I couldn't believe how bad it looked... I remember one of the stuffed animal claw machines in the front had a hole in the top of the cabinet and there was bird crap and stains from water leaks all over the animals inside. I couldn't believe they would let it sit there like that. I wanted to ride the dinosaur ride too.

[SpaceHarrier]

I was just there the other month. The arcade is still there but it is sorely run down. All the machines in there looked like crap! I couldn't believe how bad it looked... I remember one of the stuffed animal claw machines in the front had a hole in the top of the cabinet and there was bird crap and stains from water leaks all over the animals inside. I couldn't believe they would let it sit there like that. I wanted to ride the dinosaur ride too.

That's a real shame! I don't mind if a game shows its wear, but it should be fully functional, with a bright screen, no phosphor burn-in, discoloration (or graffiti.. Seems there's little or no passion for arcade upkeep.) Well, I'd imagine the budget for upkeep is really limited. And ewww on the claw-machine thing...just eww

[GnawRadar]

In Voorhees, NJ in the Echelon Mall there used to be a kick-ass arcade called Exhilarama and it even had a roller coaster inside of it! Also there is Recess in the Deptford Mall in Deptford, NJ; I believe it had a different name before Recess but it has been Recess for a while and I forget the previous name.

[Garry Silljo]

"Giggles" at the washington mall in washington, PA

played alot of my favorite games there and even had my birthday party there once. my reletive owned the pizzia shop right across from it as well so it was always nice to stop by and grab a slice of pizzia after some arcade gaming

Holy shite, Pizza Boy was the best. My wife misses the hell out of their white pizza. Since they closed, she says nothing is as good. Aside from Giggles we also had a tilt in the South Hills Village Mall for a while but it closed up and became a Philip Palusi.

[8bitgamer]

The Land of Oz at the North East Mall in North Richland Hills, TX (between Dallas and Fort Worth).

It later became Aladdin's Castle.

[emceelokey]

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and this is what I would frequent listed by frequency of useage.

1. ) Malibu Grand Prix - Redwood City.

This one was really cool back in the early 90's. It was actually two arcades. One was the castleand it had the Mini golf course, the batting cages, the redemption ticket games, the crappy food area with the big screen that had burnt out colors and the most recent arcade machnes. This is where they would have rows of Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter.

Then there was the other arcade which was a few yards out from the castle and that's where the mini cars were at and the two tracks for it. The arcade in that one is wherethey would keep the older version of games and just the older games in general. Mostly the stand up games as well.

I was there pretyt much every weekend because my dad would pick me up and drop me off there while he spent the day (and all of his money / child support for my mom) at Bay Meadows, the horse racing track. Which is actually my #2 arcade

2.) Bay Meadows Race Track: San Mateo

This was about 10 miles away from Malibu Grand Prix and it had a pretty decent arcade at that time. I remember that was the first place I played Darkstalkers. I remember at first that game didn't get too much play but after about a week it was juas as popular as MK2 at that time. The cool thing about that place was that tere were a lot of regulars there and you would know who's good and if someone beat that guy that was good people would know. eventhough I hated that place, the arcade was great.


3.) Q-Zar: Redwood City

My dad actually lived about 2 blacks away from there at one point but he would never let me go there alone ( I was about 10 at that time) because that place was pretty ghetto. I really went there for the lazer tag though. The arcade was ok, that was the first place I played Virtua FIghter 2 and the D&D arcade game, but again, I went there for the lazer tag.

4.) Classic Bowl: Daly City

Eventhough that was the closet to where I lived I didn't go there as much. The arcade was pretty small and they would only have one machine of whatever popular game but if I ended up there it was usually because I was bowling. What was better than that was that right accross the parking lot there was an italian restruant that had a few machines in it and when Classic got a bit too crowded,lal you had to do was take a few steps accross the parking lot to the restraunt. You just had to provided your own change because they didn't sell too much food there.

[Damaramu]

Let's see...growing up in Austin, I frequented:

Showbiz Pizza - Before it became Chuck E Cheese, it was Showbiz and they had an awesome selection of videogames, which out numbered the ticket games at the time (mid 80's). Some of the games I remembered playing there: Space Ace, Dragon's Lair, Gauntlet, and a whole bunch of the classics from the time.

Aladdin's Castle - Located in Barton Creek Mall. HUGE arcade, great selection. I was in junior high at the time and had to rely on rides from my parents (rare) or other forms of public transportation to get there with my friends. Worth the trip though.

Games Galaxy - This is where I saw Street Fighter (the first one) for the first time. I was amazed at the sheer amount of buttons it had. Other stand outs from this arcade: Rastan and Alien Syndrome. This place shut down soon after my friends and I discovered it as it was located right across the street from my soon to be high school and they had a problem with truancy.

Laser Zone - This arcade was located in Westgate Mall, near my neighborhood. I went there with my friends in the early to mid 90's before they eventually closed down along with the rest of the mall. The mall was eventually torn down to make way for a new shopping center.

Einstein's - Located on "The Drag" and across the street from the UT campus. A great arcade that my buddies and I would frequent. They always got in the newest games, especially fighting games. And less than a block down the street was:

Le Fun's - Now closed, Le Fun's had a better variety of games (some older ones, pinball games, big sitdown cabinets and such). LOL, this arcade was located right next door to a big Church of Scientolgy HQ.

Powerplay - Located in Dobie Mall, still on the Drag. This was a smaller arcade and usually had a good selection of SNK and Capcom games.

Westgate Lanes - My neighborhood's local bowling alley had a great arcade! They were one of the first places to get Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter 2 Champion Edition. They frequently changed out their games, so my friends and I were able to see and play some great stuff! Great bowling, really good snack bar (big cheap cheeseburger and fries combo). Good memories!

Finally, my friends and I stayed up to date on various pizza joints (Conan's and I Love Video Pizza), grocery stores and convenience stores that had games and would make regular trips to them. Yeah, I was an arcade junkie.

[retro junkie]

Born in the mid 50s, I grew up in the 60s and very early 70s. At the beginning there was only a pinball machine here and there, at a gas station or a small mom and pop burger stand. I remember during early high school years one arcade began at the local mall. It changed names over the years until it finally closed. I can't remember any of the names, but somehow Hillbilly arcade comes to mind. The local Dairy Queen had a large room that was a full blown arcade for years until, it closed a few years ago. That was the last arcade in my area.

I now have to drive out of town to an arcade. That one is in a mall with the name of Game Station. A Chuckie Cheese opened up in that town too, last year, but I have not gone to see what they have yet.

[Xian042]

My main arcade hang was "The Dream Machine" in the now defunct Lincoln Mall in RI. *sigh*

Another GREAT one was "D.G.'s Arcade" in Warwick RI. Lots of fights but an AWSOME collection of games. It was a bit of a ride for us but it was worth it.

We had an Alladins Castle in Rhode Island Mall. But thats closed,
We still have a Tilt in Warwick Mall though. Its decent I guess.

[Nightwing]

My main arcade hang was "The Dream Machine" in the now defunct Lincoln Mall in RI. *sigh*

Another GREAT one was "D.G.'s Arcade" in Warwick RI. Lots of fights but an AWSOME collection of games. It was a bit of a ride for us but it was worth it.

We had an Alladins Castle in Rhode Island Mall. But thats closed,
We still have a Tilt in Warwick Mall though. Its decent I guess.

Cool,another Rhode Islander! \\^_^/

I remember those places well.DG's especially! Too bad its long gone now...

Downtown Providence also had a place for a couple of years called "Saturn's Rings". It was a decent place until the punks started hanging out there - and being right next to the state senior citizens' advocate office helped close it down.

My hangout,though was "Beck's Arcade" in the now defunct Wampanoag Mall (though it's now a strip plaza). Decent selection of games - and the guy who owned the place still sells arcade games locally.

[AllSchoolGamer]

As a kid my local arcade was called Red Rocket...which I've just realised is hilarious ROFL LOL...why would you name an arcade after (as triumph the insult comic dog might put it) a dogs pink thing? hehe

[Lerxstnj]

Game Town (Pine Brook, NJ) - An old church, now an Italian restaurant called Milan, across from a cemetary.

Fun & Games (Wayne, NJ) - In the Willowbrook Mall, Just recently closed.

The Purple Room (Rockaway, NJ) - Rockaway Mall, Long closed. There was another arcade in this mall that closed very recently.

(I Forget the Name) (Cedar Knolls, NJ) - This was in the Morris County Mall. Please, someone tell me the name, it is really bugging me!! Small room always smelling of pipe smoked by the manager.

[kedawa]

The arcade I spent the most time at as a kid didn't have a name, AFAIK.
It was near the beach in Port Dover, Ontario.

[modest9797]

In Pennsylvania I went to the Robin Hill Arcade. It is part of a camp site we go to every year. No popular games, jusk skiball.

[Raedon]

Alladin's Castle in the mall but we also had a Showbiz Pizza that had a large selection of games that you couldn't play elsewhere like Bosconian, Qix, Mr. Do!, and Space Ace.

[TheRealist50]

The arcade I always used to go to was called Happy Man Arcade, I still have a token from there too, I found it not too long ago in the basement lol.

[debian4life]

The Space Port in Harrisburg, PA.

[Sabz5150]

The Gameroom, Richmond VA

[Cinder6]

Mine was called The Library. Awesome name. Then they were shut down for selling kiddie porn (well, that was the rumor for the reason; I've always suspected it was drugs).

[modest9797]

Mine was called The Library. Awesome name. Then they were shut down for selling kiddie porn (well, that was the rumor for the reason; I've always suspected it was drugs).

Thats alittle scary.

[guitargary75]

Thats alittle scary.

I concure. That's really scary.

[darkhades]

The only arcade in my small town was called "Durants". It burned down, I think that was back in 1998.

[Tron 2.0]

Timeout,during the 80's and 90's befor the buyout by namco and it became cyberstation.Afther that they left town and i never seen one again.
http://timeouttunnel.com/

Though i will say the 80's was timeout golden years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdNBk_liGvw

[Yamdasrd]

When I lived in Columbia, SC in the late 80s my mom took my brother and me to Aladdin's Castle in one of the malls every weekend.

When we moved to Korea in the late 80s, early 90s I usually went to random arcades all across Anjung-Ri, Osan, and Seoul. There were tons, all of which I never knew the names.

[Kevincal]

Here in California, it was the "Tilt" and "Scandia"...

[tcv]

"Fun Arcade," Metairie, LA

Yeah, not terribly creative...

[-dustburn-]

GOLD MINE - Damn, I thought my gold mine was local until reading this thread. Amazing that it was a chain. A chain that got bought by Nickles and Dimes Inc. - Or...
TILT FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT CENTER - Yep, I also frequented this place, still great games and one of the only choices in GREEN BAY WISCONSIN. In an odd twist of events I later on got to work there and within 6 months promoted to manager. My childhood dream was realized. I also got to work 4 years for Electronics Boutique and 2 of those years I worked for both.
Truly the best working days of my life.
I would also play arcade games at various places...but nothing real defined.

[Greg2600]

Game Town (Pine Brook, NJ) - An old church, now an Italian restaurant called Milan, across from a cemetary.

Here's somewhat of a picture....http://www.dericn.com/montville/hobbytowne/

Here's a site of a guy who collects arcade tokens, and has a fairly large list of East Coast arcade locations (text mostly)
http://www.geocities.com/btokens/trading.html

Begs the question, is there a Wiki out there for Arcade Locations, past and present? Would be cool if you could go on and contribute information somewhere centrally. I know they have them for amusement parks and roller coasters.

[guitargary75]

Here's somewhat of a picture....http://www.dericn.com/montville/hobbytowne/

Here's a site of a guy who collects arcade tokens, and has a fairly large list of East Coast arcade locations (text mostly)
http://www.geocities.com/btokens/trading.html

Begs the question, is there a Wiki out there for Arcade Locations, past and present? Would be cool if you could go on and contribute information somewhere centrally. I know they have them for amusement parks and roller coasters.

Tokens, I almost forgot about tokens.

[ronclon]

Didn't have any arcade in my town until I was 18, before that I played at Kenny's Supermarket. After 18 there was an arcade called Mike's but it closed after about 3 years.