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"



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.

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.

[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:

[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.

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. 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.