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Roxy's Arcade
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Cambridge, Massachusetts,
United States
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3/5
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Bit Bar
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Salem, Massachusetts,
United States
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3/5
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Free Play Bar & Arcade
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Providence, Rhode Island,
United States
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5/5
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Lucky Strike Social
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Somerville, Massachusetts,
United States
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3/5
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Funspot
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Laconia, New Hampshire,
United States
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5/5
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Rocket Arcade
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South Haven, Michigan,
United States
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4/5
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High Scores Arcade - Alameda
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Alameda, California,
United States
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4/5
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Pacific Pinball Museum
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Alameda, California,
United States
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5/5
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QuarterWorld
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Portland, Oregon,
United States
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4/5
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Pinball Hall of Fame
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Las Vegas, Nevada,
United States
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4/5
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Pinball Pete's - Ann Arbor
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Ann Arbor, Michigan,
United States
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4/5
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Versus
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Boston, Massachusetts,
United States
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2/5
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Playland Arcade
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Hampton, New Hampshire,
United States
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1/5
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This place is a mess for pinball. Games are beat down, non-working, lighting is horrible (glare), etc. Don't waste your time. Go down the beach to Joe's Playland. Much better.
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POP + Offworld Arcade
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Detroit, Michigan,
United States
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4/5
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Arcadia National Bar
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Portland, Maine,
United States
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4/5
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Lyman's Tavern
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Washington, DC,
United States
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3/5
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Miniboss
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San Jose, California,
United States
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5/5
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Great place. It has really good pizza, a really unique (and good) beer selection, and great ambiance. It really feels like the owners truly love arcades, retro gaming, etc. Almost no LCD screens and a really nice pinball selection. One of the best barcades I have been to.
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Family Arcade LA
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Los Angeles, California,
United States
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3/5
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Has potential but does not have many classic video games. Decent pin selection. A bit pricey IMO ($25 per person). Worth a visit however especially if you have time to get your money's worth.
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The Break
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Charleston, South Carolina,
United States
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3/5
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Nice place with about 10-ish pinball machines. Newer stuff (which is good). Well maintained. No arcade games (that I saw). Pins each cost a $1 in quarters. The place is solidly a bar where the pins are there but not the focus.
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Flashback Retro Arcade + Bar
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Hyannis, Massachusetts,
United States
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3/5
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Nice little place. About 5-ish pinball games and 10-ish arcade games. The arcade games are not really classic games however. Newer stuff like TMNT, MK3, and Simpsons. They do have a DK and a Galaga/Ms. Pac combo. Good food and beer however. A nice little place to stop if you are already in the area and you want to eat. Not a destination however if you just want to game. A bonus is that they have nice tokens (if you collect that sort of thing)
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LITT Pinball Bar (Formerly TILT)
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Minneapolis, Minnesota,
United States
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5/5
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This place is OUTSTANDING. There are 35+ pinball games and they are in IMMACULATE condition. Mods, lighting, toppers, you name it, they have them. I can't emphasize enough the condition of the games. Amazing. They mainly have new games but they are all showstoppers. Great mix of manufacturers. Stern Insider Connected is also completely working and updated. Food and drink selection is also really great and they have a lot of veggie/vegan options as well as all the hot dogs and hamburgers can be done with meatless options. This is arguably the best pinball location I have ever been to that also has a bar vibe as well. A must visit for any pinhead.
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Canobie Lake Park
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Salem, New Hampshire,
United States
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4/5
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Dedicated pinball section. Decent selection and games were in great shape. Quality new games (Toy Story 4, Jaws). Has a Wizard of Oz and non-Stern games. Stern Insider Connected working on some of the games. The main issue is that you have to go to Canobie Lake Park to access this location so really you are going to only go if you go to the park which has an admission fee ($60+ per person). So really you only are going to end up here if you are taking a break from the rides. Kudos however for even having this and actually keeping it so nicely curated.
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Free Play Bar Arcade
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Worcester, Massachusetts,
United States
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5/5
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Awesome place. HIGHLY recommended. Great selection of classics and has new games for the friends you inevitably bring with you who don't care about the old games. Great pinball section. Lots of LE models with Stern Insider Connected working. The cover was FANTASTIC (only $12 when I came; they could easily charge double) and the games are all on free play which makes this an awesome value. Great vibe as well. I went on a Friday and there were a ton of people there (almost like a popular bar). Great bar as well with reasonable pricing. The owner is a great guy and a real asset to the New England arcade community. Must visit. I need to get there more often...
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Pop's Pinball
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Somerville, Massachusetts,
United States
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4/5
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Small venue. Coin operated pinball. 10ish games. The biggest issue is that it is just too crowded to really move, hear, etc. when things get going on busy days. Nice that it exists and probably great for pinball league but as a casual visitor, it might not be your first stop.
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Hometown Arcade
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Norwood, Massachusetts,
United States
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4/5
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I have very mixed feelings about this place. First, I love the effort. Lots of "character", great old building, retro vibes, etc. They care about video games. They also have a whole section devoted to console games and kid parties. It's a great way to get young people into video games, arcade games, pinball, etc. That being said, the retro arcade games are NOT for aficionados. LCD screens, crazy homebrew cabinets, wrong controls, poorly tuned CRTs, etc. Not great. I would never come back for the 80's arcade games. However, the pins are pretty good and probably the reason I would return. All the Sterns had Insider Connected and it was working (a big plus for me). I would have given a 3.5 but rounded up for the effort.
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BearMoose Brewing Company
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Everett, Massachusetts,
United States
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3/5
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Nice small collection of pins. Decent brewery. Nothing special but solid. Probably a great place for pinball league events.
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Dave & Busters - Manchester, NH
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Manchester, New Hampshire,
United States
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3/5
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It's a Dave and Busters. Clean and well organized. Not a retro game place. Good if you have kids and want to get a beer and watch a game in a place you can bring young kids still.
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Tycoon Arcade
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Manchester, New Hampshire,
United States
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5/5
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AMAZING. THE MOST IMPRESSIVE PINBALL ARCADE I HAVE EVER BEEN TO. The only place I can see being close (beating it?) is Past Times Arcade in Ohio. Immaculate conditions games. Tons of new games. 100+ pins. Really outstanding. Clean building with awesome character. Token-based (with cool branded token) but the games are each only 1 to 2 tokens (most are 1). I will say that the games are all pretty much 90s+. There are not any old games here (again, go to Past Times for that). The nice thing is that there are redemption games for the kids (or your friends that aren't as into pins). The retro arcade game section IS not impressive. Go to Funspot for the Vids and come here for the Pins.
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Salem Willows Amusement Park
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Salem, Massachusetts,
United States
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3/5
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Not a retro arcade place. A redemption place for kids. If you have kids they will love it. If you are in New England looking for retro games, skip it.
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Double Bull Taphouse
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Peabody, Massachusetts,
United States
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3/5
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Nice restaurant that has pins in it. The pins are in good shape and it is nice that they are not all new Sterns (there was an Elton John and an old Kiss). Lots of kids running around and casual players which has its own pros and cons. If you want to eat a meal with a spouse/date/etc. it would be good. I don't know that I would go there just for pinball however.
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Joe's Playland
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Salisbury, Massachusetts,
United States
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3/5
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Decent pinball selection. Great if you are also going to have a "beach day" and want to play some modern pins. The arcade selection is really sad, however. I want to rescue all the games there. There is a Hercules just sitting by a window getting sun bleached in desperate need of some TLC....
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ElectroMagnetic Pinball Museum
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Pawtucket, Rhode Island,
United States
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4/5
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This place is a steal at $10 all-you-can-play. A great place to try pins that are not the latest Sterns. The place could use some (a lot) of TLC but it has heart. I bet they are overwhelmed and could use some more techs/help. That being said, again you can't beat the price and there are a ton of pins. I would go here if I want to play old games and go to Tycoon Arcade if I want to play new games.
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Das Flipperhaus
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Rocklin, California,
United States
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5/5
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Really nice pinball location. Highly recommended. Good selection of new games, great shape, and Stern Insider Connected. Token based. Good selection of beers too. Must visit if you are in the Sacramento area.
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Galloping Ghost Arcade
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Brookfield, Illinois,
United States
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5/5
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By definition, this gets a 5/5. It's an amazing collection (arguably the best in the world). However, there is room for improvement, frankly, if they are interested. While it would be a massive undertaking, the place could be reorganized. Second, I would stop increasing the number of games and instead slowly start to restore/fix up/etc. the ones they have. They could then start to add more "museum"-style elements (history information, designer profiles, collectables, etc.). Stop focusing on quantity and focus more on quality at this point. They also could partner with ACAM (Funspot) and have this be a "midwest" location to complement the "east coast" location. I am sure there are politics involved but really I think a ton of knowledge, preservation, etc. could be accomplished.
I also went to the pinball portion. It's a really nice place but naturally not a world-class facility yet (as compared to the arcade side). I would use this as an opportunity to start "fresh" and really do the pinball side "right". Being in the Chicago area, they really could be a place that is historically located in a very relevant place. An example to shoot for is https://www.nextlevelpinballmuseum.com/
Keep up the good work!
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One Well Brewing
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Kalamazoo, Michigan,
United States
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5/5
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There is an awesome selection of pinball games. They are in amazing shape and are "only" 75 cents each. Highly recommended for pinheads. There is also a good brewery and restaurant. It is kid-friendly, which is also nice for a place that serves alcohol.
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Wizard's World
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Fort Wayne, Indiana,
United States
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5/5
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AWESOME. Period. Amazing collection of pins. Outstanding shape. Tons of Stern Limited Editions if you want to see them in person. There are not any EM games but the rest of the eras are well represented. Freeplay would make it better but coin drop is totally acceptable. You need HOURS to do this place justice. Super cool. I have to figure out a way to get back!!!
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