In lieu of newbytes today, let’s check out some new arcade venues out there! Most of them are in the Northern US:
The Machine Shed (Rochester, MN)
Let’s start with a new classic arcade that has opened their doors in Rochester, following the same business model that many retrocades have been doing with an entry fee then all of the games on free play. They opened at the end of last year so we aren’t too far off 😉 Games in their collection includes several multigame titles (not sure if 60-in-1 or not) but for dedicated games you have Assault, California Speed, Golden Tee Moon Patrol, NFL Blitz 2000, Silver Strike Bowling, Street Fighter II, Super Chase, Tekken 3, Time Crisis II, Track & Field, Twin Cobra and a few others. You can check out their Facebook Group here and read about them in the Star Tribune.
Can Can Wonderland (St. Paul, MN)
Also in the land of 10,000 lakes is an arcade that opened their doors on Jan. 12th. What makes them a little different is that they are looking to fill the niche for Electromechanical (EM) gaming and older pinball machines. Most of the names aren’t recognizable to modern gamers but if you are a little more seasoned then names from the pinball side such as Flicker, King of Diamonds, Spin Out, Top Score and many others; among their EM collection are games like Captain Kid (gun gallery game), Helicopter Trainer, Jungle Drums (gun gallery game), Sky Devil (mutoscope), Stanley Cup and others. They certainly stand out going this route but according to this thread, they do have some work to do in getting all of these games in full operating condition.
The Grid Arcade And Bar (Lansing, MI)
We’ve heard about a lot of bar/arcades in recent memory so it’s only fitting that we have one on the list here. This one will soon be found in Lansing, MI, where the owners have been renovating their space since last September. They will have thirty games from the Golden Age, both video and pinball although I have been unable to find a list of what those games will be so far. Their official website is here and the Lansing State Journal ran a piece about them this week (thanks to Ryan Cravens for that link)
Boxcar Bar+Arcade (Greensboro, NC)
And on top of that, Mr. Cravens shared this piece of news that we mentioned way back in June of last year. The second location for the Boxcar Bar + Arcade is going to be open soon so you can check out photos via the link below.
https://twitter.com/ryancravens/status/821392273980162051
https://twitter.com/ryancravens/status/822446060186505221
