Yestercades, Somerville NJ

[Charlie_]

Just checked out Yestercades in Somerville NJ. It's about 10 mins from me.

Great place, and these pictures don't even show everything there.

You pay just under $9 an hour and all the games are on free play.

Check out the album I put up on Flickr:

 

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjYy6BZR

 

 

[Dauber]

Eek.....$9 an hour?? And I thought their Red Bank location was a bit pricy at $8/hr. (To put it in perspective: there were a few times this year when I spent nearly 12 hours at my favorite arcade, where the fee is $15 for all day...)

Hate to say it, but...their Somerville location looks kind of blah compared to the Red Bank location. I know Somerville just opened, but...in Red Bank they have a heck of a setup....good (though not great) variety of games, a jukebox, a ping pong table, just about every console known to have existed (including a corner where you play the Atari 7800 and 5200 on an old-school console TV and a bean bag chair), and much better decor.

 

I noticed there's a Baby Pac-Man in that picture. So either they raided Red Bank for at least that game, or they located a second one...

[Charlie_]

Eek.....$9 an hour?? And I thought their Red Bank location was a bit pricy at $8/hr. (To put it in perspective: there were a few times this year when I spent nearly 12 hours at my favorite arcade, where the fee is $15 for all day...)

 

Hate to say it, but...their Somerville location looks kind of blah compared to the Red Bank location. I know Somerville just opened, but...in Red Bank they have a heck of a setup....good (though not great) variety of games, a jukebox, a ping pong table, just about every console known to have existed (including a corner where you play the Atari 7800 and 5200 on an old-school console TV and a bean bag chair), and much better decor.

 

I noticed there's a Baby Pac-Man in that picture. So either they raided Red Bank for at least that game, or they located a second one...

 

I think the max is $25 at Yestercade. Somerville has everything you describe at Red Bank. As I said about " these pictures don't even show everything there".

They have 5-6 panels on the wall with all generations of consoles, Skeeball, foosball, jukebox, there is a food corner, but it isn't operational yet (if ever).

The baby pac-man is cool. It is the 2nd time I've played one in my life. I also like that most of the video game machine's monitors seem to have been rebuilt.

The displays were, for the most part, crisp and new looking. I personally had the most fun between the small pac-man cabinet and the Gorf machine.

[slab0meat]

Good to know.. I've been meaning to get to Yestercades for awhile now, but never do....

 

I've played Baby Pac-Man many times in my life.. but would certainly play that one again, too.

[Greg2600]

Eek.....$9 an hour?? And I thought their Red Bank location was a bit pricy at $8/hr. (To put it in perspective: there were a few times this year when I spent nearly 12 hours at my favorite arcade, where the fee is $15 for all day...)

 

Hate to say it, but...their Somerville location looks kind of blah compared to the Red Bank location. I know Somerville just opened, but...in Red Bank they have a heck of a setup....good (though not great) variety of games, a jukebox, a ping pong table, just about every console known to have existed (including a corner where you play the Atari 7800 and 5200 on an old-school console TV and a bean bag chair), and much better decor.

 

I noticed there's a Baby Pac-Man in that picture. So either they raided Red Bank for at least that game, or they located a second one...

 

It's not that bad price wise. I enjoy doing indoor gokarts, well those races cost like $20 EACH now, and last for 6 or 7 minutes. I'm assuming the punch card they give out works at both locations? Yestercades tend to have most of their machines working, something that Barcade normally doesn't.

[Charlie_]

 

It's not that bad price wise. I enjoy doing indoor gokarts, well those races cost like $20 EACH now, and last for 6 or 7 minutes. I'm assuming the punch card they give out works at both locations? Yestercades tend to have most of their machines working, something that Barcade normally doesn't.

It is wrist band based at Yestercade. You go in get your band, and if you spend an hour just looking around, it's $8.70 (something like that)

Something that had my son kinda down was no machine from the House of the Dead series. He is a big fan. They did have a Rev-X, T2, and Time Crisis 1 that kept him busy.

[NeoTurboManiac]

I've been to Yestercades in Red Bank several times. I love the set up they have there, but they are a bit pricey. $25 for the day can be a bit steep.

[VectorGamer]

I've been to Yestercades in Red Bank several times. I love the set up they have there, but they are a bit pricey. $25 for the day can be a bit steep.

 

What exactly should they be charging in your opinion for all day play?

[NeoTurboManiac]

 

What exactly should they be charging in your opinion for all day play?

Galloping Ghost Arcade in Chicago, which is one of the biggest arcades out there, charges $15 for one day admission. I would go with that price. You have families with kids that go to Yestercades and that can add up in cost.

Edited November 19, 2015 by NeoTurboManiac

[Dauber]

Galloping Ghost Arcade in Chicago, which is one of the biggest arcades out there, charges $15 for one day admission.

Same with Underground Retrocade...$15 is the base price, and everything else is some kind of a discount, like a monthly/seasonal/etc. pass, and I think there's a special rate if you just want an hour or something.

 

And to add to that...at the Red Bank location, not only is it that fee, but you also have to run out and pay the meter...as far as I can tell, all parking in Red Bank -- and I mean ANYWHERE within a mile walk of downtown -- is either metered or permit. Which means you'll have to interrupt your game play....unless you take the train into town.

[Keatah]

Man I wish these arcades didn't pack their machines so close together. Feels cramped and stuffed in. Can't see the side artwork either. And the walls have little or decoration. At least put some 80's zap and pizazz into it. That's one thing 257 got right. There's enough room between the machines and the decor, while all pac-man themed, is at least something other than "barely-finished-basement" plywood style. If you can call it a style.. Feels like a cheap haunted house.

 

IDK, but an arcade of the 80's was a social experience. Today the recreated arcade feels packed-in and existing only for playing the games. But 257 excels here and gives the patrons mingling room.

[VectorGamer]

I pay $25 for all day play at Timeline Arcade. For locations like this I would think $60 for a family of four all day play is reasonable. I only go a couple of times a year since it's an hour away and when I do go I camp out there all day.

 

When I was at the PA Coin-op Hall of Fame in August, I paid $40 for all day play for a family of 4. That was a special they had running that weekend.

[Dauber]

Man I wish these arcades didn't pack their machines so close together. Feels cramped and stuffed in. Can't see the side artwork either. And the walls have little or decoration. At least put some 80's zap and pizazz into it. That's one thing 257 got right. There's enough room between the machines and the decor, while all pac-man themed, is at least something other than "barely-finished-basement" plywood style. If you can call it a style.. Feels like a cheap haunted house.

 

IDK, but an arcade of the 80's was a social experience. Today the recreated arcade feels packed-in and existing only for playing the games. But 257 excels here and gives the patrons mingling room.

Everything you said is exactly why I'm a big supporter of Underground Retrocade:

- Definitely a lot of breathing room throughout the two floors.

 

- The walls are definitely decorated. There's some video game artwork done by a local indy firm. There are retro posters and not-so-retro posters. I was there yesterday, actually, and the lounge area up front had a Cafe 80s theme going on, and it's soon going to have a Star Wars theme.

 

- Many of the arcade cabinets -- especially the Atari ones -- are actually positioned at an angle specifically so you can see the side art.

 

- And there's definitely a social thing going on at the Retrocade. Many of us have become good friends over the last couple of years, and the owner actually frequently introduces guests to each other.

 

Actually, now that I think about it, the same can be said about Galloping Ghost:

 

- NOT a lot of breathing room, however. But that's because Doc has over 450 games and a limited space that he's trying desperately to expand on, to the point that he's actually literally trying to buy out one of the businesses so he can take over their space. Only so much you can do short of finding a new location big enough to house everything.

 

- Galloping Ghost also has a lot of decorations...in fact, it's ALL OVER THE PLACE THERE....there's an extreme paucity of bare wall over there. There are autographed pictures everywhere, including some unused Q*Bert characters....a wall of signatures from people who donated to the expansion effort...posters, art, you name it, it's there.