World's Largest Arcade

[KWKBOX]

I have luckily been able to visit this great place. Have anybody else been here or somewhere similar?

 

[SumerNivek]

I went to the Galloping Ghost last June. My mom lives in Chicagoland and is not far from Brookfield. The place is absolutely amazing. Some obscure games in there that I hadn't played since 1989 or 1990 and had totally forgotten about (looking at you, Sega's Wrestle War!).

 

Wife, kids, and I are visiting her again around Memorial Day, and Galloping Ghost is on the list again!

Edited March 24, 2016 by SumerNivek

[Silverfleet]

I live within a couple hours of Funspot in NH. They have claimed for a while that they are the largest arcade in the world. I haven't been there in a few years, but last time I was there they were starting to expand their American Classic Arcade Museum, which was already impressive.

 

http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/

 

My only problem with the place is they have a cutoff of around 1988 for the "classic" games, and they don't like featuring "violent" games. My most fond memories of going to arcades were in the early 90's era during the height of the fighting game craze, so that kinda sucks that they don't like to feature those games.

 

I've heard great things about Galloping Ghost from a friend who lives near Chicago though!

[VectorGamer]

I live within a couple hours of Funspot in NH. They have claimed for a while that they are the largest arcade in the world. I haven't been there in a few years, but last time I was there they were starting to expand their American Classic Arcade Museum, which was already impressive.

 

http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/

 

My only problem with the place is they have a cutoff of around 1988 for the "classic" games, and they don't like featuring "violent" games. My most fond memories of going to arcades were in the early 90's era during the height of the fighting game craze, so that kinda sucks that they don't like to feature those games.

 

I've heard great things about Galloping Ghost from a friend who lives near Chicago though!

 

They have a row of Mortal Kombat cabs downstairs. I was last there in 2014.

[asponge]

Galloping Ghost is a lot of fun. They have six The Grid cabinets linked together, which my oldest son really enjoys, in addition to some oddball cabinets you can't easily find anywhere else. However, I prefer the Underground Retrocade which is relatively close to the Ghost. The games seem better maintained and you have a lot more elbow room there.

[high voltage]

Video games are art, I am glad they get preserved here at the Galloping Ghost.

So many got trashed way back, it's just a crime really.

 

Makes me sick when I think how Germany killed coin-op's in their own country.

Edited March 25, 2016 by high voltage

[+Charlie Cat]

I have luckily been able to visit this great place. Have anybody else been here or somewhere similar?

 

 

Holy Smokes!!!

 

This place looks awesome. Maybe one day I'll visit this cool place.

 

Thank you Kevin & Eric for sharing this with us!

 

Anthony...

[Tickled_Pink]

Not sure if the entry fee is a good idea to these things. Before checking out this thread I had started to wonder if that's why I don't find playing on MAME as much fun as playing on the machines back in the 80s. There's nothing riding on it - when you're putting money into a machine you're desperate to be playing as long as you can before your cash runs out.

[VectorGamer]

Not sure if the entry fee is a good idea to these things.

 

In this day and age nobody wants to be lugging quarters around in their pocket. Swipe cards or a flat fee with all the games on free play is the way to go.

 

Despite that, Funspot still insists on crediting up using tokens. The plus is they give you cups to hold your tokens.

[racerx]

Not sure if the entry fee is a good idea to these things. Before checking out this thread I had started to wonder if that's why I don't find playing on MAME as much fun as playing on the machines back in the 80s. There's nothing riding on it - when you're putting money into a machine you're desperate to be playing as long as you can before your cash runs out.

Unless you're running a barcade that's about the only way to be profitable with classic games. Both Doc at the Ghost and Scott at Underground have done very well with this model, while Pat at Star Worlds still runs a dedicated (albeit smaller) quarter play arcade.

 

I hit them several times a year, and most of us have bought or sold games with each other.

Edited March 25, 2016 by racerx

[Tickled_Pink]

I understand the need for the business model. When I was watching the video all I could think of was ... "I wouldn't like their electricity bill." My comment was really about the fun factor and how something seems to be missing when you're not worrying about running out of cash.

[Inky]

I love the Galloping Ghost. I go there every couple months or so, and I'm going again on Wednesday 3/30 during the day. The two issues I have with the place is the parking and how crowded the place is. Fortunately they are expanding, so that should take care of the crowding issue. As for parking, I'm not much for street parking. Still, I don't let that stop me from going, as it's quite the excellent experience.

[chas10e]

I live within a couple hours of Funspot in NH. They have claimed for a while that they are the largest arcade in the world. I haven't been there in a few years, but last time I was there they were starting to expand their American Classic Arcade Museum, which was already impressive.

 

http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/

 

My only problem with the place is they have a cutoff of around 1988 for the "classic" games, and they don't like featuring "violent" games. My most fond memories of going to arcades were in the early 90's era during the height of the fighting game craze, so that kinda sucks that they don't like to feature those games.

 

I've heard great things about Galloping Ghost from a friend who lives near Chicago though!

Pinball Wizard arcade in Pelham NH. has a LOT of fighters

 

http://www.pinballwizardarcade.com/

 

about 26 minutes in of this video is "fighter row"

[Tickled_Pink]

I love the Galloping Ghost. I go there every couple months or so, and I'm going again on Wednesday 3/30 during the day. The two issues I have with the place is the parking and how crowded the place is. Fortunately they are expanding, so that should take care of the crowding issue. As for parking, I'm not much for street parking. Still, I don't let that stop me from going, as it's quite the excellent experience.

 

OMG! That's what I miss from the 80s. Going to a holiday camp and heading for one of the crowded arcades, watching better players than me kick ass on a machine, waiting my turn and finding out that I suck massively in comparison.

 

IT WAS GREAT!!!

 

 

Sadly we don't have any arcades nearby. I think there's still one that's been going for at least 30 years in a town an hour away. No idea if they still have any classic machines though. It was the last place I played Missile Command.