By: Dallin Rahlf

“There is nothing wrongwith doing your best in the arcades. For there, champions are born, and TootsieRolls are won.”

The thrill of getting thehigh score. The excitement of scoring hundreds of tickets. The pure joy ofhaving a blast with dozens of games. All of this can be experienced at yourlocal arcade! There’s a simple delight in visiting this place. The flashing lights,the people having fun, the wacky sounds of games that have monkeys andastronauts and racing; all these things boil into this awesome hub ofentertainment.  


The cool thing is thatyou can scratch a certain number of itches you may be having. Are you wantingto be competitive, seeking for the glory of having your three-lettered name atthe top of Pac-Man? Are you wanting to create a fun time for yourself, simplyfor the pleasure of playing some classic or new games? Or, are you looking tobring home that insanely big Teddy Bear or 100 Airheads from the thousands oftickets you scored? The guide bellow will show you how to excel at scratchingthat itch. 


Go for Glory 

Ah, yes. You have chosenthe path that may be most difficult to tread upon. Hidden in the arcade are afew games that boast high scores and are immortalized as long as no one defeatsthat score. It is a daring adventure, but your name will be known by the fewthat have the courage to go for such a challenge. 

Pac-Man is perhaps themost classic arcade game that is still found in arcades today. The game issimple to learn and hard to master, so be sure to do your fateful trip afteryou’ve studied up on YouTube University. The key is that all the ghosts havepatterns of movements based on their color. If you can memorize the patterns oftheir patrol and exploration, you should have a solid technique handy for yourplaythroughs. 


Go for Entertainment 

This is the option to gofor when you have zero desire to make anything competitive with yourself orothers. When you go to an arcade for fun, you’re guaranteed to succeed, nomatter the game. It’s almost best to NOT have any sort of plan to “have fun”.That should come naturally! What I will recommend are a few arcade games that Ibelieve to be the best for all sorts of customers. 

Jurassic Park is anincredibly fun game to do by yourself or with someone else. It uses this littlelaser gun for you to use while sitting down, so you can be comfortable whileyou’re blasting away dinosaurs with guns yet to be invented. The excitement ofbeing chased by a T-Rex or a Pterodactyl is at an all-time high. Be sure tolook for opportunities to save your comrades from those sneaky Velociraptorsand you’ll receive fun bonuses to use for a limited time! Do be careful not tospend all your coins on this machine—it costs more than most and can easilydrain you before you know it! I’ve spent an entire day just playing this game,and I do think it was worth it. 

Piano Keys is anotherexcellent game if you’re wanting to explore your musical sense with somehand-eye coordination. The game works like that or your Guitar Hero or RockBand where the notes fall from the top of the screen to the bottom for you tohit. There are only four keys, so it’s not crazy hard to get going and havefun. The great thing is that they game works on your timing, so you can go asslow or as quick as you like! This is the epitome of “easy to learn, hard tomaster” in the arcade world. Plus, this game earns you tickets, so you get tohave fun and be rewarded with it. 

The assortment of racinggames are a simple way to have a good time with the thrill of a high-speed,super ludicrous race. There’s a ton to choose from: Mario Kart, H2-Overdrive,Daytona USA, and more. These games were hard in my youth, but as I tried themthe older I got, I found myself doing much better and was able to finish firstsometimes (which seemed normally impossible as a child)! I would try all thedifferent racing games that you can. They all have a different racing style andenvironment. Find the one that is most fun for you! 

Go for Tickets 

Yes, I see you eyeingthose cool prizes. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being encouraged tothe arcades with the thought of winning the big prize—sports players do it allthe time! Whether you’re gonna simply play around and see what you can win withthe tickets you got or strategically plan how many tickets you need for a certaintime, these tips will be sure to help you leave the arcade with all eyes on youand that sick nerf gun you just won. 

The first tip: be sure topick the machines that will guarantee you a solid amount of tickets per coinsused. You’ve got to be careful with the few games that look very fun but havepractically no reward, even if you get an awesome score. These are games likebasketball shooting (Hoop Fever) and Skee-Ball. Those games are super fun, buttheir reward is often the entrainment in competitiveness rather than ticketswon. Some games reward you with more tickets the better you do, such as thePiano Keys or the one with the frog that sticks its tongue out to hit thoselittle pins down. These sorts of games often have a low price of admission andreward with many tickets if you do well. Find out which game you’re best at andget the tickets flowing!

My second tip is to tryyour luck at the “chance” games. These games are great because they requirealmost no skill with timing or video games; it’s a simple push of the button and random luck. I can personally say that I have won the jackpot multipletimes and have witnessed my friends hitting the jackpot as well. The games thatrequire timing (like the Stacker game) seem to be rigged against even the best.It’s best to avoid games like that. Hit up the huge Pirate Spin-The-Wheel andhope for a great outcome. Anyone can do it, and you’ll get lucky every once ina while! 


Is it crazy to take atrip to the arcade so seriously? No, of course not. That’s the great thingabout it—you can make your trip anything you want! You can do all three ofthese things at the same time and not even know it. Who knows what can happenthe next time you go! Maybe you’ll hit the jackpot, or get a personal highscore, or beat your friend in air hockey. 


The sky is the limit, myfriend.