Earlier this week my buddy Robb and his wife Mel flew in from Colorado to celebrate his birthday. The two flew into Arkansas, drove over to Oklahoma to visit me, and eventually returned to Arkansas to visit the Arkadia Retrocade in Fayetteville before returning home. While they were here we ate onion burgers, had Mexican food at Ted’s, and had breakfast at Hatch. We also did some shopping, sight-seeing, and even stopped by Bob Funk’s stable to check out the Clydesdales. I had a great time visiting with Robb and his wife, and I hope they had a good time too.
Tuesday evening, the four of us (Robb, Mel, Susan and I) visited the newest barcade (bar + arcade) in town. Because I’m not trying to put anyone on blast, I’ll just refer to this place as the “Barcade.” Robb and I have both collected arcade games over the years (his worst games were in better condition than my best ones!) and still enjoy classic arcade games, so we were both looking forward to checking the place out.
When we arrived, we were overwhelmed at how awesome the place was. The walls were covered with retro-themed wallpaper, and up near the ceiling more than a dozen televisions were playing classic movies like Labyrinth, Back to the Future, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. The game selection read like a list of classic “must own” games, a mix of games from the 80s and 90s. Along with all their games, the Barcade also has a small selection of pinball machines along with Skee-ball and a few other machines.
After ordering a couple of drinks at the bar, Robb and I acquired some tokens and began playing games.
On Spy Hunter, the first game Robb played, the “weapons” button didn’t work. On the first machine I tried, Tron, the spinner didn’t work right. From there, we moved upstairs. The next game we played, Super Off Road, had something wrong with the gas pedals and most of the nitro buttons didn’t work. The last two games we played (Tetris and BurgerTime) worked, but both had monitor issues.
The four of us wrapped up the evening chatting while sitting on the Barcade’s outside patio.
Summary: The people were great. The atmosphere was great. The décor was great. The drinks were great. The patio was great. The vibe was great.
And more than half the games we played had issues.
Man, I wanted to like this place. I mean, I did like the place, but retro arcades attract retro gamers, and retro gamers know when things aren’t working right. We had a good visit and a good time, and I might even take a friend there for a drink… but probably not for a round of Spy Hunter.
