

You can pick from a long line of modern releases such as Stern's Batman '66 and Star Trek Jersey Jack's groundbreaking titles based on movies like The Wizard of Oz and The Hobbit and Dialed In, designed by pinball legend Pat Lawlor. Remember when arcade games used to cost a quarter to play? Hell, remember when arcade games required legal tender to play? This beloved Garland institution has preserved the feeling of a family arcade with video games and pinball machines and has even kept the prices to a nostalgic level. You'll spend so much time trying to defeat these modern marvels of gravity and skill that you'll forget about bowling.ġ238 Belt Line Road in Garland, The arcade area is stocked with an impressive collection of modern Stern titles, such as Game of Thrones, Ghostbusters, Wrestlemania, The Walking Dead and the vault edition of Spider-Man. This high-class bowling joint and family entertainment center in Irving hasn't forgotten this staple of bowling's past. Not all kids who went to bowling alleys in the '80s and '90s were there to bowl. Versus also hosts International Flipper Pinball Association-sanctioned tournaments.Ģ750 Interstate 635 in Irving, Versus has a good relationship with local pinball enthusiasts, and with their help is able to rotate different machines in and out, so players get a new experience every time they drop by, he says. "What makes our place unique is that we have machines from every era - the electro-mechanical, the solid state and modern," co-owner Mike Mahnich says.
#Pinball bar movie
You'll also find a variety of pinball games on one side of the arcade, including the pro version of Stern's Aerosmith-themed machine, Williams' carnival classic Cyclone and Bally's pinball remake of the Alec Baldwin cinematic bomb The Shadow, which works a lot better as a pinball machine than a movie for a major film star. Versus Gameplay gives gamers access to modern consoles and multiplayer gaming in the back of its space, but the front is filled with new and classic arcade machines.

Central Expressway in Plano, Ĭollin Creek Mall still has an arcade tucked away on the second floor that can fill the Plano shopping center with the familiar sound of beeps, boops and 6-year-old children raging at cold, uncaring machines. Cidercade has reached out to some newer companies that are reviving the almost-lost art of pinball by revamping it for the technology age with games like the modern masterpiece Houdini: Master of Mystery from American Pinball.Ĭollin Creek Mall, 811 N.
#Pinball bar free
There aren't as many classic machines as there are at Free Play, but there is an impressive lineup of modern machines from the remaining pinball powerhouses, including Stern, with titles such as Batman '66, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Wars and the re-released Williams' classic Attack from Mars. in Dallas has been keeping the local arcade competition pretty fierce with its concept that opened near the end of 2016. The Cidercade has made some big strides with its pinball collection. Free Play also does a good job of swapping out machines from its massive collection of arcade titles, so you're bound to play something new almost every time you visit.Ģ777 Irving Blvd., No. The Arlington location's much larger space allows Free Play to dedicate a long wall to pinball machines offering a fine mix of old-school favorites such as Williams' Bride of Pinbot alongside newer titles such as Stern's addictive Batman '66. The first Free Play location set up a space for pinball machines, but the small area only left room for a handful of games along a back wall. The local arcade chain that started in Richardson and opened its second location in Arlington built its massive following by committing to the retro arcade concept. Here are some of the best places where you can get your pinball fix in the meantime.Ĥ00 E. The Dallas Pinball Project, as it's tentatively called, will be filled with new and classic titles.įree Play is still a ways away from opening its dream pinball place, thanks to the challenging rezoning and renovating efforts needed to open it. The local arcade's fourth franchise location, in Oak Cliff, will be a pinball bar that will cater to the whims of the most hardcore silver ball slingers. Last month, Free Play Arcade announced what pinball fans have been waiting to hear since the day the video game arcade almost died.
