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Old School Pinball and Arcade is a small establishment nestled on Grimes’ Main Street. For $10, you get unlimited play of all of their arcade machines and most of the pinball machines and you can also pay a couple dollars more to access the rest. They also sell food and drinks, though when I went I didn’t try any. I was more interested in the games.

I definitely enjoyed myself. Some of the arcade games were great fun, such as Galaga, a spaceship shoot-’em-up, and a multiplayer racing game. The pinball machines were a fun, toy-like experience and a treat for the eyes. My favorite pinball machine was “Star Trek”-themed, and it had a miniature Enterprise as part of the game. I enjoyed playing on a machine for a bit, then moving to a new one with its own flashy, retro experience. Even the lower quality games were fun for a few minutes because their age made them novel. If you have nostalgia for arcade games or are a pinball enthusiast, you’ll probably love this place.

I’m not either of those people though. I don’t see myself going back because I think I can get a better value elsewhere.

For example, I could buy Galaga for my computer for $4 and play it whenever I wanted, instead of paying $10 each time. Of course, Old School Pinball and Arcade has more than just Galaga, but I’d rather buy a few great arcade games once than repeatedly pay for a day’s access to a bunch. There weren’t that many either; the arcade and pinball machines together totaled about four dozen.

Buying arcade games at home wouldn’t give me the social aspect or the coolness of a physical arcade box. However, I could play video games with my friends without going to a mediocre arcade. The old-school buttons and joysticks do enhance the experience but not enough for $10 a day.

The pinball machines actually entice me to return more than the arcade games. They might not be the deepest experience, but they can’t be cheaply replicated at home like arcade games. Unfortunately, I don’t think there are enough of them to justify dropping $10, at least not very often.

I like the idea of an arcade, and I do like arcade games. If there were an establishment with a lot more physical machines, including alternatives to pinball such as Skee-Ball and Whack-A-Mole, as well as a wider variety of arcade games, I would pay maybe $20 for the occasional visit. But Old School Pinball and Arcade doesn’t have that, and as it stands, I feel I could better spend my money elsewhere.