What Was The Name Of Your Arcade Growing Up? Describe it.

[urbecrisch]

Just wondering what the name of your local arcade was growing up and what you remember about it. Mine was called:

Pinball Jack's

It was a small place and very dark with blacklights everywhere.  Not sure if I ever met "Jack" but the owner had maybe around 8 pins and the rest were arcade games.  Once in awhile he would bring in a Bubble Hockey game or Foosball but it mostly was pins/cabs.  I remember there was always a worker walking around wearing a token dispenser cause PJ's did not accept quarters.  My father would take us there on Sundays when he picked us up once a week for the day (parents divorced).  I will never forget when PJ's got Dragon's Lair!  WOW!  I was floored that it costs 50 cents to play.  I was horrible at it so I remember ordering a book from Scholastic News which walked through each level.  I wish I still had that book!  Gorf, Pengo, Mappy and Tron were some of my favorite games.  I still live near the town I grew up in and each time I pass by the building were Pinball Jack's was, I take a second and remember the good ol days of gaming. 

[javeryh]

I can't remember the name of it (I always called it "The Arcade") but it was in the Morris County Mall in Cedar Knolls, NJ.  It was a total dive - just a narrow store (with no door - it was completely open to the mall) and cabs lined both long walls.  They kept the newer games in the front although I remember Operation Wolf staying out front for a particularly long time for some reason.  The mall has been renovated and turned into a strip mall with a Walmart and Sears - the Foodtown is still there though.  It was also the place where I saw Return of the Jedi but the theater is also long gone...

[CodeWhite]

My arcade of choice was called Tewksbury Grand Prix in Tewksbury MA.  The place was actually pretty nice and in addition to the games they had these cool go karts that you needed to have you driver's license to drive. I remember walking in there for the first time and throwing my quarters into a brand new double dragon 2 game. The owner was pretty good about the upkeep of his games and also getting the newer ones in.
I knew things were going downhill when I saw a N64 hooked up to a sit down cab asking for something like $5.00 a play. Also in the late 90's the redemption machines invaded and alot of awesome pins were taken out to make room for skeeball and those basketball shooting games. The building is now a child daycare. The go kart track is still there albeit overgrown with weeds.  Damn I miss that place...so much fun...so much money spent. The smell of BO and cheap stetson cologne. 

[NoOne=NBA=]

My "arcade" was several towns.
One place had this game, another that game, and we'd travel around town to play them all.

[Ginsu Victim]

There were a few that I grew up with.

The main one: The laundromat
I would search the dryers for loose change. I don't remember most of what they had, but I do recall them having Tron, Frogger, Pac-Man, and Cloak & Dagger. Not bad at all.

Second place: The mall arcade
I don't recall the name of it, but it was dark, loud, and had all the classics. What more could you ask?

Third: Law office turned arcade
I think I only had the chance to go here once, but it was a law office that went out of business and someone turned it into an arcade. Each room had machines from similar manufacturers, so there was the Williams room, Namco, Nintendo, etc. May have had some pins.

Fourth: Pizza Inn/Pancho's
Nice to play a game while you wait. Pizza Inn had DK Jr and a Galaga cocktail, while Pancho's had a new game every time I visited. The only constant machine was a Nintendo Play-choice.

Fifth: $1 Movies
Cheap-ass, Mexican run movie theater in Houston. Popeye, Golden Axe, Choplifter, and maybe 10 others.

Sixth: Cafe
When I was in kindergarten, my dad would take me to this little cafe every day before he dropped me off at school. He was on his way to work and liked to grab a bite on the way, so we'd stop in and I'd have a slice of pie. There was a waitress that always played a game of Donkey Kong with me on a cocktail they had. I was too little to be any good, but I grew up to only be {---this---} much better. It's a nice memory, though.

[Dazz]

The Gold Mine at Six Flags Mall - Arlington, Texas
Dark, Cold and Loud.  Ahh, it was the perfect 80's arcade.

[NickG]

The Gold Mine at Six Flags Mall - Arlington, Texas
Dark, Cold and Loud.  Ahh, it was the perfect 80's arcade.

Was that the one which had the full size carousel inside?  I used to get helium balloons with clown faces there (I was still a bit too young to play the games)

Edit: Nevermind, I remember now - that one was at Forum 303 Mall a few minutes south.  I've forgotten its name.

[XeviouS]

My local pinny joint was called "Freedom", which to us kids was a totally apt name.

Ugly beige shag pile carpet that you could shuffle your feet along and build up enough static electricity that when you touched a coin against the metal coin door of the Space Invaders machine, the zap would generate anywhere between 1 and 10 credits (true story, used to do it myself!)

The bloke who owned it was very nice, well dressed and friendly - so it was a bit of a shock when we found out he'd got busted for being a dealer.

[pinballwizard79]

Tilt

It was in a mall.

Full of skaters & potheads playing Rush, Killer Instinct, Time Traveler, Bride of Pinbot & etc.

I loved it, fit right in 

[Haterot]

It was called "Spaceport" a long hallway type arcade in the mall, placed perfectly right next to the Orange Julius and the Spencers Gifts. So much to do so much to do.

[odysseyroc]

Growing up in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, there were plenty of arcades to choose from. Here's a rundown of a few of them.

Teds Arcade (Gardena): This one was a small aracade with maybe 30 games total. At some point my friends figured out that the change machine would give you four quarters for a photocopy of a dollar bill. I never did it, but they logged plenty of hours there doing that. It was the only arcade where I remember seeing a Cliff Hanger game.

Missile Bowl (Gardena): A pretty decent bowling alley arcade. They didn't have a ton of games, but most of them were pretty good. I went there a lot with my friends when we were in Jr High and High School. We'd usually play Smash TV, Super Contra, Kageki or Violence Fight.

Malibu Castle (Redondo Beach) This one was probably my favorite local arcade. They had a huge selection of games, miniature golf, water slides, batting cages, a snack bar and bumper boats. It was the only place that I ever saw a Freedom Fighter cabinet. It shut down a few years ago, but it was the place to go through the various era's of arcade gaming. I remember everybody going there to play Tournament Cyberball and later Street Fighter II.

South Bay Bowl (Redondo Beach) SBB's arcade was bigger than the typical bowling alley arcade, it was more like a small regular arcade. It was near a 6 screen movie theater (which was a big deal at the time), and was connected to an ice cream parlor. I remember playing Darius, Narc and APB there.

The Underground (Redondo Beach) This was one of 2 arcades at the Redondo Beach Pier. The Underground was the smaller arcade, but I liked it more. It was very clean with lots of neon. I remember it being the first place I ever saw Donkey Kong Jr. It didn't stay in business very long, but it was a cool place to go after going for a swim, getting a slice of Pizza at Zeppy's and eating a Churro.

Redondo Fun Factory (Redondo Beach) RFF is still in business. Everytime I visit home I make sure to make a trip to the Fun Factory. Back in the 80's it was the spot where the older, rougher crowd hung out. I generally stayed away from there. They had more games than I've ever seen in one place, redemption games and a Tilt-O-Whirl ride.

[Dazz]

The Gold Mine at Six Flags Mall - Arlington, Texas
Dark, Cold and Loud.  Ahh, it was the perfect 80's arcade.

Was that the one which had the full size carousel inside?  I used to get helium balloons with clown faces there (I was still a bit too young to play the games)

Edit: Nevermind, I remember now - that one was at Forum 303 Mall a few minutes south.  I've forgotten its name.

Yeah, the Forum was the one that had the full sized carousel...  I think that one was called either Goodtimes or Saturdays.  I'm not really sure, but yes that was an excellent arcade.

Speaking of that arcade...  Growing up I recall them having this Bozo the Clown bucket toss ticket redemption game.  This game is now located in one of the areas haunted houses, Chaos Haunted Houses at Texas Scaregrounds.  I do haunted house reviews during Halloween season and every time I go into that haunt and pass that game memories of my childhood come rushing back.

[dgrams2000]

Had one that was called the 'Wooden Nickel', and then had An Aladdins Castle.
Eventually worked at Aladdins Castle during my last year in high school and maybe one year after... as a 2nd job.

[Namco]

Growing up in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, there were plenty of arcades to choose from. Here's a rundown of a few of them.

Malibu Castle (Redondo Beach) This one was probably my favorite local arcade. They had a huge selection of games, miniature golf, water slides, batting cages, a snack bar and bumper boats. It was the only place that I ever saw a Freedom Fighter cabinet. It shut down a few years ago, but it was the place to go through the various era's of arcade gaming. I remember everybody going there to play Tournament Cyberball and later Street Fighter II.

South Bay Bowl (Redondo Beach) SBB's arcade was bigger than the typical bowling alley arcade, it was more like a small regular arcade. It was near a 6 screen movie theater (which was a big deal at the time), and was connected to an ice cream parlor. I remember playing Darius, Narc and APB there.

The Underground (Redondo Beach) This was one of 2 arcades at the Redondo Beach Pier. The Underground was the smaller arcade, but I liked it more. It was very clean with lots of neon. I remember it being the first place I ever saw Donkey Kong Jr. It didn't stay in business very long, but it was a cool place to go after going for a swim, getting a slice of Pizza at Zeppy's and eating a Churro.

Redondo Fun Factory (Redondo Beach) RFF is still in business. Everytime I visit home I make sure to make a trip to the Fun Factory. Back in the 80's it was the spot where the older, rougher crowd hung out. I generally stayed away from there. They had more games than I've ever seen in one place, redemption games and a Tilt-O-Whirl ride.

I'm another South Bay kid too. I fondly remember going to Malibu Castle and South Bay Bowl a lot. I remember South Bay bowl 's arcade was a square room with a couple pillars in the middle and red brick walls. There was a black wrought iron security fence that closed it off from the rest of the bowling alley. I remember wondering what it would be like to get locked in there. lol. Malibu Castle and the Pier were like mecca to me because I only went there a couple times and they had EVERYTHING. So amazing.

Hey do you remember the name of the arcade in Hawthorn Plaza if you ever went there? Was it something like All American Arcade?

[odysseyroc]

Where did you live in the South Bay?

I don't remember the name of the Arcade in the Hawthorn mall nor the one in the Old Town Mall. I remember spending a lot of time at Aladdin's castle at Del Amo Mall, playing Silk Worm. There was also the little trailer full of games at the Alpine Village batting cages.

[Bender]

I can't remember the name of it (I always called it "The Arcade") but it was in the Morris County Mall in Cedar Knolls, NJ.  It was a total dive - just a narrow store (with no door - it was completely open to the mall) and cabs lined both long walls.  They kept the newer games in the front although I remember Operation Wolf staying out front for a particularly long time for some reason.  The mall has been renovated and turned into a strip mall with a Walmart and Sears - the Foodtown is still there though.  It was also the place where I saw Return of the Jedi but the theater is also long gone...

that's the one I grew up with too!

I remember hearing Obi Wan's voice come out of the star wars machine and nearly sh@t myself, it was the first time I heard a real voice from an arcade game so, so cool! still one of my faves

back to the point it was a bit of a dive
I remember some nice arcades on the boardwalk in Seaside Hights and Wildwood, both at the jersey shore

mostly I played at a little corner store I could walk to that had 3 or 4 games in the back, classics like Space Inaders, Asteroids, Pacman, Donkey Kong, Tron, Mr. Do's Castle, they rotated in a new one every few months.

Man a friend and I would get 5 bucks and go up there for the day. Fritos, a Cherry Icee and a fistful of quarters, good times, good times

[wp34]

Mine was the Nickelodeon.  It opened around 1981 or so.  It was absolutely huge with a ton of floor space and a large selection of pinball machines.  It finally closed sometime in the early 1990's.  In hindsight it had a pretty good run compared to most arcades. 

Ironically I work a couple of blocks from the old location now.  I would easily go there a couple of times a month on my lunch if it was still there.

[VespaGuy]

The local arcade in my neck of the woods was "Just Fun", located in the mall.

I can still remember some of the layout in my head. In the early days, they had Pengo, Xevious, Frogger, PacMan, Donkey Kong, and Congo Bongo. I, too, remember when Dragon's Lair appeared - within a few weeks, an additional monitor was placed above the machine so that people wouldn't crowd the cab to watch. I always thought that the "token guy", Tony, had the coolest job in the world.

[Namco]

Where did you live in the South Bay?

I don't remember the name of the Arcade in the Hawthorn mall nor the one in the Old Town Mall. I remember spending a lot of time at Aladdin's castle at Del Amo Mall, playing Silk Worm. There was also the little trailer full of games at the Alpine Village batting cages.

I lived in Inglewood and spent a lot of time in Hawthorn, Torrance, Redondo, etc. My father was in a bowling league so our main haunt was El Dorado Bowl in Westchester, just south of LAX Airport. All the good popular stuff made its way through El Dorado Bowl. I loved that place.

Because I went to the mall a lot with my mother I was in that arcade in Hawthron mall alot and also Time Out in Fox Hills mall. The one in Hawthorn was great because they had the big stuff that I would never see in El Dorado like Battlezone. Plus sometimes I'd get a slice at round table next door... good times, good times.

[bishmasterb]

There were a couple places that I can't remember the names of in the Puente Hills Mall in Hacienda Heights/City of Industry, SoCal.

The first was in the parking lot; it was a combination restaurant/arcade similar to Chuck E. Cheese's. I think it was called "PJ's" ?

The other was a Sega arcade inside the mall. Can't remember the exact name though.

Help?

[ivwshane]

Tilt

It was in a mall.

Full of skaters & potheads playing Rush, Killer Instinct, Time Traveler, Bride of Pinbot & etc.

I loved it, fit right in 

The only arcade I'm aware of near me is called the tilt too! And yes it's in a mall. It's nothing special but at least it's still going.

[1UP]

There were lots of little arcades around (it was the 80s) and of course Aladdin's Castle at the local mall, but none were as good as--Golfland in Mesa, AZ.  Great place built like a castle, with a 2-story arcade, mini golf, go-carts, and waterslides.  They shot the "Waterloo" scenes there for Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.    For a few years it was run by my Uncle's bro-in-law, so we got bags of free tokens all the time.  Awesome.

[billpa]

Time Out and Space Port

[Todd H]

My favorite was called Rocky's Arcade. I always enjoyed going there because it tended to attract the older age group (mid to late teens/20's) and it was always cool to play against those guys. It had one pool table and 20-30 games. It was always dark, with a lot of blacklights everywhere. The owner had speakers installed in the ceilings that played the latest 80's hits.

This was the place I played many of the classics for the first times. Some examples of those classics include Wizard of Wor, Donkey Kong, Tron, Defender, and tons more. It eventually died thanks to the videogame crash of the 80's and is now a laundromat. I can still remember the sights, sounds, and smells of that place. Good times.

[CrazyKongFan]

The local ones I frequnted were called Flipper McGee's, Games People Play (at the mall) and Showbiz Pizza Place.

[MrMojoZ]

I recall Tilts and Alladin's Castle in the malls, Chuck E Cheese (first saw Dragons Lair here) when it first opened had great arcades, and later the best arcades were in bowling alleys like Showplace Lanes and mini-golf places like Putt-Putt.

[Ginsu Victim]

Chuck E Cheese was the only place I ever got to play Baby Pac-Man, and I've wanted one ever since.

[garnerb350]

Goldston's Beach, White Lake, North Carolina.

Goldston's Beach was your typical tourist trap where the beach was actually a lake and the resort was built back in the 40's. I used to go there during the summers because it was close to home and plus there was the arcade and amusement rides, and plus the chance of hooking up with white trash girls...
(imagine Caddyshack, Dirty Dancing, and American Graffiti rolled up into one...)

When I was a kid I remember I was scared to death of Super Pac-Man, because we would run into this sandwich shop that had the cab; us kids would be slopping wet from swimming and one of the carriage bolts on the joystick wasn't grounded or something and I would get the *&^% shocked out of me...but we still played the game despite being shocked...Across from the sandwich shop was the arcade/ice cream shop/bingo area...Goldston's Arcade ( so it was called) had a Dairy Queen where the high school jocks would work at because they could easily pick up chicks and look cool serving ice cream...The Bingo area was where the grandparents and single mothers who smoked 3 packs a day would go and congregate, while the young kids would play in the arcade. Skeeball would be on one end, the quarter pusher games on another, shooting gallery and every arcade you can think of...

When I hit 15, my dad told me to get a summer job and I went there to work. We would work from May till August. Some of the games would give out tickets and families would trade them in for cheap souvenirs. I used to sit at a table and hand out change and basically junk.

Sometime the games would screw up because kids would place trash or whatever they could find in the quarter slots...we would have sets of keys and screwdrivers and I remember cleaning out plenty of coin mechs in my day...

As I got older I spent more time helping this old guy from the local arcade supplier  and work on crap in the shooting gallery and other games...or spent time counting quarters...
I used to always play bubble bobble...( time killer) oh and also Time Killers (lol)
I beat Revolution X...used to bet money on Mortal Kombat 3...
Saw a drunk turn his right fist into shreds of meat, by punching a hole into a Killer Instinct 2 monitor out because he got his ass kicked by Fulgore.

Most memorable moment I do remember was one of my co-workers told me that he could play street fighter 2 one handed. and well. We played and what he would do is that he would place the joystick between his pinky and ring finger on his left hand, and push the buttons with his other fingers. He would always play Chun-Li....He would also only used the medium kick button also...Somehow we figured out that there was a glitch where no body could block that shot...
So much that he also would play with his eyes closed. I remember he was playing this gang of African Americans and the player was so pissed, that he screamed that he was coming back to shoot him...Our manager called the police and they stayed there till closing... Never will forget that...   

[Flake]

Aladdins Castle in the local mall.  I remember having to beg my mom to take us up there and drop us off for awhile while she went elsewhere and shopped.  

The Mecca of good times were the 2-3 trips to Showbiz Pizza we had a year.  These nights were very much looked forward to.  Tron and Spyhunter were my games of choice there - sucked at both and still do.  

Other places that had games were the local pizza hut (always had a Galaga or Mrs. Pacman it seemed) and a local Pantera's Pizza (had a Mario Bros. - not super and a couple other games that dont ring a bell right now).  

[Mauzy]

My first main arcade was the local skating rink in Marshalltown, Iowa that I went to every Friday night for about 3 years. I also played in their youth roller hockey league. They had a couple classics. The only two classics that ever worked were the Ms Pac and Joust, but they had a centipede that would come up garbage and a missile command that was dead in the water. They switched out their games every couple months but it was more of a rotation. Joust would often replace my all time favorite from my early days, Sunset Riders. They had a two player version for some reason.

Now a days the only place I get to play anything worth playing is during my yearly trip to Indiana Beach. They have a whole bunch of pins in decent shape for a quarter a play. Last summer my dad and I went and played for three days. I played 103 games on $17.50 over the three days we were there. Dad played two less on the same amount, but he got a couple high scores. Obviously, their replays were set relatively low. Between the main park and campground across the street, they have two of the following: Fun House, Addams Family (I "broke" one on my last trip... ), and Twilight Zone. They also have a No Fear, Jokerz!, Getaway, Cyclone, Bride of Pinbot, Star Trek: Next Generation (dead last two summers...) Simpsons Pinball Party, South Park, Theatre of Magic and a couple other pins. As for their video selection, its pretty low classic wise. I think they have a cockpit Pole Position and a Track and Field. Most notable is two AWESOME condition bootleg DDR Extreme machines at the park.

My next trip should be coming up here soon.

[Gatsu]

I played at 2 different full arcades. The main one closest to my house was a Namco arcade in the mall. The other was called Tilt. Run by a really cool old lady that restored and had a huge private collection of arcade machines. Too bad I never got her list of contacts for parts and repairs....

The namco one shut down about 7-8 years ago.....the Tilt arcade shut down about 3 months ago. Sucks..

[TheShanMan]

The main one for me was in San Jose - Galactican. Not a huge arcade, but many fond memories of going there with friends. Another was an arcade at Pier 39 in San Francisco. One of my dad's restaurants was there, so on the rare occasion that we'd make the trip up there on a Saturday or Sunday morning, I'd get some food and then spend the rest of the time playing games.

[Ummon]

My local pinny joint was called "Freedom", which to us kids was a totally apt name.

Ugly beige shag pile carpet that you could shuffle your feet along and build up enough static electricity that when you touched a coin against the metal coin door of the Space Invaders machine, the zap would generate anywhere between 1 and 10 credits (true story, used to do it myself!)

The bloke who owned it was very nice, well dressed and friendly - so it was a bit of a shock when we found out he'd got busted for being a dealer.

-ehnh. Probably why he didn't catch you, or care whether you were, getting free credits.

There were lots of little arcades around (it was the 80s) and of course Aladdin's Castle at the local mall, but none were as good as--Golfland in Mesa, AZ.  Great place built like a castle, with a 2-story arcade, mini golf, go-carts, and waterslides.  They shot the "Waterloo" scenes there for Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.    For a few years it was run by my Uncle's bro-in-law, so we got bags of free tokens all the time.  Awesome.

Golf Land here in Tucson was kinda boring, golf-wise, but they had a smokin arcade. No Windows in the place, either. The one in Mesa now blows. Castles and Coaters is the place to go in AZ.

Aladdins Castle in the local mall.  I remember having to beg my mom to take us up there and drop us off for awhile while she went elsewhere and shopped.   

Hell, I just had to get my mom to take us there and pick us up. Just call her when we were done. We'd stay for hours.

[Ond]

Mine was a place called "Casino" it wasn't poker machines and such, just pinnies and arcade. Licensed gambling came to the State many years later and by that time the row of buildings Casino was located in was long ago demolished.  The place was small, just tucked in under a night club called Fosters that my mates and I would try getting into when I was a 17 y/o long haired dork.  (now.... I'm a much older dork  ).  Casino was run by a one legged dude called Ivan; he had a bad ass brother named Mick who regularly got into fights with 'patrons'. One time he smashed a pool cue over the head of some guy who upset him, that guy ended up in hospital. The place was a long rectangle shape with a large window looking out onto the nearby railway station.  Half way along on the opposite wall was Ivan’s counter where he sat gazing out at peoples coming and going.  He might have only had one leg but he was popular with the chicks, there were usually always a few perched on those plastic stools he had on the other side of the counter chatting to him.  I remember Galaxian, Galaga, Xevious, Space Invaders, he had quite a few of the classics, two pool tables and half a dozen pinnies.  I remember well when one of our mates had Space Invaders pegged, he could rack up  credits on it at will.  Down one end was a jukebox, it seemed to be endlessly playing JJ Cales 'Cocaine'.  I was usually looking over some-one else’s shoulder watching them feed in the coins.  I didn't play the arcades all that much, but I hung out with friends that did.  I remember racing in to Casino one time to show off some hickeys some chick had covered my neck with, Mick gave me a murderous look for bragging, LOL!  My mate Nick was a tough Russian dude, some of his mates were just downright scary with names like 'Bronco' and 'Druggo'.  Who knows where they are now - dead, in jail, or maybe respectable family guys like me?     I can't hear 'Cocaine' now without thinking about those days, I tell my wife stories from then and she looks at me funny and says "Oh my god I married a bogan! (akin to ‘white trash’)".

So now I'm building my arcade cabinet, standing in my garage, beer in one hand, squinting out at the neighbour and murmuring to myself "she don't lie she don't lie she don’t lie, cocaiiiiine".

[Blanka]

"'t Wapen van Zetten"
Like any french-fries shop in a small town in Holland is called the "weapon of FILLINCITYNAME".
Yes, there was 1 Galaga machine!

[Benevolance]

Our best arcade was at the local swimming pool. We'd beg our parents for some money to go swimming, ride our bikes to the pool, and use the money to play Gauntlet and 1942 instead. We'd even soak our swim trunks under a faucet to make it look like we'd gone swimming.

[Chadwick]

I had a lot of arcade within bike riding distance.

Putt Putt Golf and Games
Funway Freeway
Fun Factory
Alladin's Castle
Showbiz Pizza
Sears in the mall had a gameroom
Independent arcade that I can't remember the name of was in the mall as well.

5 of those were within a 1/2 mile of each other so when we went to "the arcade" we usually stopped by more than 1.

[Aceldamor]

There used to be a place in Scottsdale AZ, just north of Thomas on Scottsdale Rd....can't remember the name of it, it was in a plaza called the "777" plaza. It had ALL of the current games all the time, had a decent pinball room, and had a small pool hall at the other end. My uncle knew the owner, and I came to know him as I got older too...which meant free games. Every year on their anniversary, they would do a "free play day" where all the machines were set to free play...it was great! It was the only arcade in town for a LONG time that had Assault. As the years went on, the arcade got smaller, the pool hall got bigger, until it just went away.

Also played at the local Gold Mine in various malls, as well as "Golf N'Stuff" which is now Castles N Coasters. Played at Golfland quite a bit...but it's decline was when they decided to make the 2nd floor a lazer tag arena.

There was another great arcade when there used to be a mall at 59th and Glendale that was HUGE!!!, but it set up shop during the decline and quickly vanished when the dollar movies in the mall went too.

Used to play in an arcade at the closest mall to me for quite a while too, where I was introduced to Star Racer and SF2, before it became called "tilt" and became a disgrace to arcades.

I ended up working at a place called "Nickel Palace" where it cost a dollar fifty to get in, but all the games ran on nickles, up to 20 cents...and they always had at least 4 current titles, including MK3, KI, NBA Jam when it was big. Also had a nice pinball section, and a classic section as well. That is where I learned how to air juggle a max combo with Cinder on KI, and air juggle a 33% damage combo with Ermac on UMK3.

The ownership was bought out and he transitioned it to tokens and you got 8 for a buck, which equated to a quick demise.

[stephenp1983]

The main one I remember going to was called Diamond Gem's

[Zeppo]

The Gold Mine at Six Flags Mall - Arlington, Texas
Dark, Cold and Loud.  Ahh, it was the perfect 80's arcade.

Was that the one which had the full size carousel inside?  I used to get helium balloons with clown faces there (I was still a bit too young to play the games)

Edit: Nevermind, I remember now - that one was at Forum 303 Mall a few minutes south.  I've forgotten its name.

Yeah, the Forum was the one that had the full sized carousel...  I think that one was called either Goodtimes or Saturdays.  I'm not really sure, but yes that was an excellent arcade.

Speaking of that arcade...  Growing up I recall them having this Bozo the Clown bucket toss ticket redemption game.  This game is now located in one of the areas haunted houses, Chaos Haunted Houses at Texas Scaregrounds.  I do haunted house reviews during Halloween season and every time I go into that haunt and pass that game memories of my childhood come rushing back.

That was called Yesterday's in Forum 303 Mall.
Or at least that was the name when I worked there.
I was the assistant manager in late 94 through mid 95.
That Bozo game was a pain to fix sometimes, but usually it was just a loose switch in one of the buckets.
We had to crawl all under and inside the carousel in the spring and grease all the inner parts.
Boy, that was fun.
I really liked that place and almost cried when they turned it into a Fiesta Mall thingy which is basically an indoor Flea Market.
Last I heard they were about to tear the whole mall down for some reason.