There was a video game arcade midway on the walk between my home and middle school. Every day after school you knew where all the kids in the neighborhood were. We'd all rush to be the first to get a spot in front of an arcade cabinet because in the late 80s you didn't play video games on your phone or television set. You played video games at an arcade!
My twelve year old self dreamed of one day building a video arcade in my home. Fast forward to today and filling up space in your house with full-sized video game arcade cabinets may not seem as glamorous in the 21st Century as it did back then. Wow saying "21st Century" still seems so "futuristic" to me.
That doesn't mean childish fantasies still can't come true. There are a variety of retro-style miniature arcade models available now that can let you imagine having your dream game room. From Super Impulse video games that let you hold an entire old school arcade in the palm of your hand to New Wave Toys carefully crafted sixth scale recreations of classic cabinets you can have lots of fun at home without taking up too much space or having you lose all your quarters.
Super Impulse TINY ARCADE are playable even though their cabinets are only 4x2 inches with a screen size less than 1.5 inches. Yet they provide complete gameplay with full color high res imagery and authentic game sounds within a back-lit arcade style cabinet. Choose from Burger Time, Q*Bert and Frogger among other hit arcade games of the '80s.
Plus they have tabletop versions too of games including Pac Man, Space Invaders and Galaga. Plus they have some newer arcade hits like Dance Dance Dance Revolution that you can show off your smooth moves with your fingers instead of feet. For those of us who moved on from arcades by playing an Atari game console at home Super Impulse has even recreated a tiny version of the 2600 that plays 10 games including Pac Man on a mini television set. How cool is that?!
Basic Fun! has a collection of Retro Mini Arcade Games ranging from Asteroids to Q*Bert that my kid have had a blast playing with. They especially had a good time during a family movie night where we played Fix it Felix before watching Ralph Breaks the Internet. My son used to take that handheld game with him and play it while waiting for his swimming lessons to begin. He was the envy of all the children around the pool at Goldfish Swim School.
Fix it Felix is a Walmart exclusive along with Rampage and Mortal Kombat. You can find others like Dig Dug, Frogger , Ms. Pac-Man and Space Invaders at Amazon, Target and Kohls. My kids really did have a mini arcade in their playroom as they were growing up with Pac-Man, Tetris, Frogger, Q*Bert and Fix it Felix Basic Fun! video games. While they still play them from time to time now they are twelve themselves they tend to spend more time on Animal Crossing and Fortnite. Things are so much different now from when I was twelve years old!
If you are looking for something that is both fun to play and looks good to display, check out the limited edition Replicades from New Wave Toys. These collectible sixth scale replicas of classic arcade cabinets are crafted so as that it seems you have a miniature of the original video games that can be shown off on a table or shelf. Not only do these look great but they duplicate the game play experience even though they are in a much smaller format.
I picked up Dragon's Lair and highlight it on a bookshelf in my home office. I probably spent as much in quarters playing this game at arcades during my youth as it cost me to buy the New Wave Toys Replicade version of Dragon's Lair. To be honest I sucked at the game when playing it at the arcade and am finally getting the hang of being decent at it now that I don't have to stick fifty cents into it every few minutes.
Enjoying my Dragon's Lair Replicade, I'm adding another arcade game to my collection with 1943. I ordered this World War II fighter plane game awhile back and from recent reports it is now on a cargo ship crossing the Pacific Ocean to get to me. I spent hour after hour playing this game in arcades during my tween age years and am geeked to add it to my New Wave Toys collection. Maybe I will have that dream arcade in my home after all!
Other recent releases from New Wave Toys include 1942, Q*Bert and Missile Command. I'm hoping they come out with Golden Tee, Popeye and Out Run plus some realistic pinball miniatures in the future. If you see a Replicade release you are interested in, I highly recommend placing a preorder when you can because these sell out quick when they hit retail. They also have a USB charger device that you can plug your arcade games into, or other devices, to keep them powered up that looks like an arcade change making device and a neon carpet that glows when exposed to black light to give your Replicade display a retro vibe.
Have yourself some great arcade fun at home with these miniature video games from Basic Fun, Super Impulse and New Wave Toys!
