Geeks Mania arcade visit

Not all of these are of pinball, but it gives you an idea of what it is like there. It is in Madison, WI - costs $15 for an all-day pass with unlimited play.

This was my second visit and my only complaints was that the day I went it was very hot even with the a/c running and multiple fans, and that they seemed to have quite a few machines out of order (and it wasn't like that the last time I was there which was about a year ago)

Geeks Mania Arcade

Click the 'Geeks Mania Arcade' link above for a ton more pics of the arcade and pinball machines.

EDIT: HERE is their website.

Looks cool. Nice mix of new and older stuff. Bummer when there is a lot of stuff out of order. Guess it’s tough to keep so many games in proper condition. Nice to see an arcade like that these days. Enjoy it!

Nice looking place. I havent seen one like that in too long! Not here in NY.

That sucks that so many pinball machines were out of order.

When I visited Quarter World in Portland Oregon, the thing that impressed me most was the tech walking around and checking out every single machine. She'd put in a quarter, play a bit, then open the coin door and check lights and solenoid as well as make notes on scores stored and such. Adjustments to operator settings would be tweaked if need be, and then she'd put a quarter in once more for a final check. I asked how often she did this, and she said each machine (there were I believe 30 or 40 on site) gets checked at least once a week. Rubber changes and full cleaning happen monthly. If a machine goes down, they pull it into the repair room and replace it with a working machine that they have waiting just for those moments. This was a full time position for the tech, and I watched her spend at least 15 minutes per machine she was doing walkthroughs on.

There was not a single machine I played that didn't play as if it were brand new. I spent an hour playing Centaur alone, as it was super lively and tons of fun. It also was very generous with the credits to the point I left 4 on the machine before moving on. I mentioned that fact to the tech and she said it was purposely set up to be generous because it's a favorite of hers and nobody plays it, opting instead for newer games. She though if people had a good experience on it, maybe they'd be more willing to try some of the other older pins they had too. That's what I call being a good operator trying to maximize utilization on your floor space!

Is molly still kickin around?

Pretty cool arcade, the closest one to me is in Eau Claire, WI

https://www.facebook.com/eauclairegamesandarcade/

They have about 20ish arcade machines and 8-10 pinball tables. Charge $15 usually for full day play with some promotional days for less. The Welcome tab on the Facebook page has a 3D explore space deal in it though I think that hasn't been updated with their current set up.

My sister lives around Madison, maybe some day I will have to check your arcade out.

In the Birmingham, Al metro area we have “BumperNets” in the Hoover Galleria:

https://www.google.com/search?q=bumpernets+arcade&rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS708US708&oq=bumpernets&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l3.6040j0j7&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8&dlnr=1&sei=iChKW7nRJc2jzwLFyaO4DA#dlnr=1&fid=0x8889221650c9ad6f:0x9c4cdfa8265e34ff&fpstate=luuv&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipN7RCGbdk_GjemU1MREoE7e8gyMXXotjd2fKboB&viewerState=lb

They usually keep around 30 tables on the floor for play or purchase. They even have about 5 “wood rails” in the back!

A new place near us has 8 or 10 pinballs but half of them are out of order, including a Jersey Jack Wizard of Oz. I don’t think the owner understands pinball well. The selection of tables is great, but their condition isn’t good or improved upon.

Madison is a pretty good town for pinball, Geeks Mania is excellent (and if you have a couple of hours $15 for unlimited play of everything is not bad at all). There's a big bowling alley maybe half a mile from there, Schwoeglers, that has probably a dozen or so machines set up to take quarters, they are really well maintained. Both locations are right on top of new releases, JJP tables, etc. as well as older tables including EMs.

Sounds like a good deal... nearest place to me is the Timeline arcade in either York PA or Hanover PA (I think they just added the York location - it's new to me). Now I've not been to either, but they charge $25/day (or have a $35/day option that covers both locations - they're only a few miles apart).

Still, the York location is a good 30-45 minutes for me to get to, and Hanover is at least 45 (it's just east of Gettysburg, and that's 30-45 minutes).

Their posted lineups are okay, but not great.

http://timelinearcade.net/games/

Yeah we plan to go back very soon after my wife finishes her summer semester.