If you’ve never been in a classic arcade, there’s pretty much just one rule to follow: forget about keeping track of time. Walking into Seaside’s famous Funland Arcade is a time-warping experience where you’re greeted by all of the retro video game music, flashing lights, and troops of excited kids. It’s a place where retro charm meets the latest developments in gaming tech. With an eclectic Art Deco storefront, the bold geometric architecture and lavish color scheme make you feel like you’re walking into someplace special. There was a time when gaming was a social experience rather than a private one played online behind closed doors. The Seaside Arcade offers the best of this social gaming experience: air hockey, bumper cars, Pinball, flight simulators, photo booths, Skeeball, Whale Racing, Fascination (one of the last Fascination parlors in the USA), even Whack-A-Mole!
Every nook and cranny in this huge space is filled with some wild and eccentric gaming machine. Part of the fun is exploring. There are folks who like to stroll about and watch all the shenanigans, and then there are the serious gamers – those devotees who would have worn custom Pac-Man wrist sweatbands back in the early 1980s.These gamers are all about achieving perfection. The goal typically being to get the coveted high score, which is kind of like writing your name in wet cement. If you’re skilled and your score is high enough, your name is going to flash across the screen for future generations to see. It’s good to be the king of the mountain! This competitive spirit usually shines around the Dance-Dance Revolution machines, where crowds gather and watch the epic dance-battles. These crackerjack athletes pull off dance moves that would shame John Travolta.
If you want to lose track of time for awhile, step into the Seaside Arcade and prepare for a sensory experience that heralds back to the golden age of arcade culture.
Photo Credit: Courtney Smith
Editors Note: Seaside’s Funland Arcade is open 365 days a year. Check out their website for daily operating hours during all seasons.
