Guide

I have spent more evenings than I care to admit hunched over a joystick, hunting ghosts and dodging bullets on vertical arcade cabinets. When I started building out my game room, I tested every upright arcade machine I could get my hands on. This guide is what I wish someone had handed me before I … Read more

I grew up feeding quarters into battered Pac-Man and Galaga cabinets at the local pizza place, so when I set out to find the best classic arcade machines for , I took it personally. I spent six weeks comparing cabinets, scrolling through r/cade threads, and reading thousands of owner reviews to separate the genuine nostalgia … Read more

I grew up dropping quarters into Pac-Man machines at the local pizza parlor, and the dream of owning my own vintage-style arcade machine never quite went away. After spending the last three months testing ten popular retro arcade cabinets in my garage-turned-game-room, I finally got to live that dream and report back on what’s actually … Read more

The first time I dropped a quarter into Pac-Man at the local pizza joint, I knew the feeling of standing at a wooden cabinet, fingers wrapped around a real ball-top joystick, was something a controller could never replace. That feeling is exactly what today’s deluxe arcade machines try to recreate at home, and after spending … Read more

If you grew up feeding quarters into arcade cabinets at the local pizza joint, you already know there is nothing quite like the snap of a real joystick and the ding of a high score screen. I have spent the last several months testing every major plug and play arcade game I could get my … Read more

I tested these arcade controllers for months across Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and King of Fighters XV, and the difference between a budget stick and a tournament-grade fight stick is something you feel after the first match. If you have been searching for the best arcade controllers in , you already know the basics: … Read more

Finding the best fight sticks in means sorting through a market that has exploded since the FGC’s pandemic-era boom. I have spent the last decade playing Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and Mortal Kombat 1 across arcade cabinets, locals, and majors, and I have hands-on experience with every stick on this list. My testing covered … Read more

I’ve spent the last three months testing leverless arcade controllers across Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and Guilty Gear Strive, and I can tell you the format has officially gone mainstream. The best leverless arcade controllers in deliver faster directional inputs, more precise motion commands, and a much cleaner aesthetic than traditional fight sticks. For … Read more

Moving a pinball machine safely comes down to five core steps: remove the balls, fold down or detach the backbox, take off the legs, wrap the cabinet in moving blankets, and load it upright onto a dolly or hand truck. A typical machine weighs 250 to 350 pounds and holds fragile glass and sensitive electronics, … Read more

Walking up to a pinball machine for the first time can feel like stepping into a foreign country. Everyone around you is talking about multiballs, VUKs, tilt warnings, and something called a “house ball.” If you have ever nodded along pretending you understood, this pinball terminology beginner’s glossary is for you. Pinball terminology is the … Read more