Every time we are in town, that's legit our first stop. I love the retro vibe, the machines (pinball is my fave). Occasionally a machine I love would be out of service, but many are really vintage so it's understandable. Love the selection of drinks, food is limited but ok for a snack while playing. read more

Had so much fun at this pinball bar. Went in on Wednesday evening and stayed to play in a tournament. The people were so nice! Really had a great time. The machines are pretty well maintained. It's a pay one price, play all day place. If you are going to play for a couple hours, totally worth it. read more

Asheville Retrocade - Outside of Retrocade - Arcades Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

For $10 you can play retro video games, pinball, pool, air hockey (if working), and more all day. It was my Mother's Day adventure, and my son did well! Very well! My inner 80s kid had a blast. They also have a bar if you want to drink. read more

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We've lived here for five years, and I have never heard of this place until our granddaughters said, "Hey let's go there!" So. We did. There was an entrance fee of $11 but that covered staying as long as you wanted. The place was filled with all kinds of games, including video games and pinball types. The kids had fun. There are a lot of adults having fun too. I recommend it. read more

Great place to hang out. We didn't eat but they have food and drinks available. Several arcade games to choose from. There's a load of pinball machines as well. There's a lower level where more games are available. Family friendly and great for kids as well as adults. Not very expensive either. Great fun option for a way to chill for a day or a couple of hours. read more

Asheville Retrocade - Retrocade front - Arcades Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

This was an AMAZING arcade experience. My husband is a big gamer so this was a surprise for him on our Asheville trip. The entrance is unassuming and we did park on the street but not too far away. We paid $10 for all you can play. We had two floors with tons of different games. I was sucked into pinball! There was a full bar area and snack food as well. Examples are nachos and pizza. If you are a spouse of parent and not into the games, there was an outside area in the back, as well as a coffee shop next door. There is an ample amount of games with minimal to no wait time. Upon entering we were greeted by a gentleman and could also see security cameras. I appreciated seeing this. The bar area has console games which was also fun (for my husband haha). Definitely worth the trip! read more

Asheville Retrocade - We won!! - Arcades Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

Great little spot to check out in west Asheville. So fun that you don't have to worry about coins, just pay at the door for all you can play. Many old school games and lots of variety between upstairs and 2 downstairs rooms. A few too many games were out of order but hopefully they will be fixed soon! read more

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So much fun!!! Great games, music, food, drinks. Our whole family loved it! We can't wait to go back!

I highly recommend the Asheville Retrocade! 7 people ages 6 - 66 and we all had so much fun! This place came highly recommended to me by a father of 5. He said that there's only one way out, so your kids are safe. Having the retro games there isn't violence or anything to worry about that may be in video games . He was absolutely right! There's also a bar area, but no one was overly imbibing. Language was clean. Definitely a place for family fun! Prices were excellent. read more

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This was perfect for the kids when we needed to kill some time before dinner. We had fun too and the staff was working hard to keep everyone happy! read more

SUPER cool place to go! $10 entrance fee from Sunday through Saturday! Minors are welcome until 9pm We had an absolute blast with our 5 year old child. They have a room dedicated to pin ball machines! They have all sorts of retro video and arcade games. I was shocked to see Dance Dance Revolution! From DDR, PacMan, driving games to skee-ball and Nintendo, Game Cube and PlayStation. It was amazing! They have your typical bar food and what I would classify as "gamer food" Nicely stocked bar that also has non-alcoholic drinks and energy drinks. We look forward to returning the next time we visit Asheville! read more

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FUN FOR ALL KINDS OF GAMERS! This place is such a blast! For $10, you get unlimited gaming access for the day. They have two floors of games including retro games, as well as new video game consoles by the bar. Yes, I said BAR! You can get some beer or other beverages, while playing video games here! They even have cupholders next to the machines. They have a good selection of local beer. On the day I went, they were playing 80s music and it definitely fit the theme of the bar/arcade. I love that they are open late, although it is 21+ after 9pm. I like this because it allows adults to have some game time without worrying about children nearby or crowding up the arcade. There is even an outdoor patio on the bottom level! My only negative point is that they had a few games out of order, but that is typical for any arcade with old machines such as this, and you will see games out of order at any retro arcade, not just this one. I am definitely coming back, I had such a fun time here. Hopefully the next time I am here the Star Wars game is back in service! read more

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$10 for all you can play games...have I caught your attention?? Asheville Retrocade offers two floors with countless arcade games and a full bar serving adult beverages and non-alcoholic beverages. This is the perfect spot to go on a date or with a large group of friends. There are several games to keep everyone occupied for many hours if you'd like! We spent a large amount of time at the pinball machines, the air hockey tables, the pac-man games, the foosball tables, and several others. I highly recommend spending some time at this spot! read more

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Had a delightful experience here in December. Had never been before but I had heard great things and I was excited to try it. All of December they had a special for girls that was half off. Little curious about that... Are you trying to get more women in the bar? That's a little outdated, right? Are you just trying to get more women to become gamers? It's kind of got a dive bar feel but I like that there are action items so you're not just sitting. They have a nice bar area with games going and you can ask for the consoles. Downstairs you have plenty of other things such a ski ball. I didn't know if there would be something for me because I'm not quite a gamer, but I think they do a good job having a diverse array of options. The bartender was not super approachable, but was friendly enough. They have plenty of beer options and even some wine which pleasantly surprised me the prices seems pretty fair for the area which I also appreciate Parking can be difficult, but it is located right in West Asheville, which is a plus. I would certainly go back again and bring friends. I tried to go before when the time was before 9 PM and I'm very glad that I went after this time. Although it's late, you do avoid the teenager crowd. read more

The place is fun on Thursday nights it's ladies night $5 all day play. The bar is full stocked. The ambiance is fun! We went with a group. It was a blast. The restrooms are super interesting. read more

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The service was on point. My beer was spilled on accident and I got another immediately. I asked to put my bag behind the bar and they kindly did it. The games were fun and I had a blast playing all the pinball. Especially Rick and Morty lol. Y'all are killing the game keep it up read more

This was a great end of evening activity and they were open till 2am if you had a fever for gaming. $10/person for as much gaming as you want. They've done a great job of refurbishing the cabinets with modern screens. They got a dance dance revolution machine, shooter, sniper, Nintendo Punch Out Cabinet (which I had never played before, so cool!) The bar also seemed to be a good place to chill in-between games with consoles available to play (looked like some modern consoles with some good FPS or sports games, possibly others) I'd give it a solid 8-9/10 for fun. The only small critique I have is that some of the pinball machines were out of order (specifically the two I was looking forward to; The Twilight Zone and Indiana Jones, see pic). That said, anyone who knows pinball (and arcade machines) knows maintenance can be tricky, so be prepared to just play some other machines if your machine is is down. You'll enjoy your night at the Retrocade! read more

Asheville Retrocade - Indiana Jones and Twilight Zone we're down - Arcades Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

This was a perfect outing for our family of 4 with two teens. Big mix of games, pay entrance and that's it. Full bar, dog friendly too! The top floor has mostly pinballs and the downstairs is full of air hockey, skeetball etc.. there was another place in Asheville that has only pinball but was more expensive and had an hour wait (no dogs too) - it was walking to downtown so maybe that's why that one had so much yraffic. Anyway, this was perfect since it's not just pinball. read more

Asheville Retrocade - Downstairs area - Arcades Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

The Asheville Retrocade is a great concept but fell short of our expectations. Firstly, there was only one staff member working when we went on Tuesday afternoon about half an hour after opening. He had to manage the bar and check people in so the check in process wasn't super smooth. We didn't think it would be super crowded on a random week day but we were wrong. Understandably, there are no longer COVID restrictions but this place was PACKED and we felt super uncomfortable. It was raining out but we didn't expect such a big crowd. All of the games were already occupied, especially downstairs. We asked the guy working if there was a time limit for each game since there are a limited number of game stations and Skeeball lanes. His answer was kind of snappy and was basically no, people can hog an entire game for the whole day if they wanted. It's an "honor system" but there is no guarantee anyone will abide by it. We played Mortal Kombat and Forza which worked great on the Xbox. We also tried to play Halo and Grand Theft Auto V but got an error message saying the disc was required to start. Overall, more staff needs to be hired and if you're at all concerned about COVID, this is not the place for you. Not the place's fault, but definitely something to be aware of. We only stayed for an hour because of it and we probably wouldn't go back. read more

$10 and you can play all you want... I just want to start with that because I have been to a many Bar arcades and normally they have a token system of you just pay as you go but not here at the Retrocade. Now to take a step back, I am that person that loves a good activity as I drink and on top of that love an arcade. When we were in West Asheville we decided to stop here and it was worth it. The 10 bucks to get in is a great deal when they have tons of pinball, classic arcade games, skee ball, racing games, and more. They also have an upstairs and downstairs area that also has an outside area. On top of that, when you sit at the bar, they have various consoles you can play as you drink at the bar which was super cool. Great place for kids and adults (we saw all ages there) read more

Asheville Retrocade - Drinks and some Mario cart - Arcades Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

Fun evening for entire family! Many games for kids or gamers! Would go back again. Adults can have beer and wine while kids play games:).

Family had a great time and the bartender was cool and attentive. Finding parking was difficult at first but we figured it out eventually. There is a public parking lot a couple blocks down if you can't find street parking. $7 for 3 hours and you can pay on your phone. The variety of games was great and my boys loved that they still had console gaming for their multi player shooting games. Going during the week on a sunny day and you have the place to yourselves. Wish they had a place like this back in our town but all we have is Dave and Buster's. This is such a better value. I drank the White Zombie all afternoon and it did the trick. The food is similar to bowling alley fare but our boys enjoyed it for a snack. Will try to go back before we leave Asheville. Great experience for the entire family. read more

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I visited this location on a Saturday evening with one other person. These are my thoughts and observations. - The atmosphere isn't hardcore bar vibe; I saw kids and families here. The door greeter does check IDs though. - All the games are set to free play; just pay $10 at the door and play to your heart's desire. - There's an air hockey table, Skee-Ball, a few co-op shooters, pinball, and all the arcade classics. - I'd highly recommend the motorcycle racing game, air hockey and Time Crisis. - Some of the older machines aren't very responsive. - One of the Skee-Ball machines had a broken sensor, so it wouldn't recognize when a ball entered the hole. - The pads on the DDR machine aren't responsive. - There was a sign stating that a technician services the machines once a week, so it's possible the issues I had will be fixed by the time I post this review. - I found empty bottles and trash next to most of the games downstairs. It's a fun, inexpensive way to spend a few hours. I'd recommend it of you haven't been before. Honestly though, I probably won't be back for a while. I know my next experience won't change drastically, and there's only a handful of games I actually enjoyed playing. read more

Asheville Retrocade - The downstairs section of the arcade. - Arcades Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

This place is pretty neat overall, but my experience was just OK. Went with some friends while we were all in town for a wedding, none of us are from AVL. Drinks were acceptable but nothing super special. There were a lot of cool old games, which gave the place a retro feel. They also have some super rudimentary nachos, pizza, etc. available, but I would say they are equivalent to what you'd find at a gas station, so don't go here if you haven't eaten first. I'm not super into playing games, but I did have a good time with air hockey and Skee-ball. I was disappointed that the claw machine was broken/out-of-order because those machines are classic! Since I don't really play arcade games but the place looked neat, I wanted to take some photos with some of the old games.... but some guy (a regular? an employee hanging out after their shift?) was super unfriendly about me doing so. He accused me of sitting on the games (excuse me?!). I am flexible and was holding my leg up in a funky position so that we could take a panoramic photo with me in the shot multiple times in different positions, but I was actually not even touching the game. When I told him that, he actually changed positions so he could look between myself and the game to verify that I wasn't. LOL. I had been making the best of a place I wouldn't normally go and having fun, and that guy just completely harshed my mellow. What could have been a really cool photo, the highlight of my evening, and some good marketing for the bar, plus a good experience and a good review for me, was definitely diminished by this dude's crappy vibes. Whether he's a regular or an employee-- management should tell him to chill out. I felt thoroughly uninspired to spend any more money at the establishment after that interaction. Bummer for everyone. Except maybe the grumpy guy who continued to play games for the next hour without making a purchase. read more

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This was a very fun place to go to. This place had many pinball game machines, back in the day arcade games, different video game systems hooked up to TVs, sports on the television, music playing, ski ball, air hockey, and other shooting arcade games. There was games in an upstairs area and downstairs. The bar was upstairs and I drank local hi-wire tart cherry cider while my husband drank craft beer. You can't beat paying $10 each for all day game play read more

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Yet another birthday during COVID. After last year's complete seclusion, we weren't going to let social distancing get in the way of our celebrations this time. Since most venues for parties are closed (whether temporarily or permanently), we decided to take the family to the Asheville Retro Arcade off Haywood for my son's 12th birthday. I happened to stumble across this place while picking up food from Asheville Sandwich Company (next door), and I'm ever so glad that I did. We arrived on a Tuesday afternoon around 2:00 pm. Upon entry, the staff (wearing face masks) checked our temperature. The cost was $10 per person, for unlimited game play, for as long as we wanted to be there. The games (mostly arcade and pinball machines) were spread across two floors. Remember when you use to visit your local pizza establishment as a kid, and you had to pay like $1.50 to drive one race on that "Cruisin'" game? Or a game of pinball that lasted 30 seconds because all 3 balls went straight down the center of the flappers? Then you had to go back to your mom and ask for more quarters? Now, you can play that pixelated race game and that frustrating pinball game until your hearts content, and until you have finally conquered your teenage goals. This legitimately took me back to the 1990's and I haven't had that much fun since, well, the 1990's. You honestly cannot beat the price of $10/head for unlimited game play on "old school" arcade games. It was incredibly nostalgic for we parents, while our kiddos got to enjoy jumping from game to game. Were they playing their favorite games; such as Roblox, MineCraft, or whatever new game has our children comatose 90% of the day? Nope. But that's kinda the whole point. It gave them the chance to see what we considered "games" on our time, lol. I'm assuming the time and day we went factored into the enormous amount of space we had from other patrons (there were very few other customers), but we felt very safe from germs. My only real complaint was the lack of hand sanitizer available. There must've been 15 hand sanitizer stations throughout the establishment; all were empty. We did stumble upon sanitizer wipes down stairs, so that was beneficial. Restrooms are open, but I'm not able to attest to the cleanliness as I did not use them while there. They also have a smoking area with a foosball table downstairs. I definitely recommend this place for a kid gathering, because it's secretly for adults. Shhhh... don't tell them. read more

Asheville Retrocade - Outside the front entrance - Arcades Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

Visiting from out of town, this was our first stop after a long drive. Great spot to stretch our legs and relax. $10 to get in (Thursday). Open air arcade. Great for all ages and abilities (even saw a wheelchair customer in there as we left) - though, my 6yo didn't know how to play most of the games. My teens enjoyed playing real pinball for the first time ever, and took advantage of the "free play" arcade (also their first time where they didn't have to pay for each play, and budget their tokens). Masking required still, plenty of hand sanitizer and wipes should you want to use them. Bathrooms were cleanish, bar had drinks and food but we didn't get any. Parking was terrible but such is life in west Asheville. Finally found a street spot. Not their fault. We stayed about 2 hours, and that was plenty. Great spot, will come back. read more

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On a rainy Friday morning it was certainly bustling but had virtually no wait getting on machines - and all but one pinball machine was working! Terrific value, lots of fun. read more

Can't beat a deal of only $10 for unlimited play at any and all games! They had all the classic arcade games like dance dance revolution, air hockey, skee ball, street fighter, soul caliber, etc. They also have a whole wall of different pinball machines! We came as a group of 5 so it was nice that they also had multiplayer games like pacman battle royale and killer queen. It wasn't too crowded when we went around 10 pm and were able to play everything we wanted without having to wait for our turns for too long. The only thing we really had to wait for was dance dance revolution but we just played other games until the group that was there left so it wasnt bad. We ended up staying for around 2 hours and were thoroughly entertained the whole time read more

I'm a 69 yo woman who has never been into gaming but I found SO MUCH FUN at RETROCADE when my family got together there for my 13 yo grandson's birthday party !!! And if I hadn't retired from drinking alcohol the availability of adult beverages would have been the good gravy on the chicken fried steak !! read more

This place was very fun. They had an excellent selection of old pinball machines. The sit down console games at the bar was a nice break from the standing. They did have quite a few broken games but honestly that's to be expected with so many old machines. read more

Awesome gaming place! $10 play as much as you want. No tickets for stupid trash toys. Good variety of games. Staff is super friendly. Can leave and come back. Our kids love it here. They have some food options and lots of adult beverages. good selection of local beer. Several food options nearby. Parking is find what you can on the street. read more

Asheville Retrocade - Arcades Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

I have been here several times, and even hosted a team-building work event here. Definitely my favorite bar in Asheville, since I am a massive geek. Plenty of old-school games to choose from, DDR, pool, air hockey, and even new console games! I've been meaning to check out Anime night and go to a Mario Kart tournament! $10 for unlimited play, ya can't beat that!! read more

Asheville Retrocade - They even have wild Pokémon there! - Arcades Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

$10 for an all you can play nostalgic blast to the past!! This place has all those classic Sega games you forgot about and a full service bar with snacks. They also have all the modern games as well hooked up to big screens at the bar! Smokers/vapers head downstairs and to the patio out back to play some foosball and getcho nicotine fix in!! We frequent this place and it is family friendly! Parking is the only challenge but the walk is enjoyable! read more

This was a fun wait to spend an afternoon with my kids. The place is a little cramped, and some video games on the bottom floor definitely do not work, as well as one pinball game on the top floor. I love that it had an outdoor area out back where you could step out; I needed to take an important phone call while I was there, and it is very loud inside so this was helpful. I had a huge selection of pinball games. read more

Had so much fun here lost track of time. Arm really hurt the next day from all the games

I love this place! Retrocade has tons of different video games (and games) from all the decades. You pay $10 for a wrist band that is good for entry into the Retrocade and endless games for a day. This is awesome because you can hang out for an hour or two, leave to eat lunch and come back to play some more. They also have local craft beer (of course), soda and some snacks like Hot Pockets and corndogs (things that can be warmed in the microwave). Some of the games that they have include skeeball, air hockey, pinball, Dance, Dance Revolution, Mortal Kombat, Super Mario Brothers, car racing games, golfing and other sports games, Pac Man, Burger Time, Galaga, and of course they have the new consoles with giant screens to play the new games on. The Retrocade is two stories with many games and the bar upstairs and games and bathroom down stairs. Both the upstairs and downstairs have patios as well to get some fresh air and relax. I really wish that they had a locals day that was like $3 or $5 though because I would go much, much more often. This is a great place for adults and kids but I don't go very often because of the $10 cover and I usually want a drink but don't stay for more than an hour.... read more

For just ten dollars you can play as many retro video games as you want! They have two floors of video games and a bar for drinks and food. Highly recommended! read more

I had the best time here the first time so I came back the next night. Shoutout to Jordan and Sarah. It's such a fun place and such reasonable prices. We felt very safe. Entry is $10 but you can play all you want. We played Mario kart for hours and a little dance dance revolution. Also, the draft beers are around $5 and that's a steal for local craft beer! read more

Asheville Retrocade - Menu - Arcades Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

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I WANT THIS PLACE IN MY CITY! My wife and I had so much fun visiting the Retrocade. It was located perfectly: about a quarter of a mile walking distance from our Airbnb, and one of the few places in West Asheville that stays open until 2am for 7 days a week. They have a great selction of vintage arcades to suit most people's needs, as well as some "arcade boxes" from which you can choose some of your favorite 8-bit classics. You simply cannot beat unlimited games for $10/day. My favorite parts were reliving my love for fighting games (Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat 1 and 2, Tekken 3 and 5, Soul Calibur 3) and their selection of pinball games (Star Wars, Austin Powers 2, Buck Rogers, Robocop, to name a few). We even played a little air hockey and driving games downstairs. Their beer selection was solid and we appreciated being able to bring our dinner inside. My only feedback would be to have better maintenance. Some of the machines were showing serious signs of wear and tear, others didn't even work properly--mainly on the pinball side. Other than that, this place was a riot! read more

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