Excellent Barcades in the US Where You Can Grab a Drink & Play Games

1 Up Arcade

Plattsburgh, NY

While you’re in Plattsburgh, check out these other places to eat and drink.
Or search for the collection of murals throughout the city.

Arcade Odyssey

Miami, FL

My husband and I have taken the drive from New York to Miami multiple times now. Yes, people think we are crazy. But we love the long car rides because we discover such cool places that we would have never visited otherwise. Like Arcade Odyssey, the awesome barcade in Miami.

Arcade Odyssey is open 7 days a week, welcoming gamers of all ages with no cover charge since 2011. Charge for the games is done using a card system that can be reloaded at kiosks throughout the arcade. This barcade has more games inside than any of the others mentioned in this list. And you can view them all online to see which ones they are.

On top of the great selection of games, they also have impressive food and drink options. There are over 60 different craft beers and ciders, more than a dozen different sakes, bubble teas, smoothies, and more. Plus there are a variety of snacks and Japanese-inspired appetizers.

Barcade

Philadelphia, PA

There are so many reasons to love Philadelphia. The incredibly history that built our country. The grand events at the convention center. Reading Terminal Market. And on my last visit, we discovered a fantastic barcade. Aptly named… Barcade.

Over 50 pinball and arcade games spread across two floors in the industrial-style bar. Barcade has an impressive selection of craft beers to enjoy while playing games.

Three Lives Bar

Syracuse, NY

If you ask its owner, Jon Page, about Three Lives Bar, he wouldn’t call it a barcade. He hates that term. He prefers an arcade bar – clearly distinguishing the two ventures. But still, I think it’s a pretty awesome barcade, even if it is of the smallest barcades in the US.

Located in Armory Square in Syracuse, NY, Three Lives Bar opened in August 2020. The name, Three Lives, is reminiscent of the three aspects of the business: food, drinks, and games. It also pays homage to the traditional three lives players get at the start of classic video games.

Inside the bar you’ll find a rotating array of arcade games, as well as TVs lining the walls. Some of the TVs stream Twitch players, while others are connected to consoles that guests can play on. The menu features game-themed foods like “nintendies” alongside tots and smash burgers. As for the cocktails? There are elixirs, potions, tinctures… or you can roll for a shot using a D-20 die. Whatever you roll will determine which one of twenty different creatively-themed shots you get to drink.

Peabody Heights Brewery

Baltimore, MD

Baltimore is my home away from home. I visit so often, it truly feels like it. So I can’t believe it’s taken so long for me to discover the incredible place that Peabody Heights Brewery is. Who doesn’t love a craft brewery making great brews in an historic area? Who has a full barcade inside, hosts unique events, and has great customer service?

Peabody Heights pays homage to their location, with murals and memorabilia of Old Oriole Park all throughout the taproom. There’s even a mural depicting the final game held at the stadium. And I was shocked to learn that it was against Syracuse! I have to admit I was proud to see that Syracuse won that final game 11-4 on July 3, 1944.

When we visited, there was a bustling plant swap filling tables in every corner of the brewery. I asked – it happens every month on the third Sunday. The bar serves a wide range of beers brewed on site in addition to mead from Charm City Meadworks. Outside is a fixed food truck serving smash burgers.

And the entire place is dog-friendly. Indoor. Outdoor. Even in the arcade.

The Dugout Arcade

There’s not just one – but two arcades within Peabody Heights. The first one is your standard arcade, featuring a handful of machines where you pay as you go. That’s fine and all, but the true joy comes in when you visit the Dugout Arcade. For just $12 on weekdays and $15 on weekends, you can enjoy unlimited play for the entire day at the nearly 50 arcade games. There are true classics like Centipede and Tapper. A half dozen pinball machines. Several fighters and racing games. Plus a wide variety of “keep the beat” games including DDR and some Japanese systems.

There’s a bar inside, but it isn’t always staffed. So just pop back out to the main bar and grab a drink to bring back to the game room.

The Playhouse // Swillburger

Rochester, NY

One of my favorite places to go in Rochester? The Playhouse // Swillburger. It’s the perfect centerpiece for a city filled with places for gamers to enjoy. The two-story barcade opened its doors in 2015 inside one of Rochester’s historic churches. The Playhouse features over 30 classic arcade games and pinball machines. There’s even skeeball and basketball games. Visitors can exchange dollar bills for tokens, each costing 25 cents. All of the games cost between 2 and 4 tokens to play.

The bar is impressive, both in its design and in its offerings. Colorful cubes holding bottles of liquor fill the two-story tall wall behind the bar. Seasonal craft cocktails add to the rotating beer and wine options available.

But there’s more than food and games at The Playhouse. Inside the barcade you’ll find Swillburger’s service counter. A modern take of the classic burger joint, Swillburger serves smashburgers alongside chicken sandwiches and grilled cheese. There are even veggie sandwiches for our vegan and vegetarian friends. And no meal is complete without their french fries or tater tots and a milkshake.

The Playhouse invites gamers of all ages, but after 10pm, the crowd is restricted to only those over 21 years old.

Roxy’s Arcade Bar

Boston, MA

Just like Baltimore, Boston is another city I visit often. Again, it’s got great history. A fantastic aquarium. Whale watching. Incredible breweries. Oh, and some of our closest friends live there too. And on one of our many trips to Boston, they introduced us to Roxy’s Arcade Bar.

If you walk into Roxy’s Grilled Cheese, you’ll notice a big commercial refrigerator door that seems a bit out-of-place. But that door has a bouncer sitting in front. Why? Because it’s the ‘secret’ entrance to Roxy’s Arcade Bar.

Inside the barcade, you’ll find a room full of arcade machines, both classic and modern. In the back there are also basketball and skeeball. Roxy’s has two bars – one in the front left and a larger one in the back. The creativity of the shelves, wall murals, and other decor is impressive. It looks like a screenshot of a classic Mario game. The drink menu is inspired by various games and other ‘nerdy’ things.