The Bay Arcade

The only thing missing from this archaic arcade is a front man in a zoot suit enticing patrons to step right up and try their luck at one of the many antique games of chance. The odds are good that you may finally win that rubber duck, a tattooing kit, a wooden top, an egg of silly putty, that decoder ring you lost decades ago or one of the many stuffed animals with dry rotting seams, so fill your pockets with tokens, the odds are in your favor it’s just a matter of how much you want to spend. The metal tokens are design to keep your mind off the value here and if you forget it’s not real money just flip the token over and see «no value» so proudly embossed on each worthless round of metal. I’ve never been able to figure out are the profits coming from the sell of the worthless tokens that most of us still own from years ago still in the junk drawer at home with little appreciation or from the prizes that have been collecting dust for decades, any hoot it doesn’t matter why you’re here Zoltar has been patiently waiting for your return.
This place is as timeless as of all of us who can’t resist doing a walk through and the temptation is as strong today as it ever was. It’s amazing as I strolled through I noticed a few dads showing their kids how good they were at these games when they were kids and their kids are looking at them as if to say «who cares this is a stupid game dad» can we go home and play Xbox. It’s good these museums of a sorts still exist and are somewhat operational most of the time, hopefully they’ll always be around to remind us there was a time when it took much less of a stimulant to make us smile, oh I almost forgot I smashed a penny here and just put it in our junk drawer at home next to my unused tokens :-)

Every time I pass here I want to grab a random person and challenge them to skiball. It is almost always filled with kids having a blast. There are not many arcades that can make it in today’s world, let alone with the real estate prices on Balboa. It is a blessing that this continues to operate and I appreciate it each time I walk by.
It is a step back to a simpler time, and it is truly a treasure.

Has some old school games like skee ball and then newer arcade games. I went for the skee ball and had a great time except because they are old games mine kept taking tokens and not releasing balls which was a bummer but I got reimbursed for any tokens I lost. All-​in-​all a fun little place right along the water of the marina.

So the prizes are terrible, but when the games are working, they’re fun. A blast from the past.
Classic arcades just aren’t around anymore.
We ended up winning 200 tickets on one game, and 10 on another. Went to see what we could «get,» and it would have been a few pieces of candy. I ended up giving our tickets to a family who would appreciate them more than us.
Nevertheless, want a quick competitive game of skeeball? Or a round of deal or no deal? This is your stop.

This place is super fun! But — a ton of the games are broken or shoddy. For example, while the air hockey table was old and kind of sucked, we were enjoying playing but then (I swear, right as I was about to make my comeback) it just shut off and stopped working. That is really the only reason this is getting three stars. We had a great time playing a mix of older and new (ish) games… if they did a little maintenance on this place it’d easily be a four or five star arcade!

Firsties!!! Wow for my 100^th review, I have chosen something truly special to me. So many memories in this place… I have been coming here since I was an itty bitty kid with curls in my hair and big old smile on my face. This is where I learned to play skee-​ball. This is where I honed my skills so that I could put every boyfriend I have ever had to shame. This is where I learned the heirarchy of the poker hand… rolling those little blue rubber balls down the table… desperately trying to make some sort of full house.
As the games got more advanced, they brought new ones in. Tekken Tag, Racing games, basketball hoops… the changes I have seen. This weekend I even noticed that they have added an arcade version of Guitar Hero (conveniently at the front entrance of the arcade which is conducive to people standing and watching you try to play Cliffs of Dover which in turn makes Stephanie horribly nervous and start shaking while she tries desperately not to miss a note).
The sound of toddlers and adults racking up the points throwing dented wooden balls down faded red alleys… the way the machines spit out those tickets as if it is disgusted with your success… and the feeling of pride as you take your paper pile of earnings, each little note proving your gaming superiority, to the prize counter to select some well deserved token of your work. I used to save all summer to get the best prize I could earn… I once even got my Mom a new coffee maker, I still remember the day I gave it to her.
No matter how many new games they put into this place, no matter what new fighting game, racing game or sports game comes out, I will always come to the Bay Arcade for the classics. If you ever find yourself shoulder to shoulder with me at the skee-​ball machines, feel free to ask me for a dime, I guarantee that I have a whole roll just wating for my favorite game in the place. Tucked away like an ancient relic in a see of flashy new technology, 10 cents will still buy you a go and maybe even a few pieces of candy.