It's hard not to feel like a champion yourself, as you stand before a vintage, upright box, punching at buttons, finessing the joystick, steering your bicycle handlebars as a Paperboy, and squinting at pixelated, jerky graphics. For a generation that grew up with fancy at-home game consoles and state-of-the-art computer animation, playing these games offers a more tactile experience; as you stare into the black void (a sensation that's heightened by the arcade's dim lighting), you can think of nothing other than rounding that corner before Inky, Blinky, Pinky, or Clyde gobbles you up (those are Pac-Man villains, duh).
PS Even if you're terrible at video games, Funspot can be, well, fun. There's Ski-Ball (try caroming the ball off the side of the ramp for a better score), a bowling alley, pizza, and, let's get serious, the D.A. Long Tavern, with eight beers on tap, some wines, and a specialty drink menu. There are also fake slot machines, at which you can win tokens that, like tickets, can be exchanged for crappy gifts. (Even the employee behind the prize-collection counter, when asked what his favorite gift is, says: "I don't have one.") In addition to a zoo of stuffed animals, redeemable prizes include New York Yankees air fresheners, cups full of candy, and hair combs. Combs! Go crazy.
What you can play
Have you forgotten Frogger? Here's a partial list of the 200 classic arcade games you can play at Funspot:
• Alpine Ski
• Arkanoid
• Atari Basketball
• Donkey Kong
• Galaxian
• Gauntlet
• Jungle Hunt
• Krull
• Mr. Do!
• Ms. Pac-Man
• Star Castle
• Tetris
• Track & Field
• Vanguard
• 20+ pinball games
Go sightseeing
View pieces of video-game history
One gamer waxed nostalgic: "While many of the games at Funspot are actually boring and uninteresting to play — I'm taking to you Space Invaders, original Star Wars, Dragon's Lair, and pretty much every racing game in the place — just seeing them can be a worth the experience. Just walking by the two-person Fire Truck racing game ... brings me back to the place I played it — an arcade at Hampton Beach one summer — and the long-forgotten friends I played it with, and a flood of memories from that time."
FUNSPOT | 579 Endicott St North, Laconia NH | daily, 9 am-midnight through Labor Day | free admission; games and activities charge individually | www.funspotnh.com | 603.366.4377
