Funspot in Laconia photocollage

[Kguillemette 1,452]

Hey guys, I took a day trip to Funspot yesterday so I could grab lots of pictures of their arcade museum, also known as the "Largest Arcade in the World". It had been years since I have really gone for the experience of being there, and since I have moved to the Lakes Region of NH, I owe it to myself to stop in as often as I can. I don't consider myself to be an expert of 70s and 80s arcade cabinets, so If I have any mistakes or errors, feel free to correct me. 

First offThis is the greeting you get when walking in the entrance from the top floor. A full row of SNK cabinets and a poster of the infamous Billy Mitchell. 

Of course there is a Neo-Geo multi unit also. I used to feel so cool playing one of these as a kid.

 

At the end of the first row of SNK games, there is this massive pinball table next to a really old pinball game. There's also a beautiful colicovision and Adam Computer collection all pristine in a glass case(I forgot to grab a photo. Next time, I promise!)

On the opposite side is a working Computer Space, the first commercial arcade unit ever!

Entire row of Universal cabinets that leads into the main room.

What?! Snap Jack is out of order?! That's the only reason I came here! Just Kidding. There were a handful of cabinets out of order, but not many. Certainly less than 10. I suppose a collection like this requires some maintenece from time to time.

Its really hard to put into words how full their main room is. Each row is organized by developer they best they could do. I felt like I walked into a time warp to 1987 going through this threshold. They had some 80s classics like Hall and Oats and Phil Collins playing in the background. It's an incredible feeling walking in here.

Full row of Pac-Man variants. You'll note the pink stickers above some of the cabinets. These are donations to the museum and note who the cabinet was donated by.

The row leading to their Nintendo Collection.

I have to resize some photos to upload them, so I'll be back with photos of the rest of my trip later!

[Kguillemette 1,452]

If I am not mistaken, actual world records have been recorded on that DK Jr. Remember when the PlayChoice-10 was the only way to play Mario 3?! There was also a Mario Bros and Vs Super Mario Bros, but those were in use and I avoiding photographing people when possible.

Your Space Shooter staples. R-Type and R-Type3 are right behind these.

Some real oldies here. They were one of the few that were out of order. Now I need to try them for posterity sake!

Some Konami

THE Konami game!

[MegaMan52 2,240]

Looking at these pictures makes me want to watch King of Kong again.

[Kguillemette 1,452]

You saw a row of 80s pinball on the first post, there were a couple of single tier 70s ones too!

My dad would never leave were he to join me today. Those 70s single tier pinball were an Achilles heel for stealing his attention. In fact I remember coming across just one on a beach trip back in my childhood. My mom was so pissed after he spent 2 hours in front of it. "It's okay, honey! I'm still on my first quarter!" Yeah. Like that's what she was pissed about...

Some of my personal favorites. I'll be coming back for these for sure!

That OG pong needs its screen calibrated. Any CRT experts here bothered by that and can fix it?! I guess Pong Doubles will have to do.

[Kguillemette 1,452]

Now the Arcade is 3 stories tall. The top floor(the one most of us came to see is all I've shown so far. Did I mention there is indoor mini golf and a 20 line bowling alley?

The Bowling Alley was pretty busy at noon. It's a nice activity for the old folks around here, I suppose.

Cool little vintage skill games. Of course there's also air hockey and skee ball in the basement. The middle floor is mostly your typical token munchies for the kids as well as a few coin op rides for toddlers. I am quite sure those were strategically placed there for this reason...

Here's some money kids! Go knock yourself out! I'll be over here for a while...

Their First and second floor, in addition to their restaurant, bowling alley and snack bar is mostly 90s themed. There are some modern ticket spitting token munchers for the kids mixed in. You can tell that the focus was on the 80s and 70s here, though. There were many notable absences of 90s classics. Like Street Fighter 2, Golden Axe, Cruisin'USA(though world was in the 80s room).

 

What can I say about this place. I could easily spend a month here every day and never get bored. There were 2 missing staples I was surprised to not see in Dragon's Lair and Marble Madness(sorry @mbd39) but if there are any photo requests for individual cabinets, Ill be happy to take one and post it next time I'm there(and if I want to embarrass myself, post my high scores.. ) I hope you all get a chance to come here at some point. It's an awesome way to spend a relaxing day of a Lakes Region of NH vacation(or if your jet skiing and parasailing  adventure got rained out.)

[Link 2,480]

Amazing! Thank you for sharing! 

I recently saw a lock-picking arcade machine. Not a video game. You have to turn a physical knob back and forth at the right moments. I could not get the hang of it, but it was very interesting to see.

[Kguillemette 1,452]

2 hours ago, Link said:

Amazing! Thank you for sharing! 

I recently saw a lock-picking arcade machine. Not a video game. You have to turn a physical knob back and forth at the right moments. I could not get the hang of it, but it was very interesting to see.

Thanks!

Was it a prize machine? Like your reward for picking the lock is thousands of tickets or gift cards or the like?

[Link 2,480]

I called the place to find out what the game is called. Open the Safe. And yes, if you win, there's a token inside. 

The cabinet at that link looks really nice. I don't remember it being like that, just the front interface. It might have been damaged, but it was also in a dark corner and I didn't spend much time with it. 

[Link 2,480]

As usual, it takes an hour or two for the old computer (aka my memory) to warm up. The Open the Safe machine at Morristown Game Vault does indeed have intact side art.

Edited January 27, 2022 by Link

[DefaultGen 5,132]

I was let down a bit by the condition of Funspot's games (I preferred the spotlessly maintained nearby Pinball Wizard, RIP) but they have so many very rare and unique games it's a must visit at least once. There's a whole section of black and white arcade games. Death Race, Sprint 2, Atari Football, Breakout, Tank, Indy 4, Night Driver... Where are you ever going to play those?? Your local city barcade it never going to get a Computer Space cabinet! When I was there they had the only working motion cockpit Outrun and Space Harrier cabinets I'd ever played which was really memorable too. It's a true bastion of video game history and the whole time you're just like "People are just coming here bowling and for ticket games, do they realize what's right next to them??".

[Kguillemette 1,452]

4 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

I was let down a bit by the condition of Funspot's games (I preferred the spotlessly maintained nearby Pinball Wizard, RIP) but they have so many very rare and unique games it's a must visit at least once. There's a whole section of black and white arcade games. Death Race, Sprint 2, Atari Football, Breakout, Tank, Indy 4, Night Driver... Where are you ever going to play those?? Your local city barcade it never going to get a Computer Space cabinet! When I was there they had the only working motion cockpit Outrun and Space Harrier cabinets I'd ever played which was really memorable too. It's a true bastion of video game history and the whole time you're just like "People are just coming here bowling and for ticket games, do they realize what's right next to them??".

Sadly both of those were down. Perhaps there were some overly aggressive teenagers or bikers past the weight limit ruined it...

[GPX 1,291]

This really is a nostalgic trip. Thanks @Kguillemette!

One of my very last memories of being in an actual arcade place (and actually playing) was around the time when DDR was popular. Around 25 years ago? Have played some arcade action in small shops here and there, but that feeling being in a huge room with so many arcade machines is pretty special. 

I suddenly feel the urge to stand and tap on some buttons..

[NostalgicMachine 154]

Excellent pictures! As mentioned in previous threads, I'm also very close to FunSpot (about 45 mins). The top floor is a thing of pure magic. I need to go back there ASAP! Such a perfect winter day activity. Even just a $20 in the coin machine, and I'm in heaven.

[GharetSaiDe 71]

I was just talking to my wife about this yesterday wondering if Fun Spot was still around. Grew up in new hampshire until I was nearly 30 and I only went a couple of times because it was pretty far from where I lived. I really want to go back this year when I visit family in NH and it makes me super happy to see its still around!

[LeatherRebel5150 1,010]

My first girlfriend in high school had family that owned a gunshop not far from there. While staying with them, they brought me there for the first time. Pure magic. Took a trip a few years later with the next (and current) girlfriend to Mt. Washington in 2013 and made it a point to go there. I was surprised how much she seemed to enjoy it. I have pictures of us playing that Hercules Pinball. Funfact the ball in that is a pool cue ball. We’re due to return to Mt. Washington in 2023 I look forward to stopping by Funspot again on that trip

[shindo 2]

What a fantastic trip through Funspot! Thanks for this. Quality stuff! 

[NostalgicMachine 154]

On 1/27/2022 at 11:44 AM, GharetSaiDe said:

I was just talking to my wife about this yesterday wondering if Fun Spot was still around. Grew up in new hampshire until I was nearly 30 and I only went a couple of times because it was pretty far from where I lived. I really want to go back this year when I visit family in NH and it makes me super happy to see its still around!

Out of curiosity, where in NH did you grow up? I moved to NH when I was 14, been here ever since (just turned 34)!

FunSpot rules; my family would go for summer vacation when we lived down in MA.

[GharetSaiDe 71]

On 1/28/2022 at 10:21 AM, Van Jackson said:

Out of curiosity, where in NH did you grow up? I moved to NH when I was 14, been here ever since (just turned 34)!

FunSpot rules; my family would go for summer vacation when we lived down in MA.

Grew up in Milford and moved around to a few different towns before finally leaving. Always thought of it as a pretty small town (I mean, it is) but I was back there recently and really it's quite a lot more developed downtown than I remembered. Where'd you move to NH from? I'm a west coast guy these days

[Kguillemette 1,452]

7 hours ago, GharetSaiDe said:

Grew up in Milford and moved around to a few different towns before finally leaving. Always thought of it as a pretty small town (I mean, it is) but I was back there recently and really it's quite a lot more developed downtown than I remembered. Where'd you move to NH from? I'm a west coast guy these days

Small world. I lived in Milford the past year before moving up to Belmont. I worked at a little breakfast place called The Riverhouse Cafe right on the oval. We lived walking distance from the oval so it made things like going to pumpkin fest extra fun! Beautiful little town! 

[NostalgicMachine 154]

14 hours ago, GharetSaiDe said:

Grew up in Milford and moved around to a few different towns before finally leaving. Always thought of it as a pretty small town (I mean, it is) but I was back there recently and really it's quite a lot more developed downtown than I remembered. Where'd you move to NH from? I'm a west coast guy these days

Nice! I'm from the north shore of Boston; born in Salem, grew up in Peabody until age 14. Then moved to NH about 3 months into freshman year of high school.