The beauty of old arcade games was in their simplicity: the only objective was to get a high score or play through the game in as few tokens as possible, and have fun doing it. I recognize that one of the novelties of the now-extinct arcades was that you could play games that were not available at home, and with the innovation of better technology, most games can be streamed instantly to a home console.
But at some point between my adolescence and adulthood, Chuck E. Cheese and all similar “children’s arcades” turned into nothing more than thinly veiled casinos for kids. Nearly every game in the place is only about winning as many tickets as possible, in order to cash them in for (let’s be honest) cheap junk. Any prize that would be worth owning would cost you a fraction at your local retailer when compared to what you would spend in tokens to win enough tickets. At first I thought it was a marketing ploy to get kids to plunk in more tokens, but after seeing the game pictured above, I have come to realize that it is something much more sinister—a partnership between arcade operators and the casino industry.
That picture is obviously a roulette wheel for kids. But why stop there? I’m sure casino owners could crank out kid-versions of video poker, slots, and blackjack tables. And as long as they pay out in tickets instead of cash, it’s ok, right? I personally would prefer they drop all pretenses and start paying out quarters. The current setup is analogous to a real casino paying out solely in vouchers to the hotel gift shop.