A tabletop arcade game brings you back to your childhood or teenage years when you could enjoy playing games at the arcade or from the comfort of your home or man cave arcade. Retro or vintage games are making a comeback. Classic games such as Space Invaders, Star Wars, Pac-Man, Centipede, and others are found in “bar arcades” across the country.
A tabletop arcade game differs from its fuller counterparts, as it’s a smaller version of the full arcade. It can be used on a table or flat surfaces. Plus, it’s played seated as opposed to standing up.
A tabletop arcade machine has several arcade games – sometimes one can contain over 1,000 – although small ones usually just have about five or so. The themes are generally the same – vintage, fun, and iconic.
These machines are also like full-sized models, as they have a four-way joystick, track balls, old-school cabinets, and large buttons.
Here are a few of the most recommended tabletop games for your man cave:
Golden Security Mini Arcade
Users can play 156 SEGA games! That includes one of the most popular games, Street Fighter! Some other great games that come with it are Mortal Kombat, and Tekken!
While the photo above looks like a true-sized machine please note that this machine is a handheld device. But that means that you can take it on the road anywhere! Also because of its size, it is very budget-friendly.
If you want to get serious you can connect it to your tv to enlarge your view.
The cons are that the arcade machine is small but at this price, there is a lot of value!
Doc & Pies Arcade Factory
Doc & Pies has made a great replica of the sit-down Pac-Man machine but they have added 60 plus retro games to it!
Here are some of the top-named games that I remember playing:
- Pac-Man
- Centipede
- Donkey Kong
- Ms. Pacman
- Frogger
- Galaga
- Dig Dug
Those are just to name a few. The best part of these games is that they can cross generations because they are so easy to play. I can play with my nephew who is just starting to game. There are some reviews that mention this fact!
Two negatives are the size and the cost. You will need a bit of space to get this arcade machine situated. Not too much but it depends on your living space.
Total dimensions: 29 inches tall x 23 inches wide x 32 inches deep
This is the most expensive of the arcade systems but this is definitely a conversation and party starter! If you have the space this will look beautiful in your man cave arcade! Plus, not only can you game with it but it also works as a table for your drinks and nachos.
Arcade 1UP Counter-Cade
This Pacman machine is not like the one above. This is for people that need a smaller machine, one that can fit anywhere even on your counter! ( it took me a while to understand the name!)
Arcade1Up provides 4 games for this system and they come fully installed. So it is ready to play right out of the box! It has an 8” color LCD screen and comes equipped with true-to-size arcade controllers. Appearance-wise, it looks like the actual arcade machine without the cabinet. As for the actual size, it is quite compact.
Dimensions: 13 inches wide x 18.5 inches high x 12.6 inches deep
The only con is that the system is small, and some customers wished that it had a larger screen. Other than that, most people were quite pleased with it and enjoyed it immensely.
This system comes with the following games:
- Pac-Man
- Pac-Mania
- Galaga
- Galaxian
Check out the link above to see some of the positive reviews.
Classic Retro Game Console
This throwback game console is designed to look like the original NES or Nintendo. It comes with 327 video games that don’t need to be blown into if they stop working…..If you get that reference then you are around my age!
This is a little different than the arcade systems above as it hooks up directly to your tv so that you can have a nice view of the games you are playing. So it is nice a portable and can be hooked up to your big screen in your man cave arcade. The price isn’t too bad as well.
Here are some of the popular games:
- Super Mario Brothers
- Metroid
- Zelda
- Contra
- Donkey Kong
Some cons:
- Not a true arcade system and you will need to connect it to your tv. But if you design it right it could look very retro in your man cave! It
- Does not support HDMI, it uses AV cable (red, yellow, and white cables)
- Also, just a warning that these games still have graphics from the 80s and 90s. Do not expect the games to look like today’s games!
Man Cave Arcade Summary
Whatever style of arcade system you choose for your man cave arcade the games will bring you back to your younger days and provide a lot of time for having fun with them. They can even bridge that generation gap for gamers which means the whole family can have fun!