Arcades are something that, as someone who works in the video game industry, always peak my interest. While in Krakow recently with my co-workers from my day job, we all had to check out the Krakow Arcade Museum (Muzeum Gier Wideo in Polish), which is the largest arcade in all of the country with a total of 150 machines there – a huge collection. As this place did have the name of Museum in it but also said it was an interactive arcade, I was curious as to what it would be like. Museums in my mind are often containing things behind glass, that you can only really look at and learn about.
The Krakow Arcade Museum actually is a massive arcade, with tons of machines from the 80s and 90s, that you can just go and play. There isn’t a sort of enter money into each of the machines, and instead the entry fee covers the price of playing all of the games for as long as you want, really. When we went, this place was packed; machines everywhere, in lines, that seemed to go on forever. There are a lot of classic arcade machines like Space Invader and Pac-Man, as well as newer machines like Guitar Heroes. There were also machines I had never seen before; a large arcade machine four people could sit at, with huge bullet hell style fights and a gun game where you can blast a bunch of hills on a table to move a ball around, just to name a few.
Seeing all of these arcade machines at the Krakow Arcade Museum was pretty cool! There were just so many things to play. The arcade had a large amount of pinball machines as well, and many machines you could sit at. The place did not feel much like a museum at all, though there were signs here and there that told you a little bit about a specific machine or about the museum. One wall at the start contained a bunch of photos and information about arcades, but apart from that, it seemed to mainly just be an arcade where you could play as much as you want!
There were also tables that you could sit at and get some drinks and chocolate bars to munch on. There was also a small gift shop with general gaming merch in it, and a coat area where you can hang up your coat and bag if you feel comfortable. The Krakow Arcade Museum is a really great sized arcade if you are looking for a fun place to spend a few hours and love arcade machines! The collection is very vast and well taken care of, which is always great to see.
You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!
Wow I bet this was an amazing place to visit, with lots of nostalga and memories of years ago
Oooh arcades were so popular when I was younger. I loved them! Sadly they aren’t too many around here anymore. This is such a cool place to discover and check out. It’s a total blast from the past 😀
The museum seems awesome! I love museums, there is so much to learn and they’re fun. I can’t wait to visit this one.
This is such a fun place. I used to visit such places at university but then I became busy with my job. It would be nice to visit from time to time.
Places like this bring a lot of fun memories! Too bad there aren’t many in my neighborhood anymore.
Krakow Arcade Museum looks brilliant, my husband loves arcades and I know he would enjoy a visit here