Arcadecraft Review, Hints, and Tips

Arcadecraft is an independent game from Firebase Industries for sale on Xbox Arcade for 240 MSP (roughly $3.) The game stars you as an up and coming classic arcade owner set in the golden age for coin operated video games, the 1980’s. You start off with a rather run down and dumpy building and start collecting arcade machines. You can customize your arcade a little bit, choosing what color the floor, support beams, and lights you have. The more interesting decoration is the wall design behind your register, with grapics such as penguins, aliens, gorrillas, and spaceships. To keep advancing in the game and collect more arcade machines, you need to upgrade the buildings power supply, maxing out at 30 machines at once.

Arcadecraft is a fun game, worth the MSP to run your own little arcade shop. A clever minor thing in the game is the layout popularity. Depending on how you place your machines, your arcade will either gain or lose popularity. Anyone who has been to an arcade will likely know what to do; put machines against the wall or stick two machines back to back.

A little more variety in things to do would be nice, after you really get things going, you spend most of the time emptying the coin slots, repairing broken machines, and kicking out hooligans who start hitting and kicking the machines. With 30 machines, this can become extremely hectic but not particularly challenging. The biggest improvement Firebase could add would be the ability to actually play the various machines. If they added that, Arcadecraft would certainly be worth the $60 disc price to gain a sense of nostalgia. I give Arcadecraft an 8/10

• Players- The majority of the people you’ll see in your arcade. Players like games that aren’t too expensive or too hard. It’s very important to keep them happy because they’ll keep you in business!
• Hooligans- The only real enemy in the game, they like to break as many arcade machines as they can before you boot them out, leaving you with a hefty repair bill.
• Assistant- Eventually, you’ll be able to hire an assistant. This guy is very helpful, emptying coin slots for you. It may not sound like much, but when you have about a lot of machines filling up at once, you’ll really appreciate this guy’s help.
• Pro- The gamer pro will come to you and ask to try to beat the game’s high score. He gets to play for free and the game will be unavailable until he’s done playing. If he beats the high score, your arcade gets a nice popularity boost. If he fails, then you lose out on a lot of potential money.
• Game Collector- This guy will come in and want to purchase one of your old machines for a nice price. It is best to take advantage when you need more space for newer games.

• Start slow, you don’t want to have to sell machines to meet the monthly bills or when the lease is due.
• Once you are making a decent profit, keep buying games as they come out! New games make your arcade more popular and more popularity means more money coming in.
• Keep an eye out for hooligans and kick them out as soon as possible. They like to break a machine and teleport to another one, and early on you just can’t afford to keep repairing things.
• Don’t worry about games that are unpopular, it’s usually worth it to keep them. Sometimes a collector will come along and pay a lot of money for an older machine. It’s best to sell them when you have new games to place but don’t have enough power to add anymore.
• Sometimes it’s best to just hold off buying new machines for a few months to upgrade your power supply. More power means more games on the floor, which means more coins for you!
• Don’t underestimate the money making potential of the juke box and soda machine. They won’t make the kind of money your arcade machines do, but they’re also very consistent cash. Don’t forget to check your soda machine to refill it! It runs out quick!
• The pro gamer can be hit or miss. Early on you might want to avoid letting him have the run of a machine, especially if you only have a few. Once you have a fully stocked arcade however, let him go to town. You’ll have 29 other machines making money and the popularity boost is worth the risk.
• Power outage! Hurry! Pick up and slam your machines back into the floor to restart them. If you know which games are the best money makers, go for them first, and leave your juke box and soda machine for last.