Player 1 Up

I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything new on this blog. I've been picking up games here and there and still playing said games into the wee hours of the night, however I've just had a creative block when it comes to posting new content.

However I recently had a chance to (finally) visit a new "barcade" that moved into downtown Rock Hill, SC, Player 1 Up. I took several pictures while I was there because I thought it could make a good blog post.

While I'm not a drinker, I do love playing arcade games so when I heard this establishment was moving into my hometown I was super excited. I kept peeking through the door before they opened so I could see some of the cabinets they had. It was like a kid on Christmas Eve, anxiously awaiting for the next morning. I had hoped to go to their grand opening, but kids aren't allowed and I couldn't find anyone to watch my girls. I was OK with staying home because (for now) the place is rather small and on opening night it was jammed packed with people. Small space, lots of people = hot, not fun.

A few weeks after the opening my wife and I finally got a "date night" and we headed downtown for dinner and some fun. While we initially thought about grabbing some food at Player 1 Up, neither of us wanted to settle for bar food so we hit up favorite place of ours right on Main Street instead. Afterwards we made the short walk to Player 1 Up, paid our $5 cover charge at the door and then walked around, trying to decide which game we wanted to play first.

I was impressed with the variety of games. They had some older games like Dig Dug (that's my wife playing), Asteroids, Frogger, Donkey Kong and more. They had some great beat 'em ups like the TMNT arcade game, P.O.W., and Bad Dudes. Great fighting games like Primal Rage, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat II. My wife and I first tackled the TMNT game and played it through completion. Why not since they were all on free play?

The whole bar was decorated with video game related content - from posters, banners and even old video game marquees mounted around the top of the bar. Many of the sports game (like NFL Blitz) proved to be really popular later that evening.

I eventually made my way to the other side of the bar and I found Bad Dudes tucked away in the corner. Man I lost so many quarters to this game back in the day. While it's not the best beat 'em up (too bad they didn't have Double Dragon!) I did have fun working my way through the game.

The "upper level" of the bar housed 5 great pinball machines. I love pinball...I mean love pinball. My wife took me to the Pinball Hall of Fame in Asheville, NC and I was in heaven. I was glad to see that Player 1 Up had some great tables too, such as the classic Pinbot!

My personal favorite of the tables was Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast. I had not seen or played this table before and it was great. Jurassic Park was to the left and it was pretty awesome too.

Near the pinball tables was a dining area with some tables and chairs. Several posters from the era adorned the walls in this area, along with a projection screen. As the night wore on this place got more and more crowded. Again, since I'm not a drinker my wife and I only hung around for a few hours before we ended up calling it an evening. I should mention they have a little outdoor patio section where they have ping pong tables and corn hole. 

Overall I'm really impressed with the bar and I look forward to some of the future changes I've seen mentioned on their Facebook page. Since my initial visit I saw they brought in the awesome Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder. I'll go back just to play that game again! If you're in the Rock Hill area you owe it to yourself to drive to downtown and check out Player 1 Up.