Past Times Arcade — Attraction in Liberty Township

Love this arcade hidden in Girard OH. They have plenty pinball games as well as box games. They also offer food, drinks, milkshakes, and alcohol if you desire. They do not have a huge menu, but they have plenty for what the sole purpose of the arcade is for. If you are looking for shirts, sweatshirts, or other take home funsies, they do offer this. Their sweatshirts and shirts are very comfortable. The entry fee may feel like it’s pricey, but it really isn’t as it is for all day admission. They do offer veteran and first responder discounts (10%). The staff is friendly. No outside food or drink is permitted. Now on to some specific details.

Food: the plain Jane hot dogs are 1/4lb dogs. They had a good taste to them and offer a condiment station to apply on your own. For extra condiments such as chili or cheese, there is an extra charge. The Mac n cheese bites are decent. Not too oily. They do not come with sauce, not that it is needed. The funnel cake fries were tried back in February and were just ok. They may have improved though by now. The Oreo milkshake was good, just too thick. They offer whip cream and cherries with your shake. The cherry is great. There is a cooler filled with drinks and water. If you are wanting alcohol, you will need to get that from the front where you pay for admission. They offer a small candy station of “nostalgic” candy. There is plenty of booth seating with supermarket sweep playing on the tv.

Bathrooms: there is a male and a female bathroom. They should probably consider adding more bathrooms if they continue to to gain popularity.

Smoking: they have a few smoking stands outside.

Games: plenty of old school and new games. They frown upon hoarding games. Some of the newer games they have: Harry Potter, Elton John, Labriynth, foo fighters, jaws, Toy Story. They also have box games and a few games that you do have to pay for. The pay to play games? Ducks, claw machine, bouncy ball game, candy machine. The staff is quick to repair games if something goes wrong. They do offer sanitation stations.

Pros? -Too too many good things. -Plenty of parking. -Plenty of food places around if you don’t like what they offer. -plenty of games, most in working offer -plenty of seating -games are clean -happy and fun environment -very friendly and helpful employees

Cons? -if you are looking for the latest releases of games, you will not usually find them here, BUT, they have plenty of others to offer and a few brand new games -not a fan of pay to play mixed in with the other games -not enough bathrooms

They are worth every bit of a 5/5 review!...

Updated: Still think it’s a great place to play (minus some games habitually being inop and only limited bathrooms). But we have to take a star away for the new policy of non-players needing to pay $20 to sit in the food area while other paying players in their party are enjoying the establishment.

Since it first opened we typically purchased 6 month memberships (for me) and 1 year membership (my son). My wife does not play, but she would sit in the food area, enjoy a milkshake and read a book, while we played. It was a fun weekly date night for the entire family.

During our most recent visit the new manager clearly outlined to us, “it is not only an arcade but a museum and everyone must pay.” At this visit my son and I were there to also re-purchase our 6 month passes as they expired that week. We opted not to, as my wife’s only options when joining us would be to pay $20 to sit and wait near the dining area (again, she is a non-player but always spends money in the food court), or she could not pay and sit up near the front door on a round chair with no seat back. We tried the round chair option during this visit, but it was super uncomfortable.

It would be nice if this policy was re-visited. While our business will undoubtedly not be missed by the new manager as the place is always packed, we will miss going to Past Times...

Forget Dave & Busters and experience a real arcade at Past Times: a shrine to pinball, its history and creators. This place is truly a gift to the region and those who want to make the trip out to northeast Ohio. Be prepared to discover classic machines and obscure foreign titles and to not have nearly enough hours in the day to even attempt to experience and enjoy them all.

They sell beer and allow re-entry---two very big perks for the $20 admission to play all day if you're an adult. The place is nicely ventilated and air conditioned being a former grocery store. It's wide open so there is enough space even when there is a crowd. The lighting is ideal, with lights switched off to keep it dark enough to enjoy the games while bright enough not to trip. The benches and booths situated around allow you to take a break from standing.

After the ending of ReplayFX in Pittsburgh, PA following the pandemic, I thought I'd never see so many arcade and pinball games in one place in this region again until I found out about Past Times on YouTube. What makes Past Times better is it's not just once a year like ReplayFX was. We can enjoy this place year-round now.

Don't hesitate to go, support, and respect this place and the generosity of an awesome collector sharing his impressive private collection...