Nerdhaven Arcade — Local services in Monona

I have 7 and 9 year old boys. We have been to a couple of arcades in the area and Nerdhaven is my favorite. I like how all of the video games are in one room. This makes it easier to keep an eye on my kids. They have a great selection of games and none of them were out of order. We have been to another arcade in town and quite a few games were out of order. Also, Nerdhaven is significantly cheaper than the other arcade we went to. A simple flat fee for unlimited play. No coins or tokens for the video games. There are only a couple of minor criticisms. I didn't see any snacks. Maybe I missed them or they don't want to carry them. I just know that when I take my kids to these types of arcades, sometimes we stay 5 hours or more and it would be nice to be able to purchase a small snack. That said, we planned ahead and went right after lunch. The other thing would be pinball. They have a great selection of pinball machines in a separate room...over 40 of them including a lot of the most popular ones . I received 20 tokens and each pinball machine takes between 1 and 4 of them. For me, it's enough to get my fill. I have found that most kids prefer video games. The other place we have been to has a handful of pinball machines but they are included with the daily pass so they have unlimited play. For someone who really likes pinball, several hours could get a little pricey, but maybe the selection is worth it. Overall, a...

I'm SUPER happy with this arcade. The pricing is unbelievable; $15 for the first person and if you have a child under 13, they're free and the next is only $5. Admittedly, there is an additional cost to play pinball (most games were 3 tokens) and you get $5 in tokens (20) with your $15 entry fee.

Many of the games are in really, really good shape. I was pretty shocked noting it's an all-you-can play arcade. I'd like some of the games to have a little more volume, but that's the only complaint I'd sound. I love that the areas are themed (fighting games in one area, classics in another, racing in another, etc) which makes it easy to find. Some real hard to find games like a Play Choice 10 and a Super Nintendo Super System (I have only ever once seen one of these).

The in/out privileges are great as well. Pay your way in and play all day and if you need to go find food, just show your receipt when you get back and you're good to go! (Admittedly, I like Geeks Mania's wrist bands better for this, particularly for kids, but again, minor, minor issues.)

Super highly recommended, can't wait...

i have gone here a couple times a year here since 2022 and always had a blast until a couple weeks ago when i walked in with my siblings age 28,22,19,18 and was told that we couldn't play unless all of us were over the age of 21 because they sold beer now, mind you this was 2:00 on a sunday. i said whatever the rules changed fine but was confused since arcades games are primarily meant for kids but whatever, until i look at thier website and find out the policy was that people under 21 must be accompanied by and adult over 21 which we had TWO of! im now sitting here wondering why they turned us away at the door. now i don't want to make any rash accusation's but we were a group of brown people so take that as you will. its a shame because i really liked this place and it was MUCH better than other arcades in Madison. hoping they make the policy much more clear on the website...