Save Point — Local services in Union Bridge

In the sleepy little town of Union Bridge sits a store, a retro game store mashed together with a free to play arcade.

Save Point.

The outside seems innocuous enough, with the store's logo greeting you and the window granting you a peek of shelves lined with games from varying generations with a couple gaming trinkets sitting on the window sill. Just a run of the mill used game store, you may think prior to stepping inside.

And, well, yes. It definitely is a retro gaming store. But that doesn't do the selection justice. While the inside isn't massive, what's available is and encompasses far, far more than you'd expect. Games, accessories and consoles alike, there's so much to take in and really appreciate and cherish. I won't go so far as to say that they'll have everything in the world in stock but at the very least, there are multiple surprises you can expect to see.

If the retro store was the only thing Save Point had going for it, I'd say it's nice store and worth using if you're ever in the area. But Save Point manages to go a step further and provides a reason to actively visit, even if you're not particularly close by. After all, I haven't touched on the arcade yet.

The arcade, which is indeed free to play and donation based, mostly runs out of the back of the store, with a couple exceptions in the front. I've only been able to visit a few times but the selection rotates, with various pinball, stand up cabinets and rhythm games filtering in and out. I should note that are some particularly rare and obscure things occasionally on offer and if you want a chance to experience those games this is one of the only places you can, period. I'm not the biggest Taiko fan out there (Chunithm for me, please), but just know that Save Point has one of the only Taiko cabinets available in the US. Savor it. And please, consider donating.

To wrap things up, this place is a gem hidden away in Union Bridge. Whether you have a hobby in retro and used games or are looking for an arcade to spend some time at, I highly recommend taking a trip out...

Let me tell you about the time that Save Point stole my Sega CD.

A long while back, I purchased a used Sega CD in a lot from Craigslist. Aesthetically, it was in excellent condition, the tray action was good, and it read well, however the sound was bad. On a recommendation, I took it out of my way to Save Point, showed them the issue, and they seemed confident in their ability to do the work.

Weeks went by. MONTHS went by. I would call them every other week, and they would never have any updates, information, timetable, or even the cost for the repair. I wish I had a record of how many months they had it, just that from the initial recommendation, to getting it back in my hands, was 11 months.

In the end, they told me they had fixed it. They didn’t tell me what they had done, just that I didn’t owe anything. I had a friend local to them pick it up for me, and when I received it, I immediately noticed that they had swapped it with a completely different Sega CD. That wouldn’t necessarily have been a bad thing, except it was scuffed up, missing a part, and had mechanical issues.

They NEVER asked me if a substitution was alright, and they NEVER told me what they had done. They just slapped a note saying “FIXED” on it and tried to pass it off as mine and hoped I wouldn’t notice or care.

At that point, I was just so angry and fed up with these guys, that I did what I felt was the healthy thing and just put it into storage, and allowed myself to forget about it. I decided to cut my losses, and accept that I had gotten screwed. I wanted to pay them to restore THAT specific one that I had. I would have been happy to. It would have been a nice addition to the collection.

Something recently reminded me of this, and I figured, regardless of how long it has been, I should put out a little warning:

Don’t do business...

All games were completely free just as described! Staff was extremely nice and we were even compensated for the fact that the machine we drove in to play-- Taiko no Tatsujin -- was currently being repaired after it had gotten beaten up at a recent convention. Stephanie was extremely nice and was not only great company, but very helpful and knowledgeable in answering all of our questions about various retro/limited items that were behind the counter. I was able to play Groove Coaster for hours straight with little to no interruption. The volume was perfect, and the machine was in very good condition. In fact, as far as I could see, all of the machines they had currently out for use were in excellent condition. Save Point had an impressively large selection of different games, more than other "small business" arcades I've been to in the past, and all completely for free. Hearing about the different machines they possessed even more of in storage only impressed me further. The place is spacious, but not too crowded, and in fact, it's quite pleasing to know how many of the games I had to myself. Overall, it was just a fantastic experience. We did drive a little over 4 hours just to go here-- but I am happy to say that it was 100 percent worth it and more. I would definitely make the 4 hour drive just to come here again in the future. I have nothing but compliments for Save Point! I highly recommend going here! (PS: This place is funded completely by donations, so I highly recommend donating if you have a chance! It's...