Bits and bites

by Michael J. DeCicco

THE NEWEST GAMES IN TOWN ARE READY TO SATISFY BOTH YOUR SENSE OF PLAY AND YOUR TASTE BUDS.

Play Arcade, the new arcade bar in downtown New Bedford, opened on August 16 after successfully overcoming the hurdle of trying to start up its unique venue in an era of COVIDmandated business shutdowns.

The newest 8-bit star in New Bedford’s sky comes courtesy of co-owners and husband and wife team Adam and Lauren Katz. Adam said that he and Lauren began renovating the former Slainte Irish Pub at 34 Union Street around Saint Patrick’s Day. Then came the orders to keep their doors shut in face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We powered through the crisis until opening in August,” Katz said. “We had a private event, a soft opening, but the state came in and shut down our games, and we could only serve food, mainly takeout, until Phase IV openings allowed us back in full business on September 16.”

Play Arcade visitors will likely say it was worth the wait. They’ll find a choice of 22 classic 1980s-era cabinet-style video games in the bar and dining area and another 26 games, including air hockey, in a second room. Plus, it offers a choice of 24 craft beers, many of them brewed locally, and a roof deck with food and beer service and a beach bum getaway design.

Food-wise, Katz said, visitors will find handcrafted pub-style entrees, from snacks and burgers to buffalo macaroni and cheese and grilled pizzas. The snacks include Garlic knots and tetrominoshaped tater tots, appropriately called “Tetris Tots.” “And almost everything has a vegan option,” Katz said.

He added that throwback PlayStation and Nintendo consoles are available at most of the dining tables (if your tastes are slightly more modern, there is also an Xbox 360). The restaurant/arcade is looking to play retro cartoons and TV commercials on its television screens, and it plans in the future to hold throwback movie nights of cult classics like Back to the Future and Jurassic Park.

He and his wife started the unique venue, Katz said, because they knew the downtown area had a need for something fun to do. Two years ago the planning began. The realization of their dream began this year. “We grew up in arcades as kids,” he said. “We were looking to bring the same feeling from those days back again.”

Katz said the hard part of realizing their dream operation was not in trying to find the classic machines. It was the process of opening, particularly the licensing process. The machines are being used in a “co-op” with the Bit-Bar Arcade in Salem, meaning the latter is supplying and managing the games. But Play Arcade, he said, will be rotating its array of games so what it offers to the public is always fresh.

“So far there’s been an amazingly positive response,” Katz said. “Everyone’s welcomed us to the city with open arms. At the same time, the customer business has been a bit slow going and it is only just getting better now. But we were very lucky. If we had opened before the pandemic started, we would have lost a lot before we would have had the chance to grow. Now we’re growing. Play Arcade, at 34 Union Street in New Bedford, is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 10 p.m. For reservations, call 774-202-7353.

(BIT)COIN OPERATED

The North Dartmouth Mall’s new arcade, the VR Zone, which opened the weekend of October 24, is a hybrid of the type of gaming experience owner and manager C.J. Wilson previously offered at the Swansea Mall.

The front half of the new space features a variety of arcade games including Digital Dart Board and Skee Ball, plus bumper cars that are both adult-sized and smaller, kiddie-sized. And there’s even a digital Juke Box.

The other half of the Zone contains party rooms and, more importantly, the titular Virtual Reality Zone lounge. This section, Wilson said, features the startlingly realistic interactive virtual reality platforms HTC Vive, HTC Vive Pro, and Oculus Rift.

VR Motion pods at the VR Zone in the Dartmouth Mall

These are the highest VR experiences a gamer could want, said Wilson. He said his new location improves upon what had been offered in Swansea two years ago,when he had the VR Zone in Swansea. “Every experience here in the lounge offers a 365-degree view. A way to really immerse yourself in the experience. You’re in it. It’s all around you.”

These platforms provide visitors with choices that include totally immersive rides through space, across the globe, on a roller coaster, or through a dinosaur park with gigantic specimens of the prehistoric beasts looming over you.

Both front and back sections also feature motion pods. These pods, Wilson said, offer 40 different motion experiences. The three VR platforms in the lounge increase that offering to hundreds of different experiences.

Wilson added that the store will be downloading even more content regularly. “It’s a new-school arcade,” he said proudly. “It’s not your dad’s arcade. We’ve got to offer something different than arcades of the past. And virtual reality is the major draw right now.”

The VR Zone is located next to the AMC movie theater at 200 North Dartmouth Mall. Its soft opening hours are Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m., Saturdays from noon to 8 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. Customers may call on holidays or school vacations for hours at 401-369-6421.