Stop saving your quarters for laundry, there’s a better cause: a new pinball arcade in downtown Victoria.
Quazar’s Arcade, located at 1215 Government St., opened on Friday and had a whirlwind weekend as excited patrons took in the nostalgic lights and sounds of the arcade era.
“There were lots of OG pinball players who came out, and a lot of people who have an interest in playing,” said co-owner Steve Webb. “Saturday was nuts, and Sunday it was great to see all the families through here. It’s really nice to see that parents who grew up in arcades are able to introduce arcade games to their kids. They are games you just can’t play on a tablet or phone.”
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The basement-suite establishment hosts 20 arcade games and 20 pinball machines, some vintage, some new and most remastered after fixing up machines that had long been stored in peoples’ garages.
“We have a very unusual version of a Fix-it Felix game,” Webb said. “And a super rare alien pinball machine. From what we’ve understood there are only 11 you can play in the world.”
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So far arcade favourites also include the Iron Maiden, Ghostbusters, and Terminator Salvation shooter games.
The arcade has even received a celebrity shout-out from Jurassic Park star, Jeff Goldblum, who made an Instagram post to his friend and Quazar co-owner Justin Lafreniere.
“A hearty congratulations on your new arcade, I’m excited about the arcade, way to go, Justin!” Goldblum said.
Webb said the post was completely unexpected and joked that it probably meant they should get a Jurassic Park game into the arcade
“Maybe we could get him to sign it,” Webb said. “We’ve had so much support, so many people saying thanks for doing this. It’s nice to see people come on down, and they’re gasping at the number and quality of machines down here.”
The machines run on tokens that can be bought for 50 cents a piece, with games ranging in cost from one to five tokens. Locally-roasted coffee and light snacks are also available for purchase.
For more information, head to quazarsarcade.com.
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