There’s a lot of different ways to define what constitutes the World’s largest arcade. In terms of square footage, an arcade that I recently visited - Funspot in Laconia, New Hampshire takes the cake.
In terms of the most working pinball machines that I’ve ever seen at one location, Past Times Pinball in Girard, Ohio wins the award.
The third member of this triumvirate is Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, Illinois. In terms of the number of arcade games on the floor, Galloping Ghost is completely unrivaled. This arcade currently has 980 arcade games and counting. Every week the arcade’s owner Doc Mac reveals a new, different and often super rare arcade cabinet that he’s putting out for the public to enjoy. Galloping Ghost is scheduled to hit a truly astonishing 1,000 unique arcade games this summer.
Last Friday, after the Stern Pinball activities were complete and a quick trip to Enterrium Arcade in Schaumburg with friends, I hopped in an Uber and headed to Galloping Ghost out in Brookfield, Illinois. During the ride I sent a message to Galloping Ghost’s owner, the legendary Doc Mac. Not only did he drop everything to meet up with me at his location, he spent tons of time with me showing me around and telling me the stories behind some of the location’s rarest games and the Ghost’s history. What a great guy.
Doc opened the Galloping Ghost back in 2010, with 130 games, which in itself was already a pretty large location - but nowhere near the nearly 1,000 games spread across several buildings in the town that it has today. Admission to Galloping Ghost is $25, with a special discount for admission to Galloping Ghost Pinball a couple of blocks down the road. All of the machines are set to free play.
I finished going through the wide group shots of this absolutely amazing location. I also have pictures of hundreds of individual games from Galloping Ghost that I’m still going through. I will share them on the Knapp Arcade Facebook and Instagram pages along with each game’s individual story over the next several months.
This location is truly mind boggling. I was ecstatic to have a chance to visit it. It’s a must-visit for arcade enthusiasts. I hope that you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them!
Thanks for the great pictures and post! I'll be 53 this year so I grew up with Pong and everything after and in between, and was in the arcades as much as possible. I'm not able to travel anymore, but visiting Doc and the Galloping Ghost is my dream trip, so I appreciate those like you who document their visits so thoroughly. I've been watching him on Twitch every Monday for their weekly new game reveal toward 1000 and always fire up whatever game it is on MAME and play along. The collection of rarities is mind-boggling.
Thanks for sharing. Now that’s cool. I miss the old arcades. That’s a goldmine! How fun!