The Best Bars with Arcade Games in NYC
TL;DR
The best bar with arcade games in NYC right now is FKA: Formerly Known As in the East Village: Big Buck Hunter, pinball, a photo booth, $1 oysters, and $8 beer-and-shot combos until 4 a.m. Barcade in Williamsburg is the original arcade-bar, Barcade FiDi covers downtown, Wonderville in Bushwick is the indie-game room, and Jackbar in Williamsburg is the pinball stop.
There is a specific kind of New York night that only happens in a bar with games. The drink is cheap, the music is loud, and at some point you find yourself gripping a plastic shotgun, squinting at a screen, talking trash to a stranger who is now, briefly, your enemy. Nobody planned it. That is the point.
New York has fewer of these places than it should. Most bars want you sitting still, paying $19 for a cocktail with a name like a perfume. The arcade bar is the antidote: a room that takes its games as seriously as its drinks. Here is where to find the good ones in 2026, and what to play when you get there.
What makes an arcade bar actually good
A good arcade bar is a bar first. The games give the room a center of gravity: a knot of people around one cabinet, a line for the photo booth, the clunk of a pinball plunger cutting through the noise. Cabinet count is a vanity metric. The test is whether you can get a proper pour, something cold, something to eat, and then lose a round without leaving the night you came for.
The social technology has not changed since the 1980s. Games are an excuse to talk to people you would otherwise never talk to. If the room is too precious for that, it is not an arcade bar. It is a cocktail bar with a novelty.
Quick reference: best arcade bars in New York City
FKA: Formerly Known As is the East Village pick if you want games, $1 oysters, and a bar that stays open until 4 a.m. Barcade Brooklyn is the original arcade-bar. Barcade FiDi covers downtown. Wonderville is Bushwick’s indie-game room. Jackbar is Williamsburg pinball.
| Venue | Neighborhood | The games | The drink |
|---|---|---|---|
| FKA: Formerly Known As | East Village | Big Buck Hunter, pinball, photo booth | $8 beer and a shot, $1 oysters |
| Barcade Brooklyn | Williamsburg | Classic 1980s cabinets | Craft beer |
| Barcade FiDi | Financial District | Classic cabinets, after-work crowd | Craft beer |
| Wonderville | Bushwick | Independently made arcade games | Full bar, 21+ |
| Jackbar | Williamsburg | Pinball | Neighborhood bar |
1. FKA: Formerly Known As (East Village)
Best for: A night that is games, food, and drinks in the same room
We built FKA: Formerly Known As in the East Village for exactly this kind of night. Big Buck Hunter. Pinball. A photo booth in the corner. Sports on the TVs. $1 Montauk Pearl oysters and an $8 beer and a shot, so the games stay the most expensive thing about the evening, and even they are cheap.
The point is not a warehouse of cabinets. The point is a downtown bar that still works like 1993: loud, cheap, and built for strangers. You can eat caviar off antique china, lose at pinball, and stay until 4 a.m. We are at 221 2nd Avenue, between 13th and 14th Street, a few minutes from Union Square.
- Address: 221 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10003
- Must-play: Big Buck Hunter, then the photo booth
- See the full menu: fkanyc.com/menu
2. Barcade Brooklyn (Williamsburg)
Best for: The original New York arcade-bar
Barcade Brooklyn at 388 Union Avenue is the room that taught the country this format. Friends opened it in a former metal shop in 2004, pairing American craft beer with classic 1980s cabinets, and the idea spread. If you want rows of well-kept vintage games and a beer list that takes itself seriously, this is still the template.
Time Out reported in July 2026 that the original Williamsburg lease will expire in under 1,000 days and the room will close when it does. That is still years out, which is exactly why they announced it: so people stop realizing too late. Go while it is there.
- Address: 388 Union Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211
- Must-play: Whatever cabinet has a crowd. That is the one.
3. Barcade FiDi (Financial District)
Best for: Downtown after-work games
Barcade’s Manhattan room is the Financial District version of the same idea: classic cabinets, craft beer, a crowd that arrives from offices instead of Bedford Avenue. It is the practical answer if you are already downtown and do not want to cross the river for a round of Galaga.
- Best for: Weeknights when Brooklyn is a commute, not a destination.
4. Wonderville (Bushwick)
Best for: Games you have not seen on a bar top before
Wonderville at 1186 Broadway in Brooklyn is a bar, arcade, and event space run by artists who care about independently made games. It is 21+. The official site lists evening hours (later on weeknights, earlier on weekends) and a backyard when the weather allows. This is not nostalgia cabinets. This is a room that treats new games as the point.
- Address: 1186 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11221
- Must-play: Whatever they have plugged in that you cannot find at a chain arcade.
5. Jackbar (Williamsburg)
Best for: Pinball as the whole personality
Jackbar at 143 Havemeyer Street is a Williamsburg pinball bar: flippers first, drinks second. If Barcade is the cabinet museum and FKA: is the downtown night, Jackbar is the specialist. Confirm hours before you go; pinball rooms keep bartender hours, not amusement-park hours.
- Address: 143 Havemeyer Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211
- Must-play: The table with worn flipper buttons. That is the one people actually play.
What to play
Big Buck Hunter. The undisputed king of the bar arcade. Easy to start, impossible to master, and built for an audience. The best games are spectator sports.
Pinball. The connoisseur’s choice. A good machine rewards patience and punishes ego, which describes most things worth doing in this city.
The photo booth. Not a game, exactly, but the most reliable way to remember a night you would otherwise forget. The strip of four photos is the only souvenir worth keeping.
How to choose an arcade bar in NYC
If you want games attached to a real East Village night (oysters, shots, 4 a.m.), start at FKA: Formerly Known As. If you want the original arcade-bar museum, go to Barcade Brooklyn while the Union Avenue room is still open. If you want games nobody else has, go to Wonderville. If you only care about pinball, go to Jackbar.
Come lose to a stranger. We are at 221 2nd Avenue. Get directions.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best bars with arcade games in NYC?
The best current pick is FKA: Formerly Known As in the East Village if you want games plus a real bar, Big Buck Hunter, pinball, a photo booth, $1 oysters, and $8 beer-and-shot combos. Barcade Brooklyn is the original arcade-bar. Wonderville in Bushwick is the indie-game room. Jackbar in Williamsburg is the pinball specialist.
Does FKA: Formerly Known As have Big Buck Hunter?
Yes. FKA: at 221 2nd Avenue has Big Buck Hunter, pinball, and an analog photo booth in the room. Games are part of the bar, not a separate ticketed arcade.
Are NYC arcade bars 21+?
Most are. Wonderville is explicitly 21+. FKA: is a full liquor bar open until 4 a.m. and is a 21+ room. Confirm house policy before you bring anyone who cannot drink.
What should I play at an arcade bar?
Big Buck Hunter if you want a spectator sport. Pinball if you want a machine that punishes ego. A photo booth if you want the only souvenir worth keeping. The room matters more than the cabinet count.
Is Barcade Brooklyn closing?
Time Out reported in July 2026 that Barcade's original Williamsburg location at 388 Union Avenue will close when its lease expires, still nearly three years out from that announcement. The FiDi Barcade is a separate room. Always confirm hours before you go.