Cocktail Table Retro Games Machine Hire

Cocktail Table Arcade Machine Hire - 60 Classic Games, Sit Down and Play

The cocktail table arcade machine - sometimes called a retro arcade cocktail table, a 60-in-1 arcade table, or a multi-game arcade cabinet - is the sit-down version of the arcade game, roughly the size of a coffee table with a screen set face-up into the top. Players sit opposite each other, one at each end, and go head-to-head on whatever game is loaded up. The cabinet is black with "ARCADE CLASSICS" across the front in blue outlined lettering and retro game artwork printed around the screen, and it runs an iCade 60-in-1 JAMMA board loaded with around sixty of the best-known arcade games from the late 70s to the late 80s.

The screen sits flush under a clear protective top, so two people can play across it without getting in each other's way. Controls are joystick and button at each end, and the screen flips automatically between Player 1 and Player 2 turns in the games that support it. It runs in free-play mode, which means no one needs coins - you pick a game from the menu and get on with it. The menu itself shows a grid of game screenshots across ten pages, and you can jump between them with the joystick. It takes about five seconds for someone to work it out, which is about as much instruction as most people need.

The game list includes Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Galaga, Galaxian, Frogger, Dig Dug, Centipede, 1942, Gyruss, Pengo, Arkanoid, Burger Time, Bombjack, Super Breakout, Crush Roller and about forty others. If you grew up putting 10p pieces into a cabinet at the end of a pier, you'll recognise most of what is on there.

What you're hiring

• Black cocktail-style arcade table with retro game artwork and "ARCADE CLASSICS" branding
• iCade 60-in-1 JAMMA board loaded with around sixty classic arcade games
• One joystick and button control panel at each end for head-to-head play
• Screen under a clear protective glass top, with the display flipping for two-player turns
• Free-play mode throughout - no coins needed
• Dimensions: 65cm wide, 75cm high, 95cm deep
• Runs off a single 13amp domestic socket
• Indoor or marquee use only
• One of our staff sets it up and stays on to run it throughout the hire

Where it tends to go

It earns its keep at weddings, particularly during the gap between the meal and the evening do when guests are milling about and want something to watch or have a go at. Corporate events and Christmas parties work well too, and it draws a crowd at exhibitions and trade stands because people recognise the game artwork from twenty yards off and wander over to see what is on it. Birthday parties (adults and children), university freshers events, school leavers' dos and 70s or 80s themed parties all work. It is compact enough to fit into most function rooms, and because it sits low it does not dominate a space the way a full-height upright cabinet does.

If you are putting a bigger package together, we also hire a pair of flight-case retro arcade cabinets loaded with more than 600 games (Pandora's Box style boards, four players across the pair), and the Atari Pong cocktail table if you want something electromechanical rather than screen-based. The full electronic games range is on one page.

Space and setup

The machine goes through a standard doorway and sits happily on a level floor indoors or in a marquee. You'll need enough floor around it for two stools and two players opposite each other without blocking a walkway, say 2 metres square, give or take. We don't put it out on open outdoor pitches - the screen washes out in direct sun and the electrics are not weatherproof. A marquee with a solid floor and no leaks is fine.

One of our own people delivers it, sets it up, runs it throughout the hire and collects it afterwards. The kit is PAT-tested annually, like everything electrical we send out.

Hampshire, Surrey and round our way

We run from a commercial unit in Havant, PO9, and cover Hampshire, Surrey, West Sussex and into London on our own vehicles. Delivery, setup and collection are in the quote rather than added on afterwards. The machine is ours, not sub-hired from someone else, and the person who turns up on the day is one of our own staff (RPII-trained, first-aid trained, enhanced-DBS registered) rather than an agency casual. We have been hiring out event kit since 2002, we are VAT-registered, and we carry £10 million public liability insurance with the certificate and a risk assessment available on request. If your venue is a pub, club or bar we hold the additional licensed-premises cover for that as well.

Wedding dates and corporate Christmas bookings fill up first, so it is worth getting the date and venue across to us early if you are planning ahead. Call or send us an enquiry and Joanne will come back with availability and a price.

Frequently asked questions

• What games are on it? There are around sixty classic arcade games from the late 70s and 80s, run from a JAMMA board. The crowd-pleasers are Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Galaga and Frogger, but the list also includes Dig Dug, Centipede, Gyruss, 1942, Pengo, Arkanoid, Burger Time, Bombjack and plenty of others. The full menu runs to ten pages of game screenshots, so most people find something they remember.

• Can it go outdoors? No. The screen does not cope with direct sunlight and the electrics are not built for weather. A marquee with a solid floor is fine, but open pitches or half-covered gazebos are not.

• Does it need coins to play? No - it runs in free-play mode. You select a game from the on-screen menu, press Start and away you go. No one needs a pocket full of 10p pieces.

• How many people can play at once? Two people head-to-head, one at each end of the table with their own joystick and buttons. The screen flips between players for the games that support cocktail mode (Pac-Man, Galaga, Space Invaders and most of the maze and shooter titles on the board). For the rest, you take turns.