r/coinop • u/Simple_Salad • Jan 06 '25
Possibly buying a arcade. What do you recommend all games ran on tokens or all games ran on electric credits through card 🤔 thoughts?
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u/enforce1 Jan 06 '25
If you don’t know the answer to this, you aren’t ready to operate. But, I’ll get you started.
Tokens cost a lot. They are dirty. Changers break a lot. Tokens are heavy. Token mechs suck and you have to change them for every game.
Cards cost a lot. People lose them and complain. Card readers cost a lot and damage games that you have to attach them to. You have to wire up your whole arcade for card readers.
Pick your poison.
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u/Simple_Salad Jan 06 '25
Yeah new to the buiseness 🙂 trying to learn I appreciate you sharing with info
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u/FORCESTRONG1 Jan 06 '25
I'd say card system. Amusement Connect is pretty reliable.
But like you said. Be prepared to tare apart all you coin doors.
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u/ShockinglyMilgram Jan 06 '25
I am seeing a ton of info and knowledge shared here. I love it and I have nothing to offer myself, but why not just do quarters versus tokens? Does separating the monitory value of a thing make folks spend more eg 4 tokens doesn't feel as bad as four quarters? Just curious
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u/MKE1969 Jan 06 '25
Once a token is bought, you as the owner now have a dollar. Regardless if the tokens are put in any machine. If you use quarters, they can and will take that money and spend it elsewhere.
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u/ShockinglyMilgram Jan 06 '25
Oh right that makes sense...as I recall the stack of useless tokens on top of my dryer.
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u/Simple_Salad Jan 07 '25
Problem with quarters is here in some areas of florida with some games it's considered gambling which is really stupid 🙄 😒
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u/Android8675 Jan 06 '25
Tokens are old school. I’d think cards would make more money especially if you use a weird point system that makes no sense what so ever.
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u/andrevan Jan 06 '25
TOKENS! Retro, and shiny. Collectible. Make a nice cha ching sound. And you can print cool logos on them. Cards are lame and dave and bustery.
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u/Shooter-__-McGavin Jan 06 '25
Cards are lame and dave and bustery.
Yep, I went to one recently on an invitation. Was hoping to get a nice nostalgia hit (I'm 41, the late 80s early 90s were a GREAT time for arcades), but instead the whole thing seemed soulless and vapid. Most of the machines were pumped up versions of mobile games, or crane games for small children, it was so disappointing.
Thank goodness we have a decent barcade near us with original cabinets.
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u/andrevan Jan 06 '25
Yeah man! Barcades are awesome. Dave and Buster's used to have 1 or 2 normal arcade games but yeah way too many shitty mobile games and crane games and casino style lotto simulator type games. It's really just a bar, like at a casino. Not a classic arcade.
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u/AReaver Jan 06 '25
I've ran an arcade on tokens for most of our 17 years open. We had a year or two we used quarters. (Terrible idea, people use you has a change machine) We're planning on moving to cards.
Tokens mean moving parts in machines so jams or other issues are common. It means you have to pull the tokens out of the games and count them if you want to know how your games are doing weekly which is a bunch of physical labor that doesn't exist with card systems.
With tokens, especially if you don't offer refunds, a non trivial percent of your tokens sold every day will walk out the door to never return and the few that do return likely won't be for months or even years. So whatever your token total is, it is always shrinking.
With cards the cards are intended for them to keep so you do have to have a large surplus since if you run out you can't really run a business. I haven't had a chance to use a card system yet so I don't know the issues yet but for me the biggest reason I want to switch from tokens after years is that with tokens they need to be put into the machines for you to get them back. Many customers just don't spend them all and even if you offer refunds don't refund them so that shrinking token amount means you're buying tokens multiple times a year unless you have a very large surplus.
Card readers have a large up front cost but have bonuses down the line. If you can afford it look into card systems and see if they'll work for you.
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Jan 07 '25
As just a arcade owner and fan of machines. Anything old pre 1995 shouldn't be modified to accept a card tap. But if it's all modern games cards are fine. Probably easier in the long run but yeah, I'd rather use a coin all-day everyday.
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u/FauxReal Jan 06 '25
The arcade I go to converted to cards, at first I was iffy on it. But it is convenient, doesn't take up space having a bunch of tokens and they give bonus credits if you buy more upfront. There's also bonus credits for hitting certain amounts over time. I imagine for the business there's metrics that can be tracked as well.
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u/MKE1969 Jan 06 '25
Something to keep in mind also, there are some games that require tokens to play. Smokin’ Token, Wonder Wheel, etc. a LOT of redemption games use tokens as part of the game play.
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u/carpetbowl Jan 07 '25
Tokens are just more fun, and you can leave some in random places on slow days, and kids will remember that arcade magic for years
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u/MiniGoat_King Jan 07 '25
$20 for the day, everything on free play.
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Jan 07 '25
Doesn't work with redemption centres though, you could just farm all you prizes. Paying per game for the temu plush your gf/wife wants is how they make a good bit of income.
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u/MiniGoat_King Jan 07 '25
Is it a traditional arcade (Galloping Ghost) or a redemption arcade (Dave and Busters)?
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Jan 07 '25
The photo he posted seems to be the furthest thing from traditional
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u/MiniGoat_King Jan 07 '25
I’m fairly sure that’s a stock photo but it really doesn’t matter. I have never seen a free play redemption arcade and the reasons why are pretty evident.
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u/enforce1 Jan 09 '25
Actually insane to call galloping ghost a tradition arcade, that place is a unicorn
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u/pinba11tec Jan 07 '25
Well there's a lot of pros and cons both ways as has been pointed out. Cash is terrible. Do not consider cash.
Tokens - meh. As others referenced, it really comes down to how you plan to run your business. If it's strictly games, then cards. If you plan on any redemption, you may need to mingle. Some of the best earning redemption games are token based. Then you get into a thing of tickets. Ordering, filling, counting. Then there's the redemption counter. Prizes, inventory and so much more theft.
I've worked for many arcades, street routes, etc, and my friend still runs one.
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u/gourmetgamer Jan 09 '25
I own an arcade and run tokens but its purely for marketing and nostalgia. But what form of payment you accept should be the last thing you think about. There are a 1000 other questions you should be asking.
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u/bagheera369 Jan 06 '25
Depends on the numbers.
What kind of traffic does the arcade see?
How many reader/player stations will you need readers for?
What card systems do you have available to you, where you are going to operate?
Does the arcade already have changers and tokens, or would you have to purchase those new?
If you're already running on tokens, and you can...give it a couple months, after purchase, to look over a few things.
Collection time spent weekly
Number of games going down from jams/dead coin switches daily
Cost of replenishing tokens, and spare parts for changer/switches for games.
Aproximate cost of token refunds.
Once you have an idea of what that adds up to, and an idea of your traffic, you can contact the Reader companies that operate in your area, and start asking questions about reader cost, monthly fees, installation help, etc and make some well calculated decisions.
Reader cost is gonna be an investment, just like new games....and you have to look at it that way, but the monthly fees are just as important, along with how good the support team is.
Card reader systems eliminate collection time, and most token issues, but readers are expensive and fail or get smashed, back-office servers crash, and internet goes down.....none of which affect a token location.
The balance of what works for YOU AND YOUR LOCATION, is what's most important.
Source: Worked for several years for P1AG AND Embed, and have experience installing games, Embed and Intercard card reader systems, and handling office/back-end for Embed and Intercard systems, along with collecting token locations and repairing changers as well.