Sam's 5 Atari Games

Not sure what to play when you visit R-CADE? We have over 1400 games to choose from, here's a few of Sam's favourites that you might wanna try on your next visit....

Freeway

Similar to the more popular Frogger, Freeway is a rather literal representation of "How did the chicken cross the road?" Players have an unspecified time limit to try and cross a busy 10-lane motorway as many times as possible with a small yellow chicken. With no horizontal movements, I feel like the gameplay can be summed up as 2 steps forward, 1 step back. (FACT: If a player could score 20 chicken runs on either road 3 or road 7 of the original game, and send a photo to Activision, they would receive an iron on "Save The Chicken Foundation" patch. Featuring the Activision logo, and Freeway rainbow chicken logo!)

donkey kong

A historic video game, Donkey Kong didn't just provide fun entertainment, but was the origin story for 3 of gaming's most beloved icons. Players take control of Jumpman (the original name for Mario Mario) as he climbs rung after ladder rung to save the damsel in distress - Pauline. Climb ladders, dodge barrels and make your way through 4 different levels which represent the tower Donkey Kong has climbed to escape.

I'm a big fan of this title for its simple iconography. Many of our younger guests have never seen a joystick before, never encountered an Atari. But the name Donkey Kong is one they've heard, and the colourful purple and blue first level of this game is inviting to the young eyes. It's easy to explain the goal and mechanics, and is the right distance between achievable and frustrating to keep you playing as long as it takes!

adventure

Compared to many of our most popular Atari games, I enjoy how different the gameplay of Adventure is. Instead of moving purely left-to-right or aiming straight ahead, Adventure forces the player to use their memory and problem solving abilities to find their way through the many mazes. A seemingly simple concept, it's quite literally a game you can get lost in, wondering the halls of three different castles.

The end goal for the player is to find a golden chalice, stolen from their kingdom by an evil magician. Can you uncover the secrets of the 30 rooms?

Demon Attack

Think Space invaders but better. (Well, to me at least.) Demon attack takes the same format (2D fixed shooter) but introduces the enemy as demonic creatures materialising out of nowhere, rather than an ever encroaching alien race. Each level features different shaped Demons, each with their own style of attack and movement pattern. As each new Demon appears on the screen throughout each level, it is accompanied by an incredibly dramatic WHOOSH! a fun sound effect I'd never expect from an Atari era game.

I especially like our copy of the game in store, as the label has partially worn off, and so it's called "Lemon Attack". Don't be bitter if you lose.

E.T. The Extra-terrestrial

I do not like this game. It is bad. But it is the fact that it is bad that makes it a significant piece of the RCADE collection.

With a high number of cartridges produced but never sold, due in part to the poor performance of the game and also emerging industry competitors for Atari, E.T. is considered one of the harbingers of death for the North American video game industry. While it would eventually make a comeback, the urban legends of hundreds of unsold cartridges buried in the New Mexico desert was a sign that a video game legend of the past had met it's match.

A game that many want to try just for the history it represents, I'm proud to say this is one of the crown jewels of our Atari 2600 collection (even if it's more like the rough than a diamond.)

If you'd love the opportunity to play some of the best Atari games at home, our online store is currently chalk full of options for your perusal!

32 in 1 Game Cartridge (Atari 2600) [B]

Buy Now

Centipede (Atari 2600) [B]

Buy Now

Ms Pac Man (Atari 2600) [A]

Buy Now

Retro Gaming Is Only A Click Away!

With over 1500 retro video games, all on authentic consoles from the past 5 decades, we are confident you will be able to rediscover you childhood in no time!

Now that we are back open, our venue will look and run a little different to the way it was before the pandemic. Our café area is temporarily gone and we have replaced this area with even more consoles and TV's to give more space and gaming opportunity. For the first few weeks we will only be open on Friday's, Saturday's, and Sunday's. We will NOT be accepting walk-ins to R-CADE either, so if you are looking to visit us you have to pre book your pass.

We offer two different ways to book: Arcade Passes for individual use, or Private Parties for exclusive use of R-CADE if you want to host a private party. Please note: R-CADE is a cashless venue. We have a retail space where you can buy merch, snacks and gaming goods but we only accept card payments.

Here are the details on how to book for each:

Arcade Passes

Our arcade passes are for one hour of gaming in R-CADE. This means that throughout your hour booking you can play as many different consoles and games as you like, you are not tied to a single machine. To book your arcade pass you can visit our brand new bookings diary Here. Simply select the day and time you would like to visit and add your details / payment. We have some T&C's to check out too:

• Each pass covers one person in the arcade. Please note as our café area is currently closed we do not have a separate area for non players to wait, so everyone coming into R-CADE must buy a pass. All children under 12 must be accompanied by a paying adult. Every person attending R-CADE wether playing games or not will need to pre book a pass and will contribute to the total number of people in our venue. Our current maximum capacity in R-CADE is 15 people (not including staff)

• Children under 4 do not need to pay to enter our venue, but a pass is still required. This includes toddlers and babies in prams. You MUST contact us before you book so we can send you our discount code for children under 4. If you do not book a pass and turn up for your session with a pram or unpaid toddler you may not be allowed entry if our capacity is at maximum.

• Official support workers can also obtain free passes if they are visiting with their supported person. You must contact R-CADE before you book and request the free pass discount code. You will only be granted access if you bring your support or carers lanyard / card or you will be charged the standard arcade pass fee.

• To follow current government restrictions, and due to the very small size of R-CADE we will be enforcing masks at all times when in R-CADE for everyone over 12, this includes during private parties. Children under 12 do not require a mask to be worn, and if any customers have a valid exemption from wearing masks you must inform us before attending. As a private business we have the right to refuse entry to anyone NOT wearing a mask without a medical or valid reason.

• Anyone attending R-CADE who is mask exempt MUST contact us before they arrive. We require a negative lateral flow test to be brought in or a photo to be sent via email on the day of your visit. This is for everyone over 12 who is exempt from wearing a mask. If you arrive without a negative test you will not be granted access to our venue and no refund will be given.

You can obtain a Face covering exemption card from the Disability Equality Scotland website HERE if you require one, this is to help people with legitimate medical and personal issues enter our venue without feeling discriminated against or uncomfortable. Please be assured that the staff at R-CADE cannot wait until the day we can throw our masks away, but until it is safe to do so, and for the safety and respect of our staff and customers we will be enforcing masks until further notice.

• No food or drink is allowed in the arcade at any time. This is to ensure masks are not taken off for any reason. Again, we do not have a separate cafe area. If you do want to eat or drink you will have to do so outside the venue.

• Your pass grants you access to our arcade at the specific time you chose when booking, not an amount of time. If you arrive after your game time begins you do not get a whole hour to play, only until your game session ends. Refunds and reschedules can ONLY be given up to one hour BEFORE your game session begins.

• Please make sure to arrive as close to your booking time as possible. We do not currently have an indoor café area to wait so if you arrive very early you will have to wait outside, even if it's raining! We will be using the NHS Test & Protect app to sign every guest in. When you arrive simply scan the QR code provided at the R-CADE reception area to sign in. If you do not have the app you may have to supply contact details to the staff which may impact on your time in the arcade.

Book An Arcade Pass Here

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Private Parties

So you wanna book a party eh? Well you have come to the right place. We offer Exclusive use of R-CADE for any private event (within reason!)

Our party bookings are currently available for parties of up to 15 people, and you will have full access to our games collection to pre-book in time for your party. We also offer free party bags for your event too.

To book a private party you must fill out our enquiry form HERE .

Fill in the form with your name, contact details, date and time of your party and what your party will involve. A member of our team will get in touch to tailor your event and make sure you have the best time at R-CADE. We have a few T&C's for private parties too:

• Please note that due to current safety restrictions, we cannot allow food or drink in our arcade during your visit, this includes alcoholic drinks. Birthday and celebration cakes will be allowed but cannot be consumed in R-CADE. We provide party bags for birthday parties so we can divide up your cake and pack them away in your party bags to take home.

• As above, to follow current government restrictions, and due to the very small size of R-CADE we will be enforcing masks at all times when in R-CADE for everyone over 12, this includes during private parties. Children under 12 do not require a mask to be worn, and if any customers have a valid exemption from wearing masks we strongly urge you to inform us before attending. As a private business we have the right to refuse entry to anyone NOT wearing a mask without a medical or valid reason.

• Anyone attending R-CADE who is mask exempt MUST contact us before they arrive. We require a negative lateral flow test to be brought in or a photo to be sent via email on the day of your visit. This is for everyone over 12 who is exempt from wearing a mask. If you arrive without a negative test you will not be granted access to our venue and no refund will be given.

You can obtain a Face covering exemption card from the Disability Equality Scotland website HERE if you require one, this is to help people with legitimate medical and personal issues enter our venue without feeling discriminated against or uncomfortable. Please be assured that the staff at R-CADE cannot wait until the day we can throw our masks away, but until it is safe to do so, and for the safety and respect of our staff and customers we will be enforcing masks until further notice.

• We will be using the NHS Test & Protect app to sign every guest in. When you arrive simply scan the QR code provided at the R-CADE reception area to sign in. If you do not have the app you may have to supply contact details to the staff which may impact on your time in the arcade. For birthday parties you will need to supply names of all attendees so we can add to the Test & Protect list.

• Our current capacity in R-CADE is 15 guests (not including staff). This includes parents or family members not playing games. If there are any children attending who are under 12 on the day of the party there must be an adult present throughout the entire party. This adult will be included in the total number of guests. Therefore at maximum there can only be 14 children plus one adult in the arcade if any children are under 12. We do not have a separate cafe area for other family members to wait and if the maximum number of guests exceeds 15 we will have to ask people to leave the venue.

• We urge everyone who plans on attending R-CADE to take a lateral flow test in the morning before they visit. This is not mandatory and there will be exemptions to this, but we hope you can understand that Covid-19 can be carried from person to person asymptomatically without any visible symptoms. If a person were to attend R-CADE with confirmed Covid-19 and Track & Trace were notified, this would mean that R-CADE and all of its staff would have to close and self isolate for up to 10 days. This of course could potentially be crippling to our business and harmful to our staff, plus we would need to cancel all further bookings until we can reopen. As a request for respect and support, if you can take a lateral flow test before you attend we would be extremely grateful. If any of your party are feeling unwell or have Covid-19 please contact us as soon as you can. We can refund private party bookings up to 48 hours before your party begins, or we can reschedule your party for a future date.

Book A Private Party Here

We will be reviewing our terms and conditions on a monthly basis, so if you book your pass or party a few months ahead of time we will make sure to get in touch to update you on any changes.

R-CADE Glasgow Is Back!

R-CADE Glasgow has been a rather lonely place since the 19th of March 2020. Some pesky virus had the audacity to interrupt our fun and games and kept us locked up at home for over 504 days! But now, after lots of patience, lots of live streams, an online store launch, and a bunch of vaccinations later; we are delighted to announce that we will be opening our doors to the public once again on the 20th of August!

GAME ON...

We will be dusting off our collection of the finest and most fun home consoles for you to play once again. From the delightful Binatone, to the classic PlayStation One, Gamecube, Dreamcast and Xbox, plus many more. We have also been spending the past year adding to our console collection and games catalogue, so there's now even more to choose from! We haven't had time to update our catalogue just yet, but our current games list can be viewed HERE so you can request your favourite game while you are in R-CADE.

IMPORTANT CHANGES...

While we are extremely excited to once again invite you all to R-CADE, we have had to make some changes to the way our venue works though. These changes are hopefully only temporary, but we have made these decisions based on the current government guidance, safety and mandatory legislation. We want to make the safety of our staff and customers top priority, so if you are planning on coming down to R-CADE please make sure to read through all of our changes below.

OPENING TIMES:

We will be opening our doors to the public on the 20th of August. For the first month we will only be open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 12pm. At first there will be no tournaments, special events or 'Lates' over 18's gaming. We will ONLY be allowing pre-booked arcade passes via our online booking diary.

Our diary will be launching on the 14th of August right here at rcadeglasgow.com. We will not be accepting any bookings before this date. If you are eager to book your preferred date you can sign up to our mailing list where we will notify all of our subscribers as soon as our diary goes live. You can sign up to the R-CADE mailing list HERE .

Our arcade passes will work on an hourly timetable and sessions will be during these times:

12pm - 1pm

1:15pm - 2:15pm

2:30pm - 3:30pm

4:30pm - 5:30pm

5:45pm - 6:45pm

7pm - 8pm

Each session will last one hour, with a 15 minute turnaround time to allow staff to sanitise the arcade and get all guests signed in. We highly advise you to pre book your space in advance as we are limited to 15 people. You are free to visit R-CADE without a pre-booked arcade pass, but we cannot guarantee access. We know that customers may be used to our 'walk in' policy but for the time being we will have to run our arcade on a booking system only.

Arcade passes are available and required per person regardless of age. Any child attending under 12 must be accompanied by a paying adult.

If you are looking to exclusively book R-CADE for a private party please do not use our booking diary but instead contact us via our contact page.

TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF CAFE AREA:

For our regular customers, you will all remember that R-CADE was split into two sections: the free café area and the arcade area. We have temporarily removed the café area and have instead installed even more retro consoles, this means that we can have a good number of people in the arcade area playing while still being able to keep a safe distance from others. Access to the arcade area does cost money, and because we do not currently have a separate café area, to stay in R-CADE for any time will mean buying an arcade pass.

BRAND NEW RETAIL/ RECEPTION AREA:

We have built a brand new reception area right at the front door of R-CADE. This means that when you enter R-CADE for your booking you can sign in right away. We have created a kind of barrier to access the arcade area, this means we can make sure that only people who have paid for an arcade pass are allowed in.

Our reception area will also display everything that we have on offer to buy from our online store. We now have a wide selection of imported toys, anime goodies, snacks, drinks, retro gaming consoles, games and R-CADE merch. You can visit R-CADE any time that we are open to browse and purchase anything from our retail area, you do not need to book or reserve a space for this. You can also browse our online store HERE and purchase any item for home delivery, or choose to click and collect free from R-CADE.

MASK WEARING:

To follow current government restrictions, and due to the very small size of R-CADE we will be enforcing masks at all times when in R-CADE for everyone over 12, this includes during private parties. Children under 12 do not require a mask to be worn, and if any customers have a valid exemption from wearing masks we strongly urge you to inform us before attending. As a private business we have the right to refuse entry to anyone NOT wearing a mask without a medical or valid reason.

You can obtain a Face covering exemption card from the Disability Equality Scotland website HERE if you require one, this is to help people with legitimate medical and personal issues enter our venue without feeling discriminated against or uncomfortable. Please be assured that the staff at R-CADE cannot wait until the day we can throw our masks away, but until it is safe to do so, and for the safety and respect of our staff and customers we will be enforcing masks until further notice.

MAXIMUM CAPACITY AND AGE LIMITS:

The maximum capacity for R-CADE at any time will be 15 people (excluding staff). This includes anyone not playing games as we currently do not have a separate café / social area. There must be at least one paying adult in attendance at all times with any child under 12. If you book an arcade pass for a child but not for the attending adult and our arcade is full, your party might not be granted access, so please make sure to buy a ticket for parent / adult too. The capacity and age limit rule also applies to private parties.

FOOD AND DRINK:

As we have removed the café area, we currently do not allow food or drink in the arcade area at any time. This is to ensure no one takes their masks off while in R-CADE. If you purchase any snacks or drinks from our retail area, or bring your own drink, these must be consumed outside of the venue. You are welcome to go outside to drink / eat during your arcade time and will still be granted access back in but we cannot extend your arcade time.

Test & Protect:

Please make sure to arrive as close to your booking time as possible. We do not currently have an indoor cafe area to wait so if you arrive very early you will have to wait outside, even if it's raining! We will be using the NHS Test & Protect app to sign every guest in. When you arrive simply scan the QR code provided at the R-CADE reception area to sign in. If you do not have the app you may have to supply contact details to the staff which may impact on your time in the arcade.

GET TESTED:

We urge everyone who plans on attending R-CADE to take a lateral flow test in the morning before they visit. This is not mandatory and there will be exemptions to this, but we hope you can understand that Covid-19 can be carried from person to person asymptomatically without any visible symptoms. If a person were to attend R-CADE with confirmed Covid-19 and Track & Trace were notified, this would mean that R-CADE and all of its staff would have to close and self isolate for up to 10 days. This of course could potentially be crippling to our business and harmful to our staff, plus we would need to cancel all further bookings until we can reopen. As a request for respect and support, if you can take a lateral flow test before you attend we would be extremely grateful. If any of your party are feeling unwell or have Covid-19 please contact us as soon as you can and we can refund or rebook your arcade pass.

We know this is a lot of change, and we understand that some of these temporary changes might disappoint some of our customers, but we have thought long and hard about our decisions and have made them because the safety, respect and security of our staff and customers is top priority. If you are unhappy with any of these changes we kindly ask that you hold off for just a little longer until we can review and update our current situation. We very much want to get back to board games, Pokémon, Mario Kart tournaments and Guitar Hero parties, but until it is safe to do so, we got to play the game and stick to the rules.

We cannot thank you all enough for your amazing support over the past year, we wouldn't have survived this long without you. We can't wait to see you all again, even if it is behind a mask. Game on!