FUNSPOT - Weirs Beach, NH

jbk

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Donor 4 years: 2011, 2013-2015
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In NH to see family. Each year I take several hours to go about ten miles down the road to FUNSPOT. You might remember it from the movie "KING OF KONG". I get to play all the "grail" games and a bunch that I never knew existed. Thought I would share a few pics from todays outing.
 

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Were those pictures taken during business hours?

most likely. i've been there a few times, and every time i'm there, it's quite empty like that. if you go around a contest time, i'm sure it's packed, but the rest of the time, it seems pretty quiet. all the times i've been there were in the summer, so i personally would expect it to be busier than that.
 
That's kind of a shame. :(

I definitely need to get my butt up there some time.

Hopefully FS is around for a while. Right now my boys are 3 and 1. When they are about 7 and 5 I'd love to take a week to go out there, take em to Fenway, go to Funspot, Cape Cod, etc. That will be awesome.
 
Whenever I am in Boston I always try to get the wife's family interested in going there.

No takers, ever.
 
Hopefully FS is around for a while.

Don't worry... Funspot has been around for almost 60 years. They opened additional arcades during the 80's boom (I used to go to the Concord NH Funspot fairly often) that eventually closed. But the main arcade site continues to grow and evolve every year.
 
It was Thursday around noon. This is a beach community and Funspot picks up in the evening. I tried to play DK but some guy was on it and was putting up a very impressive score (above 200K). I Played DKjr and talked to him for a while. I took my kids (6 & 10) and they had plenty to do (bumper cars, a lot of redemption machines). I got about an hour in the classics room, which has been expanded to two rooms, before I had to play skee ball and other redemption machines. I go to play the pins and this time they were a disapointment. Almost every machine had major issues. Most of they DMDs had flipper, display problems or playfield issues. The 80s SS machine most had playfield or score display problems. The only pin highlight was an ATARI widebody superman that played like new! Only one of the EM pins even worked. Played Addams, funhouse, fire, and monopoly and all had a flipper or display that didn't work. I don't fault them because I have a few machines and can barely keep them all working at the same time. I can only imagine what a tech goes through in that place. I saw a team of about 5 people just refilling redemption tickets and collecting tokens.
 
I am sure the pins and arcade machines in that area don't make a ton of money. I would even say some of them make a quarter or less a week, so they have to figure out what makes the money. Museum is nice but it is a labor of love.

I'll be At Funspot next Friday and Saturday in the classic room using my $120 in vouchers I have had since I was last there in 2004, lol
 
I go to play the pins and this time they were a disapointment. Almost every machine had major issues. Most of they DMDs had flipper, display problems or playfield issues. The 80s SS machine most had playfield or score display problems. The only pin highlight was an ATARI widebody superman that played like new! Only one of the EM pins even worked. Played Addams, funhouse, fire, and monopoly and all had a flipper or display that didn't work. I don't fault them because I have a few machines and can barely keep them all working at the same time. I can only imagine what a tech goes through in that place. I saw a team of about 5 people just refilling redemption tickets and collecting tokens.


Perhaps these pins just aren't making enough money to justify repairs. If that's the case then they need to be removed because a pinball machine that is not working properly is a rip off. I wouldn't have expected that of Funspot, but clearly it's commonplace elsewhere.
 
when i was at Funspot on a Friday summer evening a few years ago it the classics upstairs weren't terribly busy, but there definitely were quite a few players. i arrived about 8, then left sometime before midnight. just before i left i wandered around with my camera to take some pictures and it was dead like that, had the whole floor to myself. kinda cool, actually.
 
I have never been there but from the pics, it must be a nightmare to maintain all that equipment. I know from experience that an arcade with 60 machines is a challenge to keep running. It seems like something is always down. Even if everything is running properly, you are restocking redemption tickets, prizes or are cleaning games.

Its great that someone is trying to preserve that much of classic arcadedom. I hope to visit one day.
 
Its great that someone is trying to preserve that much of classic arcadedom. I hope to visit one day.

Same here. My fear is that it will be closed down before I get a chance to go.

I do send a little $$ every year, even though I have never been there. With the plethora of places to donate too this is one I really like.

Screw cancer, aids, the homeless, whatever. Gotta have priorities!! :D
 
Same here. My fear is that it will be closed down before I get a chance to go.

I do send a little $$ every year, even though I have never been there. With the plethora of places to donate too this is one I really like.

Screw cancer, aids, the homeless, whatever. Gotta have priorities!! :D

You know, you really have a convincing argument there.
 
Same here. My fear is that it will be closed down before I get a chance to go.

I do send a little $$ every year, even though I have never been there. With the plethora of places to donate too this is one I really like.

Screw cancer, aids, the homeless, whatever. Gotta have priorities!! :D

The third floor at Funspot where ACAM is located is always much slower than the rest of the building so when people take pictures, it gives the impression that the entire building is deserted. This works well for classic game enthusiasts. While the two floors below you are jamming with people playing ticket games, bowling, etc, the museum section is usually quieter. Some days it is like having your own personal arcade :)

Gary
 
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