I know we must cram our games together, but...

Tighe

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Back in the day I never went to an arcade where the games were one right next to another, there was at least enough room for a person to stand between. When I look at my games in my basement, I think how I wish I had a giant building just for them.

Sometimes I see a photo of a member's home arcade with their games all Tetrised together and I and glad they are able to have their games, but I feel sad too. I am not any better.

Edit:

For fun, post how much floorspace you have and the total number of cabinets. For example I have a 1200 square foot basement which I use about 1/3 of for my 15 machines. One of them being a propcycle which takes up a HUGE amount of space.
 
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I have to cram games together in my own arcade - I don't really like it being that way but I don't have a lot of space. That and I don't like kids going behind the games which happens a lot.
 
Strange... I seem to remember every arcade I went in to BITD had games sitting directly next to each other with not so much as an inch between `em...

Sega Time-Out... check.
Upland Family Fun Center... check.
Upland James Games... check.

Yup... every one of `em had games directly next to each other.

PS: Not many games BITD (the golden age) had simultaneous multiplayer games so it wasn't much of an issue.
 
That's weird because the arcades around me all jammed the games close together. They had to because space was always at a premium.
 
I recall a mix of games jammed together in some areas and then spaced in others. Of course multi player games were given more space. Then there were clusters of games usually in circular patterns in the center areas of some floor spaces. All things i would love to do if I had the space. My day to day game room is pretty packed and really only set up well for a few people to be in their playing at once. When i throw a party i spread the games a lot more and utilize more of the house to make it more comfortable.
 
Crammed for sure. The arcades had the same problems we do.

And yes, I have some awesome side arts covered up in the interest of "one more game"

I have heard of an arcade gallery setup where every game has about 6 feet of space around it. I would love to be able to do that. With 30+ games, Portland Oregon real estate prices will never let that happen for me.
 
I have 1100 square feet dedicated to the gameroom. There are 40 machines in there. Yes they are side by side, but I try to keep the floor space open from one end to the other to avoid a cramped feeling.
 
I have 1100 square feet dedicated to the gameroom. There are 40 machines in there. Yes they are side by side, but I try to keep the floor space open from one end to the other to avoid a cramped feeling.

Word. I try to keep open lines of sight as well, from one end to the other. Yes more games can physically fit, but you need to have room to breathe. I have had a setup with an island in the middle of the room, but it closed everything off and felt like 2-3 separate rooms instead of one big area. I will sacrifice side art viewing in order to keep a nice open space.
 
Yep I've tried it all. No matter how many more games you can get into a room by utilizing an island of some sort, it never seems worth it in the end due to the cramped feeling the room gives you. I am a huge fan of backing them against the wall. Corners still piss me off though.
 
Strange... I seem to remember every arcade I went in to BITD had games sitting directly next to each other with not so much as an inch between `em...

Sega Time-Out... check.
Upland Family Fun Center... check.
Upland James Games... check.

Yup... every one of `em had games directly next to each other.

PS: Not many games BITD (the golden age) had simultaneous multiplayer games so it wasn't much of an issue.

That's weird because the arcades around me all jammed the games close together. They had to because space was always at a premium.

Weird, because the Time Outs always had large spaces here in NY. Chuck E Cheese was the same. Same with the Namco arcades.
 
I recently re-did my layout for this very reason. I tried to leave about a foot between the games. I think I'm using around 400 square feet for the 12 games I have out. I remember seeing a photo of someone's game room on here with loads of space between the games, and I think a spotlight shining on each one. It looked awesome, but I can't find the photo.

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Yep I've tried it all. No matter how many more games you can get into a room by utilizing an island of some sort, it never seems worth it in the end due to the cramped feeling the room gives you. I am a huge fan of backing them against the wall. Corners still piss me off though.

I see you used your Pole Position sit down in the one corner though. That works out pretty well.
 
Yeah the cockpit actually works out pretty nicely in this corner,

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But the other corner in this room has been a bitch.

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