photo by: AdobeStock

Rows of video game consoles are pictured in this AdobeStock photo.

Gen X’ers stretch those index fingers, and try to remember your middle initial. Yes, an honest-to-goodness, video game arcade from your youth is slated to open in downtown Lawrence.

The same operators who have opened an indoor mini-golf business and an ax-throwing venue at 722 Massachusetts Street now plan to open a video game arcade in the basement of the large building.

“We intend to have 50 to 60 machines that are everybody’s favorites,” Matt Baysinger, owner and operator of Sinkers Lounge and Blade & Timber, told me of the new venture.

Well, favorite machines for those who are old enough to remember the concept of a traditional video game arcade. Those arcades are far removed from the current concept of gaming, where a computer, a broadband connection, a big screen T.V. and all the comforts of a well-appointed living room can allow you to compete in real time with other players across the globe.

A 1980s-style arcade, on the other hand, featured large consoles that you would stand in front of, lean upon, and furiously tap their buttons in a way that has ensured a generation’s worth of success for arthritis doctors across the U.S.. Of course, you did it all for the reward of entering your three initials onto the high score leaderboard at the conclusion of play. (It still amazes me how many people born with the initials A.S.S. grew up to be fantastic video gamers.)

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Emily and Matt Baysinger are pictured at the new Sinkers Lounge in downtown Lawrence on Oct. 4, 2024.

One difference between then and now: You won’t have to figure out how to stick five pounds of quarters into your pockets. Baysinger said the arcade won’t require people to stick quarters into the machines, but rather will operate on a simple fee-based system. Users will pay a fee at the door, and play any games they want during their designated times.

The arcade will feature a lot of 1980s or 1990s machines, so think PacMan, Defender, Astroids, Centipede and other such blockbusters from the golden age of arcades. But there also will be newer games, Baysinger said.

“We’re also going to have games like Guitar Hero and some from the early aughts,” he said.

The games, though, will be actual games from their time period, rather than some replica that is played on a television screen and a modern controller, for instance. The key to making that happen, Baysinger said, was finding a group that knows where to find old video games. That’s where a company called Supernova enters the equation. It is constantly buying classic video games from across the country, and putting them into new venues. Importantly, they also are always fixing the old machines.

“There have been other people in Lawrence who have tried to do an arcade,” Baysinger said. “The issue isn’t finding the games. It is keeping them playable.”

For Baysinger, though, the issue to hold back his venture almost ended up being city codes. In order to get a video arcade approved for his particular space in downtown Lawrence, Baysinger has had to give the concept a twist. It technically will operate as an “interactive museum.” All the games will be fully-playable, but you likely will notice a few plaques on the wall that briefly describe the history of each game and machine.

That change has the project moving forward again in the City Hall approval process, although Baysinger said he was still waiting for the final set of approvals to allow him to begin the renovation work in the basement.

Baysinger said he hopes to have the arcade open this summer, and hopefully in time to take advantage of the large number of visitors expected for the World Cup soccer tournament.

While the arcade is expected to attract young players who want to experience the retro days of gaming, Baysinger said a prime target market will be adults.

“I think we’ll end up having some hours that are more catered to families and other hours that are more catered to adults,” Baysinger said.

Sinkers Lounge and Blade & Timber already serve alcohol as part of their offerings, and that bar service will extend to the arcade area, Baysinger said. He said the trio of businesses also will begin offering pizza and ice cream.

Baysinger — who was a founder of Lawrence’s Mass Street Soda Shop and now operates everything from mini-golf to escape rooms in multiple markets — said the arcade business fits well with the changing nature of going out for entertainment. He said people are looking for experiences that are different than the traditional bar scene.

“Alcohol sales are down across the board,” Baysinger said of hospitality industry trends. “For me, that is fine. That is not what we are all about.”

He said he’s tried to tailor his new business ventures around the type of entertainment that he and his friends often find appealing, which usually involves much more activity than just dinner and drinks.

“I think the best version of hanging out with my friends is when we go and do something,” he said.