Free Play Arcade
Retro Richardson arcade takes us back to the '80s with nostalgic games
A game arcade with a retro theme and a unique payment approach will open in Richardson in the fall. Called Free Play, it'll offer more than 70 arcade games, most from the 1980s, including titles such as Ms. Pac Man, Defender and Tempest.
As the name suggests, every video will be set to "free play" mode, with patrons paying a single entry price for unlimited play on every game in the arcade.
“This will be a huge draw for young professionals and video game fans from all over the area,” says co-founder and president Corey Hyden. “Nothing like this exists in DFW and, for most of the games that will be on our floor, you would have to drive hundreds of miles to find them at another arcade. It will be nostalgia overload."
The arcade is going into a former electronics store at 1730 Belt Line Rd. between Chase Place, a bar, and a Sherwin Williams store.
According to the Richardson blog, some residents complained that it would be selling alcohol, but Hyden said it will be beer and wine for his target audience of people aged 25 to 50.
Hyden and his partner Richard Boland Tregilgas II both graduated from Richardson high schools. Hyden is a litigation attorney based in Richardson; Tregilgas is CEO of imakestuff, inc., a company that develops and builds creations for use on stage and screen.
"It was extremely important to us that we open this retro arcade in Richardson," Hyden says. "The recent boom in young professionals calling Richardson home, along with our strong roots here, made Richardson the obvious choice."
