(Topic ID: 323279)
I was at a birthday party at Cec. One of my kids had been invited. So we went. I remember the only pin they had was Space Jam, and it hardly worked.
Anyways, there was another child who was there for the birthday party that was clearly very hyperactive. He could not wait for Chuck to come out and greet everyone at the party. So we are all waiting patiently for Chuck to come out. The side door opens and Chuck comes out. The hyper kid runs up to greet him, brings his hand up really fast- I think like he wanted to shake Chucks hand, and hits Chuck in the nuts, dropping him to the floor! All these mortified parents watching this go down, the helper helping Chuck back up and into the back area as all of the other kids start crying and yelling as they were too little to know what was going on. It was classic.
Quoted from mrm_4:Dude! Peter Piper Pizza was so awesome. When I was 13 I lived in Mesa in 1996-1997 and there was one across the street from me on N. Gilbert Rd. I was there constantly.
Were pretty much the same age though I grew up in Yuma. But I'm sure you must remember Eatsa Pizza? Likely for all the wrong reasons.
Quoted from sunnRAT:Were pretty much the same age though I grew up in Yuma. But I'm sure you must remember Eatsa Pizza? Likely for all the wrong reasons.
Haha oh god! now I remember I think i had blocked them from my mind
Richmond, TX
Quoted from chad:Did anyone have a Celebration Station? Lot of good games . I think it was based out of Iowa.
It's funny as I went to these places to just play the games , didn't even think of food. If it was within a fair distance, friends all rode our bikes.
Celebration Station in Houston was legit. Putt putt, huge arcade, bumper boats, and batting cages. Pure chaos at every bday party, but so much fun as a kid.
Having been in this industry for quite a while, I would say that the Chuck E Cheese experience has been remarkably consistent for at least 20 years.
Look at it from YOUR perspective, as an adult, it doesn't meet your needs.
Look at if from a childs perspective, and it works... mostly. Lots of tears when kids leave, they want to stay, they didn't get the prize they wanted, they ran out of swipes on the card (or tokens), lots of crying kids.
A few things...
The number one service call in the amusement industry? Coin jam.
Get rid of tokens you get rid of a HUGE amount of time that your machines were out of order, not making money.
It's hard to overestimate the effect that getting rid of tokens and tickets has had on a gameroom.
It's not just that the number of attendants can be less, it's that your gameroom starts being mostly functional instead of 'these games break every day'.
As for the casino aspect...
Kids have better games on their tablets. On their phones.
What they can't get on their phones is an actual prize.
So, teddy bear cranes. Redemption games.
This is something that the kid's tablet, the kids phone, can't give them.
If you don't provide something interesting, the kids won't make their parents take them there, and something interesting to a kid is NOT necessarily what is interesting to an adult.
Kids will love a little plastic ring that looks like a spider. Chinese finger traps. Super bounce balls. Teddy bears. Dracula fang teeth.
This stuff is junk, but it's what KIDS want, so I'm just saying...
You can't judge a successful kids location with adult eyes. It's not there to meet YOUR needs.
Parents for at least 30 years have been saying that Chuck E Cheese type places are dirty, don't have good stuff, lousy food. And they have been providing this remarkably consistent experience for decades.
Quoted from Shogun00:Thank god! Chuck E. Cheese is notorious for destroying their machines when they retire them. I can't even imagine the number of pinball machines that they destroyed over the years.
Round 1 destroys their machines still. I called up their management chain a bit hoping to buy a Metallica from them that was a little long in the tooth, and they said they destroy everything to avoid competition.
Depressing.
Quoted from chad:Did anyone have a Celebration Station? Lot of good games . I think it was based out of Iowa.
It's funny as I went to these places to just play the games , didn't even think of food. If it was within a fair distance, friends all rode our bikes.
We had one and it was amazing. It was massive. It put our CEC to shame. I never even went to a CEC as a kid because CS was so much better.
Quoted from Acronymicon:Round 1 destroys their machines still. I called up their management chain a bit hoping to buy a Metallica from them that was a little long in the tooth, and they said they destroy everything to avoid competition.
Depressing.
That really is depressing. The pins at our Round 1 are generally shit. They've attempted to repair them, and they are somewhat playable, but still definitely not worth going to.
We had 2 Round Table Pizzas in the 90s. They were the best as far as generous toppings. One had 3 arcades and a jukebox. It was a Neo Geo, Golden Axe, and a Roadblasters.
The other location was way better. Had Centipede and Sly Spy arcades plus Dirty Harry and Road Show, and a jukebox with Black Sabbath's Paranoid, Deep Purple's Machine Head and Led Zeppelin II.
Quoted from Wmsfan-GAP:I think like he wanted to shake Chucks hand, and hits Chuck in the nuts, dropping him to the floor!
I'll bet the dude wore a cup after that!
I had a high school age summer helper a few years ago who worked at a local Chuck E Cheese. He said he was warned and learned fast to always wear a cup when it was your turn to wear the mouse costume. He said the kids would freak out and swarm in a rat pack around you. Getting punched or hit in the balls was almost guaranteed!
Quoted from Travish:Not to mention all the adults that can’t act right (especially around little kids)
Just google “fight at Chuck E Cheese”
I think the police call it “mama bear syndrome
Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:Unlimited games sounds good on paper, but when there are 100 kids in the place and maybe 5 good games and 10 decent ones, its an issue.
No parents around to make the older kids share the games?
Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:I don't buy the arguement. McDonalds was better when we were kids not because the food was better, but because they had a playground. When was the last time you saw a McDonalds with a playground?
Actually, no.. it was better then because the food was better. Couldn't care less about the playground back then or now, but absolutely give me those oh so tasty beef-tallow fries.
Quoted from sunnRAT:I miss back when it was ShowBiz.
I remember the two of them in competition in early 80s, one just down the street from the other, with a Farrells nearby as well. At that time, both were excellent places with lots of arcade machines and the full animated bands. After '83 or so they started declining...
Quoted from Isochronic_Frost:As someone who runs an arcade, you would not believe how much those massive garbage redemption games earn. I have Fish Tales, Seawitch, Sorcerer, Hollywood Heat, and Party Animal, all in great working order, next to a one of those “crank and win” games, and some cranes. They make easily 2000% of what the pins do. That’s the actual average percentage, by the way.
If I was unscrupulous and wasn’t addicted to pinball, I’d put nothing but cranes and redemption in.
I'm shocked cranes are legal. Most of the ones I've played recently in my area are next to impossible to win.
Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:I already sent my yelling at clouds email off to Waffle House over the weekend over the cat in the restaraunt on the way home from Disney. I love Waffle House, but a restaurant should not need, "a ratter".
I started to suspect your standards were too high when I read the first post....this just confirms it.
In college, we used to frequent the CEC that was located about 5 miles away from the UConn campus in a seedier town.
On Wednesdays, they offered bogo pitchers of Bud and Bud Light. It was pretty funny sitting in a CEC at 4 p.m. with a cheap beer buzz, with nothing but other college aged kids, and a few of the local crack heads thrown in for good measure. Good times!
Quoted from metallik:Actually, no.. it was better then because the food was better. Couldn't care less about the playground back then or now, but absolutely give me those oh so tasty beef-tallow fries.
And the fried apple pies!
Quoted from Isochronic_Frost:Also Chuck E. Cheese hasn’t had pinball in nearly 20 years!
Not quite that long, my daughter just turned 20, and when she was around 8, I won for her one of the top shelf prizes by saving up the giant 200-ticket tickets that their Elvis pin would spit out whenever I beat the pathetic high scores over a couple years' time. Her friend was so jealous, I wish I could find the pic I took, it's so cute.
Quoted from DanQverymuch:Not quite that long, my daughter just turned 20, and when she was around 8, I won for her one of the top shelf prizes by saving up the giant 200-ticket tickets that their Elvis pin would spit out whenever I beat the pathetic high scores over a couple years' time. Her friend was so jealous, I wish I could find the pic I took, it's so cute.
Yeah, my daughter just turned 18 and I remember playing Shrek while she ran around collecting handfuls of paper tickets. And a different Chuck E. Cheese had a Simpsons Pinball Party.
No idea what either of those locations is like now, but if I ever get a hankering for passable breadsticks served with a generous dollop of rhinovirus, I'll let you know.
Quoted from insight75:I'm shocked cranes are legal. Most of the ones I've played recently in my area are next to impossible to win.
They aren't impossible to win, they are often just a game of chance masquerading as a game of skill. Same with Key Master, Barber Cut, and tons of other redemption games. For example on a crane, you can set it so the claw only has strength to lift prizes 1 out of every 50 plays or something like that.
Quoted from DanQverymuch:Not quite that long, my daughter just turned 20, and when she was around 8, I won for her one of the top shelf prizes by saving up the giant 200-ticket tickets that their Elvis pin would spit out whenever I beat the pathetic high scores over a couple years' time. Her friend was so jealous, I wish I could find the pic I took, it's so cute.
My kids are 18 and I remember playing AFM at Chuck E Cheese at some point many years ago. All games including AFM were only one quarter to play. That's one thing I did like about Chuck E Cheese. It was not there long, though.
Quoted from Haymaker:They aren't impossible to win, they are often just a game of chance masquerading as a game of skill. Same with Key Master, Barber Cut, and tons of other redemption games. For example on a crane, you can set it so the claw only has strength to lift prizes 1 out of every 50 plays or something like that.
Sega was actually sued for marketing / advertising the Key Master games as a game of skill versus a game of chance. It's all rigged with settings configured by the operator. Pretty much all modern redemption games come across as slot machines for kids.
https://www.polygon.com/22573590/sega-key-master-arcade-game-class-action-lawsuit
There's also the "press the light" at the right moment redemption games, another game of chance as shown here (interesting video!).
Quoted from PanzerFreak:Sega was actually sued for marketing / advertising the Key Master games as a game of skill versus a game of chance. It's all rigged with settings configured by the operator. Pretty much all modern redemption games come across as slot machines for kids.
https://www.polygon.com/22573590/sega-key-master-arcade-game-class-action-lawsuit
There's also the "press the light" at the right moment redemption games, another game of chance as shown here (interesting video!).
That’s the perfect “pre bubble craps”
Quoted from EJS:That’s the perfect “pre bubble craps”
Now i hear the lady's voice in the Bubble Craps machine: "COME ON!! Push the button!"
Quoted from PanzerFreak:Sega was actually sued for marketing / advertising the Key Master games as a game of skill versus a game of chance. It's all rigged with settings configured by the operator. Pretty much all modern redemption games come across as slot machines for kids.
https://www.polygon.com/22573590/sega-key-master-arcade-game-class-action-lawsuit
There's also the "press the light" at the right moment redemption games, another game of chance as shown here (interesting video!).
That redemption game made mega money at the time at a local arcade.
Quoted from mrm_4:Now i hear the lady's voice in the Bubble Craps machine: "COME ON!! Push the button!"
Yep!!! That’s exactly what I thought of too.
I’m like hold it lady I’m waiting for them to line up so you can give me a hard way.
In Vegas it would pop on command. In Iowa there’s a delay and it bounces a little more aggressively prior to the pop.
Quoted from EJS:I’m like hold it lady I’m waiting for them to line up so you can give me a hard way.
In Vegas it would pop on command. In Iowa there’s a delay and it bounces a little more aggressively prior to the pop.
I sort of lost what's going on here, but this sounds dirty.
Quoted from RCA1:I sort of lost what's going on here, but this sounds dirty.
The game pictured above at Chuck E Cheese is almost a spitting image of a dice game “Craps” which isn’t a surprise since most of these games are pre-casino stuff.
Basically get rid of that light strip that goes around and put two dice on a trampoline.
Instead of pushing a button to slow the lights it pops the dice into the air and whatever lands is the number. Craps is normally played with 2x (I want to say) 19mm dice and requires up to 4 dealers. Bubble craps eliminates the need for a dealer and takes up a lot less space. It’s a good game for noobs to try to get a feel for things. Bubble craps dice look like those novelty dice people illegally hang from their rear view mirrors on their car.
When it’s your turn and you are slow to push the button a female voice playfully yells out “cmon” after saying “press the button” a few times. It will time out and automatically pop eventually.
“Hard ways” is a craps term for rolling:
2x 2’s
2x 3’s
2x 4’s
2x 5’s
Since it’s the least likely of rolling a 4,6,8, or 10. Even though 4 and 10 only comes 3&1 or 6&4 there are twice as many ways to get it ie 3&1 AND 1&3 for example.
A fair amount of Craps’ legal terminology can easily be misunderstood for something dirty.
Quoted from Wmsfan-GAP:I was at a birthday party at Cec. One of my kids had been invited. So we went. I remember the only pin they had was Space Jam, and it hardly worked.
Anyways, there was another child who was there for the birthday party that was clearly very hyperactive. He could not wait for Chuck to come out and greet everyone at the party. So we are all waiting patiently for Chuck to come out. The side door opens and Chuck comes out. The hyper kid runs up to greet him, brings his hand up really fast- I think like he wanted to shake Chucks hand, and hits Chuck in the nuts, dropping him to the floor! All these mortified parents watching this go down, the helper helping Chuck back up and into the back area as all of the other kids start crying and yelling as they were too little to know what was going on. It was classic.
Holy shit, what a great story.
I remember going to Chuck E Cheese when I was in grade school, around the early 2000s. The redemption infection was already in full swing at that point, but they still had some cool stuff. Lots of the big Sega games, Jurassic Park, Wave Runner, Scud Race, Star Wars Trilogy. The one near my house even had Konami's Racing Jam with the big curved screen, only place I've ever seen that.
Years later, in high school, my dad and I were playing laser tag at a place in Fullerton. I popped into the CEC next door to see what the arcade looked like, and to my surprise I found the Super Deluxe model of After Burner Climax, again the only one I've ever seen.
Of course, a quick YouTube search for "Chuck E Cheese tour" reveals it's not much but the usual Raw Thrills fare nowadays, and even what I grew up with was a far cry from something like this:
I always liked ShowBiz. Friend and I used to order pizza and a pitcher of beer after playing ms pacman and get buzzed watching these guys. ShowBiz had a better pizza than Chuck E Cheese but that was 1983.
Quoted from DanQverymuch:Not quite that long, my daughter just turned 20, and when she was around 8, I won for her one of the top shelf prizes by saving up the giant 200-ticket tickets that their Elvis pin would spit out whenever I beat the pathetic high scores over a couple years' time. Her friend was so jealous, I wish I could find the pic I took, it's so cute.
It was 150 here. From my son's birthday party 9 years ago. Game hardly worked, but I'll be damned if I was quitting before I took the top. This CEC is now an Auto Zone.
1073773_10200897149263966_410581337_o (resized).jpg
Quoted from LesManley:It was 150 here.
Must have been 150 here, too, dang memory.
Used to get 5 or 6 a visit, by not beating the HS by much so as to make it easier to repeat.
1 month later
Quoted from DanQverymuch:[quoted image]
That's some decent nightmare fuel right there....
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