Dave & Busters sucks, they advertise "adult games", but no pins, first time at a D&B, I asked the manager where are the pins? His reply was "pins" whats that? Lame frickin redemption games and HUGE crane games, really,, why? Got bored there fast, went to local goofy golf where they had 9 pins to play. Also our GameWorks don't have pins either, atleast last time there they did not.

Another potential location coming to Schaumburg:
http://arcadeheroes.com/2014/04/24/namco-entertainment-open-gaming-themed-restaurant-schaumburg-il/

The company I am with switched their annual holiday party to Dave & Busters a couple years ago. We got a catered meal and each of us received a card with $25 credit on it. After eating, I circled the entire place twice before asking where the pinball machines were and being advised that...they weren't. I went home without using the card.

Half working games aren't worth playing. I'd rather move on and find a place that cares instead of wasting my money on crap. In this case of Gameworks having no games is preferable to the disappointment of a location full of broken games and them not giving a shit. Good riddance to Gameworks, there's other places more deserving of people's money and time.

Unfortunately, this wasn't that hard to see coming.

I can tell you from personally supporting league play on location for 5 seasons it is hard to keep everything in 100% working condition. Games that get played a lot will break, especially the newer Sterns. I'm a pinball enthusiast, so I understand that games break and need constant attention. Still, the amount of time I have had to spend to fix newer Sterns vs 90s Bally/Williams, System 11, classic Stern, classic Bally is way out of balance. I have had classic Bally games that were almost set it and forget it, with only light maintenance required. I can't recall ever having a game with a known switch issue or gameplay problem last more than a week before being addressed. Anyone that thinks it is easy to keep location games running 100% all the time needs a reality check.

I always appreciate being notified if there is a problem with a game. That doesn't mean that I look forward to running out and fixing something if I was just at the location the day before.

Full time operators need equipment that isn't going to break so often, and makes enough money to justify the investment. Coin op is their livelihood and if the games don't make enough money to cover the investment in asset, time, and service, then out it goes. If pins were making a lot of money, the ops would be out there fixing the games as needed because the effort would be cost effective. Ops need lots of casual players playing their games to make it worth their while. Maybe pins should cost $2.00 per play with a 75/25 split to make it worth it for the full time ops?

That would be going head to head with Gameworks. Also, their games would have to be free play or utilize a card system. Coin-op machinery is illegal in Schaumburg, you can get away with vending machines, photo booths, and juke boxes, just not arcade games.

I've heard Gameworks has been on the decline and almost dead the last several years but they still hang around...

Are you serious? What possible justification can the city have for banning coin-op devices?

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-06-27/news/9306270254_1_arcades-village-board-pinball

That article is from 20 years ago. I can't even fathom that they never repealed that idiotic ban.

You do realize that Pinball was illegal in Chicago, where they were all made. Well, Gottlieb already moved out to Northlake.

Of course. There were a lot of laws enacted years ago against stuff like that, but it boggles the mind that a city like Schaumburg never reversed its stance on coin-op.

Many years ago when I use to work for Namco I was told they had, at one point, purchased a spot in Woodfield to open an arcade based on the idea they were going to get the coin-op ban overturned. Didn't work out so well for them.

But yet they get rid of the one part of coin-op that is trending upward... It's not always about revenue per square foot. Maybe the pinball players and their friends/family were bringing in additional revenue that they wouldn't have seen without pinball.

Buh-Bye!

There are U.S. towns that still exist where Pinball is illegal to play on Sundays.

gameworks groupon today:
http://www.groupon.com/deals/gameworks-10

My son and I visited the Gameworks a couple years ago, they had 24, Sopranos, a new ACDC PRO and an Iron man and a TROn on lower level. The Iron Man PF was completely worn down around the magnets. They all played and 24 played the best of them. There were these two Douchebags that showed up that were picking the games up, slamming and dropping them, just being unnecessarily rough as hell on them. I hate to see games abused like that. I felt like hitting the dumb asses with one of their F-ing beer bottles. No wonder the games have issues. I mentioned it to a manager type on the way out.

Two words: Tilt Sensor.

Went to game works today... Down to three pins upstairs... 24, family guy and iron man... They also had mustang but it was setup as a 2 minute challenge for tickets (downstairs)... Less and less every time I go..

Wait till level 257 opens, gameworks is really gonna hurt and probably pull all the pins

Apparently it is open now.