Highly recommend you look into an epoxy. Lasts way longer than paint, seals the concrete and looks good. May be out of your budget, but I’d find out. Possible to DIY for less

Larger multi color carpet squares just laid down without adhesive may be an option vs rugs, menards usually has them for a decent price.

I just did the diy rust oleum"rock solid" expoxy system in my garage . They have a lot of options, including some with metallic and swirly effects. And/or you can use decorative chips to give it even more interest (there's websites that specialize in offering hundreds of different chips). Not quite arcade carpet but closer than painting it a solid color and way more durable.

It is not trivial to get a good result though, so if you don't want to do a lot of research or not a confident DiYer, pay someone.

You can sometimes get the Rustoleum epoxy stuff real cheap. I had my garage done a few years ago. Prep work is key. The only issues I've had are a bleach container leaking that I didn't notice right away. It ate through the epoxy. Also along the edge I've had a piece of concrete chip, but that's really more a problem with the floor and not the coating. It's hard to beat for ~$100 to do a 2 car garage, but it sounds like you may have a lot of prep work to do it right.

I agree with previous post. Prep work will be key. I would have recommended concrete stain but I doubt it would work given the floor condition. My basement was done 25 years ago with VCT ( vinyl clad tile ) like you see in schools, supermarkets etc. it’s held up well but to do over again I would have had the epoxy done by a professional. Zach Meny (pinball network) had issues when a professional attempted to do it at his home. Paint is ok. Given size and limiting cost it might be the only solution. Time to start removing the old paint and prep the floor. Post some pics. Throw rugs are also a cheap and easy solution. Cover it up and it’s gone.

Grind and polish. I’ve done many commercial units that way. Usually it’s about $4/ft, or up to $6/ft if removing tile and glue. Paint will just get the grind treatment. Find a concrete guy that specializes in this. The floor will look amazing for the arcade. No need to add color or epoxy or a higher cost finish.

Epoxy looks great and I enjoyed working on it at many of the fancy tech company campuses I worked at. It was excellent when doing commercial work and beating the hell out of them. They hold up great

This is actually a fantastic idea, and probably not terribly expensive (not sure your sq footage). It will also prep the floor for the epoxy if you choose to do that later on

I got a huge remnant from a local carpet company for $110 that covered half my basement, had it down there for probably 15 years.

I've been painting it ever since, what a pain in the ass. I vote for carpet tiles, they muffle sound, more comfortable.......just a warmer feel overall.

+1 for the Rustoleum epoxy stuff with the vinyl bits.

How is epoxy for sound absorption compared to bare concrete? I keep putting down cheap carpet in my flood prone pinball room. Mainly because it absorbs so much sound. May want to go a different route next time.

No experience with basements being in TX but all I hear from those with them is ALWAYS having to deal with moisture in basements…I would NEVER even consider carpet in a basement…they trap dirt that you can never get out and are mold sponges…if you have continuous moisture issues.

Depending on the condition of floor and prep needed I would just paint or epoxy the floor. Put down rugs where needed. Rugs can be gotten for cheap and cleaned/replaced easily as needed. This is a Budget solution if you can DIY.

It can get expensive depending on the prep and size of the area to hire a professional to do it. But they can advise of the best options and do it right…prep is the key as others have said.

No basements in Texas? What's up with that? Though that was more of a high water level thing, like FL.

My room is ground floor, we just happen to get some high quality floods. Just ordered some dock floats in case we have to go to plan B again. Last time we raised a bunch of pins onto bar stools and other furniture. Surprise flood and we ran out of time to move them up.

It has more to do with water table/ soil conditions….not common around here at least in my part of TX. It’s not that they can’t be done but they are not a good idea. If it was more practical they would build more homes with them. It’s a cheaper way to get more home with less land…jealous of areas/homes that have them.

Floods suck…and unfortunately over the last 7 years or so the Houston area has had crazy weather and even areas that have never flooded have. Many areas have seen the same thing…only so much you can do against Mother Nature sometimes.

We just did both the garage and the basement in the house we're remodeling in epoxy, and I couldn't recommend it more highly.

Another vote here for epoxy floors in a basement. I don’t have a very large basement and opted to go with the partially finished / painted ceiling look. The epoxy floor is one of the Rustoleum kits with the optional clear coat. I ended up going with the epoxy option as was on a set budget for the project and also have concerns about water / moisture in my area. I still run a dehumidifier in the basement 24/7 and have WiFi water sensors setup at two floor drains just incase.

The steps were to acid etch the floor, fill in any cracks (another kit), apply the epoxy (brushed around wall edges, then used paint roller) while at the same time applying the decorative chips (just sprinkle them onto the floor) and then once dried apply the clear coat (anti slip) using a paint roller. It’s held up fairly well for nearly 8 years. It can chip (dropping heavy items, tools for example) but it’s easy to touch up.

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I know you mentioned paint, but have you thought about vinyl planking? It's all vinyl, doesn't have any of the fiber board as a base, so water is not an issue if it gets wet. Sounds like your area isn't large, so it shouldn't cost much and might be more long term than paint.
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Regardless of what you use, it might be worthwhile to look into a penetrating sealer (i.e. RadonSeal, etc.)

We did this in part of the basement, and one thing I HIGHLY recommend is the sealer - Drylok or RadonSeal. And a very good moisture barrier. You can use black 6mil plastic which is way cheaper than the named "moisture barrier" products. The vinyl plank looks really good, and is a super easy install. What it doesn't do, however, is make the room any warmer, or make your floor any softer to walk on, like a carpet would. May or may not make a difference to you.

I wear socks in the house and I can't say my feet have ever been cold in the basement. But what I do notice is in the spring (when it's not really cold outside), the basement can get a bit chilly. Upstairs we have 6" walls, spray foam for an air barrier, and then bat insulation - that means the furnace doesn't run often. But the below ground temps are still a little cold. I just toss on a cheapie parka if I'm in the basement. I could turn on the house fan to stir the basement air up some, just don't think about it much.

Sorry for a slight thread derail.

I am a tile guy so when we added on too the house we did in floor water heat with tile in the basement if anyone is doing a new basement it's the way too go and cheap too keep warm and nice on the feet

+1 for epoxy floor. We had our painter friend epoxy the floor and spray the walls, posts, and beams white. BIG difference.

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Yea looks great makes a difference

Another sidebar to floor sealing...I saw a video recently where some company had a floor heating product, but it was air based via large PVC, not a fluid. Rather interesting since the possible issues related to a fluid goes away. It was on a slab, not a basement floor tho.

I used the Rustoleum epoxy in our last home. It lasted 15 years with minimal wear from pin movement that was easily repaired with a little of the epoxy paint and a few flakes.

We recently moved to a 110 year old house. I put cheap carpet in. Three months later the power went out and the carpet ruined. This fall, I’ll epoxy the floor - lessen learned.

I really liked the sound absorption of the carpet. But, I never want to cut and remove wet carpet again.

Wow hey I am not sure about putting the air unit into the floor but I guess you can get too it from the top side if it goes down or not working sweet