10 Amazing Arcades You Can Visit Today
4. Ground Kontrol – Portland, Oregon
The next time you find yourself in the Pacific Northwest looking for Bigfoot, take a moment to stop in at Ground Kontrol in Portland, Oregon. This arcade has a rather impressive bar, which may make it a Barcade, but it's far more than just a place you can go to play games and drink.
Granted, those are the activities at this location, but the site doesn't simply stop at that. The venue often features notable DJs and live music, which add to the ambience in a unique way, but also brings folks back to the simpler times of the 1980s when hitting a bar also meant dropping some quarters into Ms. Pac-Man.
Ground Kontrol opened in 1999 so if you haven't been in a while, it has undergone some changes. Since opening, it has remodeled with a Tron theme and added a full-service bar and kitchen.
If you're lucky, you might stroll in on a day the arcade is hosting one of its many competitions or special events. Of course, the site also features a large variety of classic arcade cabinets, but the atmosphere is one of the main attractions and the reason people come time and time again to Ground Kontrol.