Free Writing – The Nicklecade Experience

Not all people enjoy the Nicklecade, but I’m a fan. Growing up, arcades always seemed like a waste of money to me, and my parents obviously concurred because I can’t remember one instance of them taking us there to let loose. 25 cents (or 50 cents in some cases) was a pretty steep price to pay for a minute or two of fleeting entertainment.

Now, though, the Nickelcade provides a great opportunity to have some kid-style fun at one-fifth the normal price. My wife and I made a night of it on Friday (for an hour and a half that is) and had a great time. I swept the motorcycle and car racing games while she humbled me at “Dance, Dance Revolution.” I was close though. We also hit up the game where you smack the frogs as fast as you can, because that one gave us the most tickets, which is a very important part of going to the Nickelcade. We had 194 tickets at the end of the night. All in all we spent about $10 and came away with two fake-tattoos, a rope of Laffy-Taffy, a little plastic lizard (Steph loves amphibians of any kind), and one of those complex pocket mazes with the little steel ball – quite a haul for the evening. This is all in addition, mind you, to the fun we had escaping the stresses of school and work and acting like kids again.

So for those who are turned off to the idea of spending a bit of time at the Nickelcade, I suggest that you throw caution to the wind and give it a try. You’ll thank me afterwards.