INFO
ABOUT US
Thank you for visiting Ghost Retro Arcade. We have a passion for classic arcade games, and although it's kind of sad to see them all now gone from the arcades at your favorite seaside town (if your old enough to remember that is) you can now bring the classic arcade to your event. Whether its Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Galaxian, Defender or Street Fighter 2, you will love our Retro Arcade Machines. Hire our machines for your next event be it a wedding, a birthday party, a corporate event, comic con, a fundraiser, team building days or almost anything you want your guests to experience something fun as well uniquely different and to give them the wow factor. Contact us for friendly advice and to discuss your requirements using the "CONTACT US" button on the HOME page, or by using the contact information at the bottom of this page.
Our mission, is to save as many of these old games as possible. We restore them back to their former glory and add them to our ever growing fleet of machines so they can be hired for your special event. These classic games need to be preserved for everyone inc younger generations to enjoy.
HIRE INFORMATION
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIRING CLASSIC ARCADE MACHINES
Our games are the real thing from back in the 70's, 80's & 90's!
Most of our games are 30-40 years old and have already spent most of their life in a working arcade. We restore them, fix them up the best we possibly can in terms of cosmetically and electronically, but some still have age related marks, scuffs and battle scars from the working days in the arcades being played and abused by thousands of people. A lot of company's in the UK now are using reproduction machines made to look like the original ones, and even Arcade 1Up toys purchased from toy shops - which are very small and meant for home use only. Ours are the real thing! Don't be fooled by other UK companies... hire the proper authentic retro item from us.
VENUE ACCESS & UNLOADING / LOADING OUR VEHICLE
CHECK YOUR VENUES ACCESS!!
We cannot stress this enough! Check the width of the access door(s) into your venue. Most of our games require wide/double door access as they are big... some are HUGE! We cannot risk damaging venue doors... if it wont fit, we will put it back on our vehicle and cant offer any refunds.
ALL our arcade machines require flat access with no steps. Most require the venue to have no gravel leading up the venues access as the really heavy games just sink into loose soft gravel.
PLEASE inform us of what the access is like at your venue. Email us photos is possible.
PLEASE NOTE, VERY IMPORTANT: When making an enquiry for hiring any of our games could you also PLEASE include information regarding the Unloading / Loading of our vehicle. We need to be able to get as close as possible to the venue door where we will be bringing the machines in. The vehicle we use is a large 3.5 tonne luton box van, with a tail gate lift, which is 11ft tall. We would need to be parked up if we are staying throughout the duration of your event. we will advise this upon booking enquiry.
THESE THINGS ARE HEAVY!
All of our games will be brought into your venue on a heavy duty sack truck as these machines are very heavy and awkward to move around. Apart from the BIG SCREEN 4 Player Arcade Machine, steps are a huge problem for any other of our games.. even small threshold steps! There needs to be minimum to no steps at all but please advise if there is even one small step as this then may require two persons to safely move these machines into your venue. We also need to know of any steep sloping ground where we need to unload such as sloping car parks, or any uneven ground we may need to cross such as grass, pebbles etc. We would be unable to refund any fees paid if we arrive at your venue and then not be able to access it safely due to any obstacle we are haven't been made aware of.
Small events to LARGE events....
Weddings - Parties - Corporate Events - Fundraisers - Fun Days - Xmas Events - Team Building Nights - Theme Nights... the list goes on.
Our machines can be hired for almost anything... any event or party.
Hire one, two, three or all of our machines to appear at your event either for a few hours or all day? Are you organizing a kids party? or an adults party? or an birthday celebration? or maybe a company event or a corporate event? or maybe a team building day? Our service is versatile and flexible.
Age group?
There is no age, however, we do recommend a minimum age of around 7-8 years old to be able to play our machines. Younger children may be able to play but may need adult assistance as most of them are around 30" high, and also may need assistance with the basic controls.
We DO however require you to supervise children at ALL
times whist using our machines.
How long can I hire for?
You can hire for as long as you like. The minimum charged is for 2 hours. For hiring all day we will deliver in the morning/midday then collect later after your event has finished. For shorter times we may stay with our machines. Prices will vary depending on how long you want to hire, which games you want to hire, how far we have to travel to your location, what venue you have and the times of day you want to hire. Please get in touch, let us know what you'd like and we will work out a cost for you.
My venue is upstairs... can I still hire games?
Most of the time... unfortunately not. If your venue is not on ground floor, this can be very limiting when it comes to hiring games. This can be done in some circumstances, however it is not ideal. The venue would need to have a large service lift, big enough to fit a large American style fridge inside (as an example) and it needs to be fully working and reliable. If you are wanting to hire games in a upstairs venue get in touch to discuss the venue with us. The area around the lift needs to have VERY easy access, and clear of obstacles. In most cases we avoid venues that are not ground floor as it is not easy. If for instance the lift breaks down while our machines are upstairs, which does happen, this causes huge problems. The machines would need to remain in the venue until the lift is repaired, then the hirer would be responsible for the extra cost of us returning to the venue to remove the machines afterwards, as well as any extra costs that might be incurred from the venue itself due to loosing the function room that the games are in.
The only machine we have that is possible to be taken upstairs is the 4-Player BIG Screen Arcade. See HOME page for details.
What does "Van Spaces" mean?
Van spaces refers to the space taken up inside our vehicle when its being transported.
For example: A single standard machine similar to the size of a Pacman cabinet = 1 Van Space. Some games are much bigger so may take up 1.5 Van Spaces, if its wider than a standard machine, or up to 4 Van Spaces if its a large sit down twin driving game. Usually our vehicle can carry 10 single machines or 10 Van Spaces.
We are limited by law how many games we can safely put on our vehicle.
What areas of the UK do you cover?
We travel all over the UK, but we are based in the East Midlands (UK) but we cover any other area. Please get in touch to discuss your requirements and we will try to help.
FREE-PLAY or COIN OPERATED?
Our machines are all FREE-PLAY! We do not charge to play per credit, they are all completely FREE PLAY.
Some of our machines have coin mechanisms such as the 55 & 120 in 1, and also the crane grabber (good for fundraising events) and our BIG SCREEN 4-Player is also fitted with 1980's style token mechanisms that accept our "slotted" tokens (NOT UK COINAGE) to add credits to play, just like in the arcades from years back. These are also a good idea when you want to limit play at a kids party, or hand them out to your guests, or for fundraising applications, or just purely for nostalgia.
Where can your arcade games be used?
Pretty much any venue that has easy, flat access, with doors wide enough for our games and has adequate power. Please complete the form via the "CONTACT US" button on the HOME page and include plenty of detail regarding your venue and the access.
Our BIG SCREEN 4-Player machine
uses a huge 6ft wide projection screen so it would NEED to be situated in your venue where there is not too much light and away from any daylight such as skylights, windows or doors, where daylight floods into the room. Doing this will make the video screen much brighter and enhance your gaming experience. White outdoor marquees are not a good idea as the light level in the daytime is usually too bright.
Early evening / night time is fine inside a marquee, unless the marquee is black.
You will need a minimum area of roughly 7ft x 7ft floor space for it to be set up in your venue. It takes up around the same space as a modern arcade shooting game such as Time Crisis 3. We can accommodate any venue upstairs or downstairs and even your home, if you have enough space. The machine can also be used outdoor under suitable cover. Please call or message us to discuss your requirements.
Our other games machines
have regular TV monitors so these can be used in any room, with a moderate light level. These are heavier and a little tricky to move around so they can only be used in ground floor venues. Upon booking we would need to know if there are any steps or uneven ground accessing your function room. All our games machines are usually wheeled in on a "sack truck" type trolley.
How much does it cost to hire your arcade machines?
We don't have a price list as such to publish as every customers venue is different. The cost for hire is completely tailored to your needs and will vary dramatically depending on the following factors -
Your location / distance from us?
Home use or venue?
What venue you are using?
Accessibility of your function room? (ground floor, 1st floor etc, indoor or outdoor, steps, uneven ground etc)
How long you want to hire the machines for?
The best thing to do is to contact us to discuss your needs and we will work out a cost for you.
Limitations for use
Ghost Retro Arcade is strictly for private use ONLY i.e. private parties, weddings, privately organised events etc. We do not charge to play on our machines they are completely FREE PLAY. Our games are strictly NOT available for commercial / revenue earning applications such as for use in arcades, bars, pubs etc. Our 4-player machine is fitted with coin mechanisms that accept TOKENS ONLY not UK coinage. The tokens are to be used for limiting play, purely for fun, or in some circumstances for charity events. We reserve the right to charge a hire fee for our equipment, delivery / transportation and to cover our own costs.
Contact Us - Preferably, please click on "GHOST" on the home page to send an enquiry, or get in touch below.
Tel: 01909 239686
Mobile: 07799 795855
Email: ghostarcade@outlook.com
Facebook: facebook.com/ghostretroarcade
