I haven't been to Nickel City since the remodel, so I was curious to see what it looked like. The gentleman behind the desk was as kind as I remembered, and let me know what the options to put on the game cards were. He even let me turn in all of my "vintage" coupons that I had stashed away in the car--there was about 2,500 worth and he added them to my card, no questions asked! The space is very open and more quiet than other arcades. We were there on a Saturday night from about 6p-9:45p. $25/per person went a pretty long way! We played air hockey, the Simpsons, discovered some cool import games, tried our luck at the egg game, etc. I believe most of our party of 4 has credits left over. They still have the gear game that I remembered, the game where you have to drop the red balls into the buckets, etc., but I was pleasantly surprised to see they had a cool, new Hot Wheels puck game, a huge Monopoly spinner, and the Rick and Morty drop game that entertained me for the majority of my time there. I have a hard time parting with my tickets (clearly, based on the stash in my car), but the "store" had a wide variety of items and fair prices. We ate dinner before heading over so I cannot speak on the cafe nor did I use the bathroom myself. There are not as many games as other arcades, but it is a very nice place to spend some time! read more

Nickel City - Arcade - Arcades Near Me - Northbrook, Illinois

This place sure has been cleaned up! It's been a while since I've been to Nickel City, so I'm not sure when they renovated, but it's great now! The place seems to have more emphasis on carnival-type games where you get tickets as a result of playing them, such as skee-ball, basketball, ball bucket drop, etc. They do still have the nickel arcades, but definitely it is the minority. They also reconfigured the layout, and it feels more spacious and less clutter. All, surprisingly, all games were working and there was not a single out-of-order sign when I went. Sadly, there is no more free arcade section, except for a Tetris arcade near the basketball machine. While the arcades do take the good ol' fashioned Jefferson, all other games require a game card. Load up the game card at two different kiosk, one near the counter selling overpriced prizes, or one in the back near the bathrooms. Overall experience, I like it! With just spending $11, my teenager was able to entertain himself for close to 2-hrs. That's a great price for me. This cheap parent will come back. BATHROOM REVIEW: Located near the back, the bathrooms are the only thing that appears to not be renovated. Everything was in working order, and got the job done. Don't forget to wash your hands, because we all know you'll be touching everything afterwards. Sit or squat? Squat. read more

Nickel City - Arcades Near Me - Northbrook, Illinois

Nickel City is no longer nickels. Keep your change at home and bring more cash. Most of the game machines are operating by a card that you fill with money at a self-serve machine (one located by prizes and second one by bathrooms) for $10 to $100. There are some old school classic games (Pac-Man, Mortal Kombat, Galaga, etc.) that have free play but most of the kids are not interested. The adults can play these games all you want with almost no wait time! The place has been remodeled and it looks great! So much space now and not overcrowded but it is overwhelming! The games add tickets to the cards to choose the usual stuff at the counter to acquire. There appears to be food for sale but it wasn't open yet. There is plenty of seating to sit by the food. It's not the same place, but it is entertaining. read more

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If I could give zero stars I would. My son won 3500 tickets on a machine and when we went to pick out prizes they said there is a 1000 ticket limit on the card?? Supposedly you have to buy the "upgrade" package to get unlimited tickets. I have never been to an arcade that limits the amount of tickets kids can win. My poor son was so disappointed and they refused to honor his actual earnings, the kids 10 give me a break. Will never go back, this place is a scam. read more

I went to Nickel City for a kid's birthday party. I've heard of this place but this is the first time I've ever been. When you walk in you walk right into the arcade area they have a decent amount of games and in the middle they have the old-school video games like mortal combat, mario, etc. It's called nickel city because back in the day it use to only cost a nickel to play. The arcade games are played with a card you can reload and tickets are put on the card. Fun if you have kids and looking for something to do. The rooms for the parties are new and spacious. The worker working the bday party I attended was very efficient and helpful and kept things moving along with setup and bringing out the food. read more

Nickel City - Party room - Arcades Near Me - Northbrook, Illinois

The old school games are free like Pacman. There weren't a ton of them but you can't beat free. And then there were lots of new games that aren't cheap but there's lots of variety enough to rival Dave and Busters in this small strip mall. read more

Took my kids to check out the newly remodeled nickel city. Immediately when we got through the doors we were impressed on how much they expanded the space. There is a cafeteria now where you can buy food and sit and eat. They got more arcade games. We walked up to a kiosk and bought a rechargeable card. I liked the fact that the kids didn't have to worry about lugging all their tickets around and it all the tickets just goes on the card. Who wants to wait in line to feed tickets to a machine, not me. The kids were able to get some fun prizes to take home after cashing out their tickets. The kids had a blast and we will definitely be back. read more

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Heard they remodeled this space and had some high expectations from when I was younger and came here a lot. First of all, I'm glad they didn't have a $2 admission fee anymore or else I would have been really upset wasting all that money with 8 people. There are way less games and I have to say the bumper cars in the original concept was a great addition. They have no dark space that looks like an arcade and the decor is non existent. A lot of games did not work and the prices have risen and gotten ridiculously expensive. I swiped a few that didn't work and it still takes your money, no signs put up for out of order. The least you can do is turn off the screen so that it doesn't swipe and take your money. Most games cost $1 plus so I know we wasted over $5 on swiping with nothing happening and re-swiping etc... the whole point of this place was to come enjoy cheaper games and now things cost $1? Not worth it. You have claw machines with no lights so it doesn't even look like it's working. Your games that are fun to play vs each other have just 1 working. The tickets take a long time to load. If it's all automated, it should not take that long and count up from 1.... It is a cool way to spend some time playing old school video games for free, but they need some more games and should tailor for an older crowd too. Prizes were just alright, but didn't have high expectations there since most arcade game places are like that. Overall, can still use improvements. read more

The manager Amar is very nice in respectful he went over in beyond for me in my client thank for the great customer service I will be returning in the near future the staff member was really nice as well just a 10 out of 10 of we was rating on a scale onc again thank you guys for and amazing time read more

This place is so fun you should check it out Also back in 2023 one of the games glitched and it had unlimited plays of it me and my family got so many tickets in that glitched game read more

Great for parties, and a fun throwback for those who like retro arcades. Many are broken or not working correctly, and there aren't any pinball machines. Still... a really fun time! Great remodel recently (2024) read more

Nickel City - People having fun with their new prizes - Arcades Near Me - Northbrook, Illinois

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It was a fun time with all the main games you could wish for. The wife, 15 yo kid and I had a great time. It will definitely cost more than a nickel, but I'm not complaining. $40/3people/1hour read more

Broken games. Redemption pricing extremely awful. Ticket games now impossible to win. Claw machines are absolutely rigged. Do not come here. It is a dump. read more

A long running arcade in Northbrook. It's the typical win tickets for prizes kind of arcade with a huge party room. $2 admissions for each kid. We arrived in with about 15 kids on Friday each with about $5 worth of tokens (nickles) in hand for the games. The kids had a lot of fun. Though I think about 10-15% of the older arcade games were not working overall. Can't complain too much, alot of the older games were free. For anyone who grew up in the 90s it's nostalgia free games with Tekken, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter II, and WrestleMania. The kids all had fun regardless of the age of the arcade. They also have food for purchase, but we had dinner by the time we arrived so not too interested. They have novelty ice cream products, nachos and frozen pizza (either whole or individual slices). I don't think many folks had any food though. The pricing for the food was acceptable for what was 20years ago so what inflation? Nickle City is a nostalgia time-machine for those who are parenting age currently. read more

This place is a blast from my past. It's been here since well, before I was in high school and that's going back twenty some odd years. Goes to show you, it doesn't have to be fancy to be fun. If you're looking for bells and whistles, move along. However; if you're looking for some good family fun that's affordable and memory making, head on over. Check first for a groupon, it's a great deal. You get tokens and pizza. Seriously, the best way to kill a few hours and not feel like you had to take out a second mortgage to provide ample entertainment. read more

Nickel City - Fun for the whole family! - Arcades Near Me - Northbrook, Illinois

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I have been coming here for years. Stopped by each time we went to Chicago from St Louis. They recently updated and it looks nice but no longer has the same feel. You can't take 20 bucks and be entertained for an hour any longer. They use card and points system and basically this has become a mini Dave and Busters. read more

Nickel City - Prizes - Arcades Near Me - Northbrook, Illinois

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Just embarrassing. 75% of the games are broken. Garbage everywhere. This place used to be a lot of fun. I guess the strategy is just to suck as much money out of people as possible until they stop showing up and then close the place. Save your nickels and go somewhere else. read more

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It is really fun. The kids loved it. A great way to spend the day off from school or the weekend.

My kids loved it when it was shabby and they were raving about it now that it's been remodeled. It's a modern, full featured arcade now. It's much cleaner and bigger than before. It's also still reasonably priced. Not a nickel, but we spend $20 and had a blast while we probably would have had to spend $100 at chuck e cheese for the same amount of game time. will definitely be back soon! read more

They no longer have actual nickels. Believe me, it is a lot cleaner without everyone touching the same nickel 400,000 times. The cards are a lot more techie, and the layout of the place is now a lot better. This was my first time going back after the renovations, and I was impressed. They also always had someone cleaning. I loved the old timey feel it had when it was still using the nickels. The cards are also more expensive than the nickels were. Some of the machines were not working, and they were not even blocked off. Bring cash when you go, not nickels! It was still fun though. read more

It's a fun arcade for the youngsters and oldersters. Grown couples without children were having fun alongside children. It's fun to get takeout from Max and Benny's afterwards. I recommend it. read more

Super fun and the workers are really nice here! Place is clean and very awesome.!! Definitely recommend

This place is just awful. It is filthy, and a good number of the games are seemingly always out of order. I would recommend going anywhere but here. read more

So many broken machines, dirty. I used to go here years ago so I took my kids here. Very different from how it used to be. Atleast 80% of the machines are broken. I feel bad for even writing this review bc I think from the condition it's in, they might be on the verge of closing? Why not charge more and replace/fix your machines?Clean up. And then when we went last Saturday, there was a birthday party and the poor kids were lining up for the 4 machines that worked. Then there was a weird adult man that wouldn't get off the ddr game. We were there for an hr and I watched as he sweated on the floor, wipe his sweaty towel on himself, on the floor, on the machine, repeat. I invited 2 other families with us and it was very embarrassing to be wasting their time like that. I could tell they were very frustrated by almost everything broken but just didn't want to complain. I also didn't feel comfortable ordering food. If floor, corners, everything else is so dirty, I don't want to know what the kitchen looks like. read more

A great concept that just isn't quite realized. I love the idea of a retro arcade combined with newer arcade model, even for kids and that uses coins. I love the idea of using nickels instead of quarters. And the Groupon deal I got was very reasonable. And the kid had a decently fun time. Unfortunately,approximately half, if but me, of the games were either not working or broken. Yes, there's a difference. Every single "free" game, with the exception of one Pac-Man game, was broken. They were either turned off completely, or the ones that were at least on, were still relatively unplayable due to damaged and/or unresponsive controls or screens. But even many of the newer games had similar problems. Fruit ninja and several others got coins stuck in the slot. Skee ball stopped distributing tickets at one point. The bozo buckets would distribute the balls to throw unless someone came over and lifted the panel up each time. And the back bucket was on its side. Many of the ticket games were sort of half working. The basketball game only had 3 balls so time is wasted waiting for the balls to arrive. The Canon games next to the Skee ball seemed to have no pressure behind the shots. They couldn't even get to the holes at times you're supposed to be shooting into. The big red ball drop would almost work well but every time I or my daughter played, it would break any streak going when the button would randomly trigger an unwanted a drop. Even the coin pushers, while technically working, for the most part, seemed to struggle to slide. Like they desperately needed oil or something to lessen the friction. The poor employees, for which there seemed to be 2 the entire time we were there, might have been doing their best but I think had reached their limit where, even though they were accommodating were visibly not thrilled about having to come to our rescue every time we had a problem. And the last problem was waiting twenty minutes to order or food and having to track down the same two employees once it became clear nobody was coming to man the food counter. I had to go find someone, while others waited to see when we got our food since we were ahead of them in the queue, who again did their job and made Fine pizza but were not thrilled about the circumstances. I really can't say I blame them. It'd be hard for me to keep a happy face while all that's going on and not able to do anything about it. These are the examples that I can recall now that I'm home. I feel like if they can fix the games to a point of consistent reliability I'd love to make this a regular visit for my daughter and I. But in its current state, it was more disappointing than anything and it promised an experience it is not able to deliver. read more

We had our child's birthday party here. The kids had fun but wayyy overpriced for what we got. Also, I called 2 months ago to find out if they were doing anything about the games that keep breaking. I told them I'd like to find somewhere else if things aren't in working order. They told me they are renovating and expanding and that they would be in the new space with new games by our party date. In that conversation, I asked what they would suggest and they said that they suggest having the party early in the day, so we did. I called the day before to confirm and they had us down for the wrong date and time. Pros - DQ ice cream for each kid Organized staff for day of Cons - All the games weren't working. It was truly embarrassing. The tickets got stuck, coins got jammed. The poor tech that works there was so busy as a result. Bathrooms had no soap. The place is just run down in general. My advice - don't have a party there until they are in their new space. read more

Did somebody say no money required? I thought this was supposed to be fun for five. Cents. Credit card, Mark, this another one.

Walked in and right back out. Gross, chaotic, dirty, and most of the games were broken.

All fun games and great prizes. I went there with my kids and are so super duper amazed.

About 30% of the games have an out of order sign and the of the remaining games about 50% ate our nickels or didn't function properly. Vast majority of the free games were out of order or turned off. Bathrooms were unsanitary and the carpet was very dirty. I felt bad for the employees who were constantly being asked to fix malfunctioning games. Snack bar was closed but I would absolutely not eat there. read more

This place WAS a great place now most of the games are trash (at least none are broken like they used to(but the games that were broken were bad games so it was ok)) but now IT DOESN'T EVEN USE NICKELS. Why even keep it nickel city if you can't use nickels? It's all just with a card now and no tickets! don't go here unless you have a time machine to go back to when it used nickels. The only good part is that the prices are decent but they are wayyyyyyy more marked up now so just go to Dave and busters or somewhere else not here. read more

We just had my son's 5th birthday party at Nickel City. It was a blast for the kids but this place was truly foul. It looked like nothing had been cleaned in years. I'd say about half of the games were out of order. The staff that helped us was friendly, but one of the employees was clearly sick, with a sore throat and sneezing. It was really gross. Every single person that came to the party commented on how sticky the floors were in the party room. It was really disgusting. If the kids hadn't had such a good time, I would've given the place one star, maybe. I can't believe how much money I paid for this party. read more

I'm a deal addict. I saw a deal for Nickel City and went for it. I Yelped it first before I bought and I was definitely a little nervous because people seem to have a love/hate relationship with this place. I am in the "love" category. We had so much fun! So normally, there's a $2 admission fee per person and then games run on nickels instead of tokens. There's a wall of free games back by the bathroom (mostly classic arcade stuff). We played a lot of ticket payout hands like Skee-Ball (10 cents) and basketball (20 cents). My 3 year old was a big fan of the Bozo grand Prize Game (10 cents). The deal I purchased came with a large 2 topping pizza and a pitcher of pop. The pizza wasn't bad, nothing to write home about but not the worst stuff I've ever had. The place was plenty clean. Cleaner than I expected. I didn't let my baby crawl around or anything but it was just fine. The bathrooms weren't scary in the slightest. The staff were SO nice. I came into contact with four guys and they all went above and beyond to be nice, especially to my kids. read more

Nickel City - Arcades Near Me - Northbrook, Illinois

Smells were extremely unique,interesting and refreshing. Equipment was top of the line never before seen games. Amazing atmosphere and the energy was ecstatic. Staff was very pleasant and engaged. Would completely recommend if you are looking for an interesting experience. read more

Had a great time here today. Went with my son and invited some friends. All 4 boys ages 3,6,7, and 12 had a blast. There were some games out of order but still plenty to play with. You definitely can't beat the price. We could have stayed for hours. It was clean and the people working were very kind and helpful. If a machine ate a coin someone was there offering to help. Just ask and they will assist. We will definitely be back! Very pleased with our visit. read more

Took the kids and they had a great time...considerably cheaper than Dave and Buster's. Recently renovated--super clean and still the same old friendly crew...all the games around the perimeter are easy to use with the card reader and while the kiddos played, I squeezed in a few old school arcade games in the middle area...FOR A NICKEL per play! Can't beat that! We are big fans and will be back!! read more

Alright folks, I have a question for you: what is your idea of 'fun'? Is it a wild adventure in Bora Bora? Bar hopping in an urban metropolis? Trying the hot menu items in the top-most foodie city in the world? Alright, let's be realistic here: you probably enjoy some wholesome, clean fun. No? Okay, maybe I am alone in that boat but I like some laid-back, nostalgic entertainment in my old age of over three decades. That's where arcades come in. Many of us born in the 80s remember days spent in arcades and still revert back to our youth with the now-rare entertainment escape. Luckily, some spots still exist. Enter: Nickel City. Let's see what Nickel City has to offer, shall we? Nickel City is a small arcade located in a strip plaza taking up a corner real estate spot. Open until 10pm, this arcade reminds one of the days of yore by serving a mixed patronage ranging from small children with parents to teenage gals hanging out in the parking lot smoking pot and talking about boys (yes, I saw that first-hand). Consider Nickel City a gathering place of unique characters. What will you find inside Nickel City? Stepping foot into Nickel City opens you to an airy, medium sized arcade with several games in the front, a food bar/dining area to the right, party room in the back, and some more games to the back left. Don't expect some sort of modern entertainment center though -- which is what the website shows-- as Nickel City is outdated, dingy, dirty, and better called Yuck City (okay, okay I'm not that funny). The floors are gross and all of the games are ridden with grime. It's a good thing that Nickel City has sanitizer stations because you will truly need it.This place is not only out of the 80s but looks like it hasn't been cleaned since the 80s, either. The highlight of Nickel City includes both the fact that there are some old games such as Pac Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tetris, etc; plus some newbies like Mario Kart and Star Wars. Plus, many of games including old time favorites like skeeball are a nickel (hence the name). HOWEVER, this is somewhat false advertising because most of the games require about 4 nickels each so still close to the standard 25 cents AND a large number of the games were out of order. What a ripoff! My biggest complaint is that of customer service. Or shall we say, the lack thereof. The employees here are teenagers with ego trips and it is NOT pleasant. One of the games stole our money and when we mentioned it to employees, they barely cared and in fact gave us an attitude and had us wait before they "got to us". When we redeemed tickets at the end of our evening, the same employees were too busy socializing and then acted like we were sick with the plague. Unbelievable! Speaking of tickets, these games are tweaked to disperse a shortage of tickets. My boyfriend and I each played skeeballl and he got about 15,000 more points than me and we both received the same amount of tickets. What?? A perk: if you seek a photobooth for a photostrip; Nickel City has one by the door for $3. There isn't much more to say about Nickel City as this place is filthy, half-broken, and has terrible customer service. It's really not worth the experience unless you genuinely want to go to an arcade and there isn't another option in the Chicago-suburb area. Nickel City is about as equally bad as the band, Nickelback. That's bad, folks, that's bad... read more

Had a fun time games range from 1 to 6 nickels. And you earn tickets for prizes. Ita fun small place to play arcade games and air hockey. You also have to love the address being 555 and the place called Nickel City. read more

Nickel City - Arcades Near Me - Northbrook, Illinois

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The good news is they remodeled and the place has new carpeting, better lighting with a clean and open feeling, not crowded. The games work now and everything goes on the card. Guess who's paying for all these improvements? YOU! Where you could spend $12 - $15 before, your kids were entertained for almost two hours. Now, it's $20 each for the card and kids are through in less than 45 minutes. No longer a value. Be prepared to spend a boatload of money and then have to go somewhere else. We don't go here very often anymore. You've been warned. read more

No longer a nickel dump. The classic games and feel of burning bags of nickels and earning a stack of tickets is no longer there. RIP