I took my grandson to NickelRama a little over a week ago, while he was visiting from Ohio. Having never been, I had no expectations other than to think we were going to an "arcade." I had looked up NickelRama online just to verify that fact, and in so doing I read that all the arcade games were, go figure, a "nickel!" Anyhoo, what I did not realize was that NickelRama are a chain of "play for tickets" arcades, where one may then redeem the tickets for "prizes," akin to that which one might imagine winning at a carnival "Guess Your Age/Weight Booth," where number of prizes range from a stick of chewing gum or pencil topper on the low end to perhaps something electronic on the far upper end, depending on the number of tickets being redeemed. My grandson was fully aware of what we were getting into, as I quickly learned. After we made entry and each received our initial $10.00 purchase of 200 nickels, presented to us loose, in plastic cups, he immediately began searching the arcade for what he determined to be the game that would result in us accumulating the most tickets. This was not his first rodeo and he certainly knew the "name of the game" was quantity over quality, as far as ticket acquisition goes. The idea that we might challenge one another in some friendly video game mano a mano competition was quickly replaced by us challenging an electronically crafted gizmo to give up the most tickets possible, for later turn-in and prize procurement! As such was inevitable, he found THE game and thus, the challenge was on. It took us each about 45 minutes to burn through our 200 nickels. Well, I actually left the particular game and sought some variety of play, after about 160 or so nickels. That was short lived however, as I quickly realized my grandson's assessment was correct and the game to which he remained attached was the one that was most generous in spitting out tickets. Hence, I returned to sit beside him at the adjacent game and fed the remainder of my nickels into the machine. When our nickel cups were empty, I urged my grandson to walk about and seek out other possible games, but he quietly reminded me none were as generous as the one we'd just left. Still, I was seeking variety so, I enticed him with an additional cup of 100 nickels. He retrieved the cups and we began playing a game somewhat similar to THE game, but as he pointed out it just wasn't as lucrative. So, we went back to the machines we first sat at and fed. After a short period, we both were done and ready to feed our tickets into the Ticket Counters for tabulation. The ticket counters, booth count AND slice the tickets in half so they may not be reused/recounted. As our tickets were counted, he was declared the winner, by his count exceeding mine, by about 800 tickets! In total, we had a combined give or take 5300 tickets, with which he could now utilize to "shop" for prizes. With an "All-in" investment of just at $40, including the $5 entry fee for each of us to the NickelRama, he was able to get a tiny rubber eraser, a pair of large foam dice, and a plastic foam ball pop gun. In the end, I considered it money well spent, since the goal of the trip was to spend some quality time out with my grandson. He had fun and I had fun! He was shown that he was valued by my following his lead in our quest. And, he outperformed me in the acquisition of tickets! If you're looking to spend some time with your little ones and you want them to feel good about themselves, a NickelRama can fill that need! If you go, just keep in mind, that the quality is not in the prizes but in the time spent together! Live well. Be well. Cheers! read more

We checked this place out recently and had a good time. The people at the front desk were friendly and informative. There are a variety of games and it's decently priced. My daughter had a blast. She collected enough tickets to win some cool prizes. Some of the games weren't working, but we got to enjoy most of them. It was a fun way to spend an hour or so. read more

Anyone who is hating on an arcade for not being super pristine and clean has obviously never been in an arcade before. This type of place is overrun by kids and kids make messes. Period. As for the games themselves, you have every type of genre your heart could desire from shoot 'em ups to shooting hoops. It's fun playing some classics like TMNT or oversized Space Invaders and Galaga, but I think the true winner is any game that dishes out mucho mucho tickets to earn prizes. Of course you are not breaking even, but watching your kids really light up seeing how they have won stacks and stacks of tickets is so worth it, and it's not a bad economic introduction for them on how currency works lol. I've been there for birthdays and everything goes off without a hitch. Never seen an upset kid there. Staff has always been courteous and helpful, which says a lot because they're all very young kids who normally would be indifferent, but not here. Go to NickelRama. It's always a good time. read more

So much fun! They changed it up since we were there last. They now charge a fixed admission rate per person and then the cost of the nickels. Most games cost between 4 and 6 nickels so that's not bad at all. Other arcades will charge 25¢ to $1! The selection of prizes was pretty good so we were not disappointed. read more

We love this place. We come from OKC to Garland at least once a month to play games! Love that they still give out real tickets, and it isn't an arm and a leg like the bigger more adult themed arcades. I would recommend going when it wouldn't be a peak time, but it's about as good as you can get for a nickel arcade! read more

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I used to come here all the time when I was younger. My friends and I would come and pump nickel after nickel into the games until we beat those long ones. But as I return, there is something that is off now. It doesn't have the charm it once did. It also doesn't have a lot of the games that I used to love. The games they do have are ticket games. There isn't as many games like Time Crisis, or Terminator, or Star Wars Podracer that they used to have and I played all the time. Now it's mobile game ports that are designed to give out tickets. I would much rather go someplace like Free Play purely for the games. read more

This is definitely the place to go if you do not want to break your wallet taking your kids to Dave and Busters or something like that. It's about 1/4 of the price when you play the games and it's only a $3.25 entrance fee whether you are playing or not but that's a fair price. The games are set up to take nickels so you could use your nickels that you did not spend anywhere else not like tokens where they are proprietary and most places and make you come back They have ongoing birthday parties here it seems like and when the hour is up your party has to vacate for the next people, this is really a good system and I'm pretty sure the price is really cheap too. If you know me, I come here for the pinball games, yes that learn me and I noticed the resemblance on the same games that other place that sells hard cider that is set up for adults in which here is set up for kids. The thing I like about here is there is plenty of parking compared to the other place or when it gets busy you are walking about 2 or 3 blocks where you parked your car to you and through the door. Food is not served here but there are vending machines for sodas and chips and Candy but pretty expensive what I saw. The games and activities here are pretty much up-to-date meaning what you would spend about $2 for one game at Dave & Busters or main event you would spend about 29 to 40 cents here. read more

NickelRama - Arcades Near Me - Garland, Texas

I'm a regular visitor and I have visited bother of the NickelRama arcades enough to know about their game selections, and prize whatnot. I currently have accumulated over 50,000+ tix through numerous trips here and don't know if I want to come back for more. I really want to come back and have some big prize to work for like I do at other arcades, however the biggest prize they offer is a plush worth 25,000 tickets. I had emailed the owner and they stated that "we strictly adhere to the Texas State penal code on gambling. Title 10, chapter 47, section 47.01.". So as a result they don't offer bigger prizes like other arcades with high end consumer electronics and jumbo plushies which frankly I can't really understand. Overall, this is a pretty great arcade with good value for your money regarding play time. My gf and I can normally come in and play for a reasonable $20. I like this arcade but currently I have not much of a motivation to come back with the lack luster prizes. read more

NickelRama - Current ticket and card collection - Arcades Near Me - Garland, Texas

I came here because I was curious about this place. Just so you know there is an entrance fee. It is $3.25 per person even if you are playing or not. I bought $20 worth of nickels. They lasted my boys 2 hours. They both earned enough tickets to get prizes that they were happy with. There is a large array of games... pinball. skee ball, basketball, candy crush, video games, ticket games, and simulators. The funniest game was a beer pong type game. Now, there was no chugging of beer, but you are throwing a pingpong ball into a blue solo cup and they are in the formation of a triangle. I guess they are teaching the youth their beer pong skills early. I would like to point out I was a beast on that game. All games range from 1 to 10 nickels for game play. In general, nickels are comprable to quarters when calculating game play cost. A typical 1 quarter game would be a nickel and so on. Games that would cost $1.00 to $5.00 at Dave and Busters cost no more than 10 nickels at NickelRama. Nickels are available in change machines or at the cash register. You can also bring your own! Overall it was a fun time. read more

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Fun time for the kids but make sure to watch them as the old coin machines eat coins on occasion and your kid might just keep dropping coins not noticing the problem. read more

This place is great. None of the games were broken. They seemed like fairly new stuff. This wasn't just a collection of stuff from the 90's or anything. I've seen some of these games other places that would've cost $3 per play, but it was just 6 nickels here. You make up for the cover charge very quickly. We played quite a few games. We went to turn in our tickets and got some nice things. Much better than two tootsie rolls I've been stuck with at other places. I went with my 7-year-old and he had a great time. Definitely a great place to take your kids. read more

Rude staff. Kids stealing nickel cups. Over crowded. For the price it isn't a bad place but be sure to go at a time when it's not busy.

Games are fun, staff was really nice. Place wasn't too crowded. Some of the guest were rude but can't hold that against the place. There were lots of sanitizer stations for wiping games and sanitizing hands. Staff always wore mask. I enjoy this place and my kids love it. read more

It's fun but not amazing. Almost all the games are luck based, ticket lottery-type machines. My husband called it a 'casino for kids' which is pretty apt. There is skiball and a few racing games. I'd prefer more like that rather than just, take my tokens hit a button, give me tickets. The prize selection is better than most, some different things than standard. Also nearly every game is a minimum of 4 nickels. I found maybe two that were less. Lots that were more. So it's not really a nickel arcade. read more

Fun games for kids and a great place for birthday parties. Recommended for kids and teens.

I'm going to start off saying... this place is LOUD. There is no carpet on the floors, no sound dampening materials or curtains anywhere, so the sound just reverberates. Granted, this is filled with screaming kids so this is to expected. :) The games are all set to use nickels instead of quarters, tokens, or RFID cards. I'm a little mixed about this. It's nice to have actual currency so you can calculate you're only spending only 20 cents on a pinball game, but the machines seem to jam a LOT. That being said, I sat at one machine and noticed it was jammed when my daughter was unable to insert a nickel. I used my house key and unjammed the machine. For my efforts, I received a handful of nickels that were jammed! If your machine gets jammed, tell the front desk. They will fix it and give you additional nickels. read more

If you like Stern pinball machines then this place is for you. They have 10 of them and no others. I like your style Nickelrama! While none of them are Limited Editions they do provide the basic Stern experience which is definitely palatable. 20 cents per game with different settings on each. Some high scores get you extra balls while some get you replays. The pins seem to be pretty well maintained, except for TRON. That one needs some attention (Quorra and Disc War MB doesn't know when to end). Probably because it's so kick-ass and gets lots of attention. I can play that game over and over and over and over and.....I think you get the hint. :-) Join pinside.com read more

NickelRama - 10 pinball machines. All made by Stern in the last few years. :-D 20 cents/game with a $3.25 admission. - Arcades Near Me - Garland, Texas

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A few days ago I had my sons 2nd birthday and I am extremely pleased with their level of service. When we got there they had our location clean and reserved, there was no hassle with the entire process. If there were issues with the machines, the attendants immediately came and checked on the machines, refunded the amount taken and added tickets for the inconvenience. The kids loved the location and they even gave us extended time for them to eat pizza and cake since there were delays with the pizza delivery guys. Love the location, community, and employees. It's a very nice price for hosting 25 people and you can provide your own food and drinks. They have my business and approval. read more

NickelRama - Arcades Near Me - Garland, Texas

I was like a kid in a candy store in the arcade. It ain't no Chuck E. Cheese..lol But it's a nice small place for parents and adults to come chill. The game variety is scattered with different ones to choose from. I am a Pac Man junkie, so I was a happy fat rat when I seen the oversized P.M. video game. The air hockey table was legit. My partner couldn't handle my skills...Lol I won TWICE!!! The price is reasonable. $3.50 for admission with two different token options. I purchased the $5.00 option for tokens. I'd definitely take my nieces and nephews here to TURN UP. Lol read more

We got cheated on!!! I never had this problems until a few hours ago after we played the games. Here is the story me and my daughter were just having fun playing the NickelRama games and then we go to the ticket store to see all the stuff my daughter could get (BTW we had 245 tickets to start with that'll be important for later...) So my daughter get one Blow Pop which was 25 tickets. Then she wanted to save it which the guy said you can't save under 200 tickets there are 2 issues with that below. 1. That was not true because she still had 220 tickets 2. That is the dumbest rule I ever heard of NickelRama I mean, I don't get why that's even a rule!!! So my daughter buys 2 more blow pops so it would finish the price of tickets but then there was another issue we noticed when we got in the car. That it DIDN'T FINISH THE PRICE we still had 170 tickets left. I'm very disappointed in NickelRama after all I've been through with that place with having a fun time with my daughter now, this! Very disappointing. P.S I feel like the guy doesn't like to deal with us so that is also rude... read more

Had my sons 11th birthday hear and had booked online revived a email confirmation and reminder day before. Showed up table was ready and clean with no issues. Set up and went next door for pizza which is a great place fyi! Gotta love Nickle games makes your dollars stretch!! Had a great time they cleaned up after! Kids had a great time and win lots of tickets to fulfill their every little prize need! Staff was friendly and helpful! Would definitely return! I have been here a lot over past decade and it seems to stay updated clean and organized! read more

We LOVE video games, and they have A LOT! This location is one of the older ones, but every bit as awesome! It is usually a bit packed with the parties though and unfortunately about 5-10 games not working at any given time...and a few along the way that like to steal your nickels, arrrrrrg!....lol....those are really the only downfalls. Bottom line: it's good cheap fun with the family and they have great prizes! LOVE IT! read more

Was here today (Saturday) from approximately 4-6pm. It wasn't too crowded because a large birthday party was leaving. It costs $3.50 per adult to get in (cheaper for kids) and the games are an average of 6 nickels ($0.30) to play. What a deal!! They don't serve food or drinks, just two vending machines for snacks and drinks. If you're hosting a party there, you can reserve a table and bring your own food, drinks (no alcohol allowed), and decorations. Not sure if there's a charge to reserve it. A few machines were broken without a note posted which was annoying, but then again I think we only put 4 nickels into it ($0.20) so whatever. Collect the tickets you win from playing the games so you can turn them in for prizes. The prizes are for young kids - candy, little plastic toys, stuffed animals. All-in-all it was a great place for my little nephew and, I'm not gonna lie, I actually had a lot of fun, too. We saved loads of money going here instead of Dave and Busters. Of course we couldn't drink while we played games, but we can always go home and drink - no DD needed! read more

I used to think this place was so cool, now it's not. One time we came in with a few people in our group. 6 kids, 4 adults and a baby. We got In and they were not super busy. We asked for 10 cups of nickels. They told us no (keep in mind we had already payed) they said it was because they "ran out" and we would have to wait for about an hour. Keep in mind there's maybe 2 birthday party's and like 3 family's. Usually there's way more. We said we weren't waiting and that it's stupid they ran out when only a few people are there. We asked for out money back and they said "we can't give it to you because there wasn't an issue" EXCUSE ME?!?! And for the price we payed, we just went down the street to the other location and they were so much nicer. read more

NickelRama is a decent date place if you can get your better half into playing with your joystick. Which perhaps may be inappropriate considering the children outweigh the adults by far here. None the less, a couple of hours of fun was had for two, for around $20. Here's the breakdown: $3 to get in the door. All games cost 1 nickel to 6 nickels to play. Half the games are ticket based, meaning you win tickets for your skill or luck and can redeem them for crappy little plastic prizes... Which honestly can still be fun to "win" as an adult. The other half of games were mostly sit-down racers, some pinball machines, a few classic old school games, and a few shoot 'em types. Basically, if you're in the area, Why Not? Step back in time, have some cheap fun and be a kid again, I dare you. read more

Awesome place to take young kids. 5 bucks and they had all the fun they wanted. We will definitely come back

This place is a rarity in any other town. There's few places like this around the country. I recently read an article that said mom-pop arcades are dwindling around the country. There's places like Dave & Busters and Gameworks or miscellaneous locations with a few arcade games here and there (Main Event, movie theater) but they are all expensive. If you come here, it's cheap. You can spend five or ten dollars and play on more than a couple of hours, if you're good at the games you play. I remember coming here often as a kid. It's been in Garland for as long as I remember and always been great. It seems like every so often they also change their machines and get new games in. Which is a plus. Also there's vending machines, but not only that they let you have parties and there's a great pizza place next door if you haven't check it out. Salis Pizza & Pasta. It may not be like Peter Piper's Pizza that recently opened by Firewheel mall, but it's got lots of history and tons of action with games and prizes to be won with tickets. read more

This place is awesome. And proof again (I'm going to be non PC here people so quit reading if you are easily offended) that aspiration and upper middle class to rich white people, are idiots and will spend extra money to stay away from blue collar white people and or the brown people. Don't believe me. Why would anyone go to say, Amazing Jakes to play games when you can go to Nickelrama and play similar games for a lot less. I mean a lot less. We spent $30 and played for nearly 3.5 hours. This same amount would have lasted an hour at Amazing Jakes. Maybe an 1.5 hours at Adventure Landing. Nicklerama is worth the trip to the Land of Gar people. Negatives on the joint are what a few others have said. No food. Just a crappy vending machine for snacks and drinks. And the place looked as if it could become wheels off if it was crowded. read more

1) my 8 year old loves to win tickets to trade for the stuff behind the counter. The ticket games mostly require good timing (dropping a coin in a moving slot or hitting a button to tmie a spinning wheel or light) or skill (skeeball), so younger kids can get frustrated. But the trinkets counter also lets you buy merchandise if you're short on tickets. For $10 a kid can have a couple of hours of fun playing games and then a few more hours of entertainment with the toys he won with his tickets. 2) Pinball is not extinct in DFW! Nickelrama has always (at least for the 10 years I've known about this place) had recent vintage, fairly well-kept machines. Today there are 8 tables. For $3 cover and 3 nickels a game, you can pinball til you drop. 3) Nickelrama doesn't serve food except from a vending machine. That's great because there are some fun restaurants nearby. Next door to Nickelrama is a decent italian (highly rated by yelpers), Babe's, and Burger Street (mmm olive burger and frozen lemonade). read more

Insanely crowded on a Saturday and you'll have a tough time maneuvering around people to play the games...they definitely could use a larger space for a little more breathing room. We eventually left because it got so crowded that it wasn't fun for us anymore..constantly getting bumped into by people. Loved the pinball machine selection. They quickly fixed the machine that wasn't working initially. They've got a Hobbit Jersey Jack machine and a Ghostbusters, which are two of my current favorites. There was some sort of pinball league going on when I was there, but there was always at least one machine open and available to play. read more

The largest selection of pinball machines in a public location anywhere in DFW. The next most machines is 214 miles away in Austin. Once you get past the $3 admission charge, the games are priced cheap and it's easy to be entertained for minimal money. This place is over-looked by many because of it's odd location but is well worth the trip to go and play. A awesome destination for kids and adults of all ages. Pizza next door is a great dinner choice to make it a fun date night. read more

Nicklerama is fine for the kids with a decent selection of redemption games and racers, but there's not a lot of variety and I feel that if they were to optimize the space and add more games this place would go from good to great. Even at the age of 28, I love going to arcades and remembering the good old days from when I was a kid and playing at the Tilt and Aladdin's Castle at Irving Mall when I lived there. I'm a big fan of fighting games and DDR/rhythm games (no... Guitar Hero and Rock Band don't count. Look up Guitar Freaks, Drummania, Keyboard Mania, and Beatmania IIDX on YouTube and you'll see what a real music simulation game is) and sadly this place is lacking, lacking, lacking. Nicklemania in Dallas is better in my opinion, but only because they have a DDR machine otherwise they're on par with each other. read more

I remember coming here when I was a little kid, and every time I head back to Garland (usually to visit family/friends or eat at Sali's), I'm so pleased to notice that Nickelrama is still there. I remember walking in there with $5, feeling like the richest girl in the world, and being able to play arcade games for 3 hours or more (yeah, I was good). No food bar, at least not that I can remember, but hunger can easily be solved by a quick trip to Sali's next door. read more

It was nice to find a place where you can play old an new video games and pinball. As an adult with an 8 year old we can both go, get 200 nickels, and play for well over an hour. If you get bored and want to cash out quick, you can hit the coin dozers and get all the tickets you can. They offer a wristband for the kids that gives them 1000 bonus. Some common issues are the tickets jamming in the machines. They are very quick to fix though. Sometimes you get lucky and it spits out extra tickets for you. They offer space for three birthday parties. So you may want to postpone if it looks packed as it's a small place compared to a Chuck E Cheese and it can be overwhelming. A good place to take bored kids. There are some dining options located around so a kids night out can be made of it. read more

I haven't been in the Dallas area in nearly 3 years, however, I thought this placed deserved a review for all of the fun I had here long in the past. I'm not sure what all changes have been made in recent years though. It used to cost 3 bucks to get in the door and then all games varied from around one to six nickels each. One thing to note is that due to the price, sheer amount of games (especially ticket games, lack of arcades now, and birthday celebrations this place is often packed. The good news?... Most of the kids will be all over the ticket games in the hopes of purchasing a 2,000 ticket bouncy ball while you are playing all of the awesome arcade games that they have. Do they have all of the new games?...of course not. But, they did have a great selection of modern new arcade games, along with plenty of classic titles as well. This is truly a place where anyone can come and have a ton of fun, I hope it sticks around for a long time. read more

PACKED WITH KIDS. I mean, what would you expect? Watch your kid because other kids take advantage of the young ones, but this also goes on at Chuck-e-Cheese and us 80s and 90s kids loved it there. I didn't think it would be very expensive but after 3 people's entry fee and purchasing nickels the price racked up. Some of the machines didn't work but that's normal for an arcade. Cheaper than Dave and Busters but a lot smaller and a maze of people. read more

This place is a lot of fun for the price you pay. I have brought young kids as well as friends here and they always have had a great time. Heads up I would avoid during peak hours or when they have a lot of birthday parties as this place caN get extremely crowded and a liittle too hectic for younger children. Cool place overall, great prizes you can win at the end of gaming. Classic arcade style games, pinball, basketball as well as updated arcade games. Staff is friendly and able to maintain a great attitude because like I mentioned this place does get packed and overwhelming. read more

Came here on a sunday and it was very crowded with bday parties and what not. If you're someone without kids who just wants to play arcade games id come on a weekday. Overall the place was pretty vlean considering all the children. There was a 3$ entry fee and you could buy 5$ or 10$ worth of nickels. They had a good selection of old and new games and tons of ticket games. me and my bf come here for the pinball machines. They have a huge selection, like 10 machines, and all but 1 were working. They ranged from vintage to modern. Our favorites were the metallica one and the walking dead one but all of them are awesome. Alot of the games were only a nickel or 2, the pinballs were 4 nickels and some of the modern arcade games were 8 nickels. Unfortunately a lot of the games weren't working because nickels were jammed into the coin slots on some games. No big deal though considering how cheap it is. The prizes were kinda lame but its not like you go there to win stuff. Overall a cool place to have some cheap fun. read more

Went to the nickle arcade in Denver and had a blast with my son. $5 to get in and then all arcade games were free except for the ticket-games which were 1-2 nickles each. Came here expecting a similar experience. EEK! Only 3.25 to get in, but they make up for it with NO free games whatsoever, and very very few nickle games. If you're going to charge 5-10 nickles per game for most games, just switch to quarters and be done with it and quick calling yourself a nickle arcade. read more

Had my son's birthday party here. They let me in a little before open so that I could get everything set up. Bring your own food/drinks. You get the tables for x amount of time but your entrance is covered for the full day. They do have drinks available via vending machines though. None of the games were down when we were there. At one point it was a bit chaotic in the place but the customer service was great- staff was very helpful and managed the crowd with ease! Just a cozy little arcade. Only con: there should be more seating throughout the arcade. read more