Visiting Boise, we wanted to check out this place, since who doesn't enjoy old school arcade games? Its located in a basement, which is nice on a hot day. The pinball machines are 0.50 cents each and all the other games are 0.25 cents each. The change machine was somewhat picky on what dollar bills it would take, which was a bit of a pain. And when we visited, the ATM machine was broken. A few of the games were not fully functional, such as one pinball machine, the left flipper was broken, making play impossible. But, they are older machines, so that is to be expected. read more

A basement full of vintage arcade games with beer on tap? Sign me up! I went to the Spacebar for the first time today and saddled up to the bar for a drink. As I chatted with the very friendly bartender I asked him "Do you have a Street Fighter II machine in here?" The bartender suggested I look over my shoulder and there to my delight stood a Championship Edition machine. If that was not enough to make my heart melt the bartender spoke the most tremendous statement I've heard in weeks: "It's set to Free Play." Gobsmacked I stood up, beer in hand, and proceeded to play 10 rounds in a row (my selected character was Ken, obviously). Awesome place! I will be returning soon! read more

This is one of my favorite bars in Boise (if you can truly call it a "bar"). It's an underground arcade\restaurant\bar with all the throwback games you could want! At only $0.25 per game, you can't afford not to play the games! I can't speak on the food as I haven't eaten here, but the beer is moderately priced with a decent selection. Another reason I enjoy this place is the vibe is super chill and I don't have to worry about obnoxious drunks stumbling about - just gamers who want to eat and drink. Overall, the games, atmosphere, and people will keep me returning. read more

In town for one night and this is where we ended up. Such a fun, geeky arcade. You almost feel at home there, having a drink, sitting on the couch in the little made up living room area and playing old school video games. Wow, it had been forever since I had played Mario Brothers on Nintendo and it was so much fun! If I ever make it back to Boise I will definitely stop by for some beer and games once again at Spacebar Arcade. read more

It's a blast from the past! Now, with alcohol. A great place for geeky folk who played the arcades back when games cost a quarter to revisit the games. Mild sound atmosphere where conversation can be had without yelling. I like the rock walls that remind me of many basement pubs I visited when traveling across Europe. Look forward to making my way through the alcohol selection and seeing how I do on the old games. read more

Spacebar Arcade - Creepy Halloween decorations are up! Don't be scared, it's a great chill hangout. - Bars Near Me - Boise, Idaho

Such a cool place! very chill fun Everyone is so nice there! They only have wine beer and canned cocktails. I was a little sad about that but then had some wine and that was just as good!! I loved this place!! read more

I usually love this bar. I always have such a good time, but for this instance, the service was just pure lacking. If I'm correct, when you go to a bar, you are there to drink. This specific bartender kicked my friend out after only 2 beers. I am so extremely disappointed. This used to be my favorite hang out, but if that bartender is there, I will not be going. Am so dissatisfied that I have no desire to come back. read more

We found ourselves downtown with a few extra minutes before a Yelp event so we wondered down the steps to check this place out. To be honest I am not a huge fan of arcades/games because I pretty much stink at them. My spouse on the other hand loves video games so he was in his element. We cashed in some bills to get our quarters then browsed the available games. I enjoyed watching my husband, but he convinced me to join him in a game. Once I let my guard down I had fun even though I died within minutes. We didn't get anything to drink, but I have a feeling we will be back. read more

Rad variety of new and vintage pinball machines and vintage arcade games. Bitchin jukebox. One of the best in town. Good beer selection. Awesome atmosphere. Fun DJs when they have them. Easily one of the best small vintage arcade bars I've been to in any city. The only way I can think of to improve Spacebar would be to add a liquor license. Other than that, Spacebar is one of my favorite downtown Boise places to have a beer. read more

A fairly small 80's arcade/bar, but they've made the most of the limited space available. Around 30 games mostly from the 80's (the list is on their website) though some of them are bound to be down for service. They're primarily in pretty good shape, with the exceptions being a somewhat distracting screen burn-in on my beloved Moon Patrol and the response time on the tracking ball for Centipede seeming to be a bit slow. A setup for DJ's to perform is a nice touch. Small tap selection but they're all geared towards craft beer. Even what's not on tap tends to veer away from macrobrew swill. What should be noted and hasn't been mentioned yet is that this place is 21+, so no bringing the kids here to make them watch you relive your youth. Grinkers in Eagle is the place to take them for that. After having been to both places, it's hard not to compare the two. Though I give both places four stars, Grinkers would win out based on having over twice as many games available. But Spacebar's main advantage is that it's in a killer location downtown with plenty of other entertainment options available surrounding it. read more

This is one the best bars I have ever been to. Such a great atmosphere, music and so many throwback arcade games. I had a blast here. Check this place out, it's awesome! read more

Such a cute find while wandering in Boise I'm all about the retro games this was cool and they had nice lil selection at the bar read more

Spacebar Arcade - Bars Near Me - Boise, Idaho

What a flash back! Love this place. Had a blast playing Ms Pacman with my wife. Played Centipede and Galaga...brought back great memories. Highly recommend this place. Enjoy! read more

Spacebar Arcade - Centipede. Got top score lol - Bars Near Me - Boise, Idaho

So much fun, and really easy on the wallet. Most of the games are a quarter. So, $20 easily gets you a couple drinks and lots of play time.

Pretty cool spot! Drinks are definitely a little overpriced but some free and cheap gaming makes up the difference.

Talk about a trip down memory lane. This place is awesome. I mean they have all kind of games from arcade, pinball, retro console and even board games. read more

Spacebar Arcade - Invaders homage - Bars Near Me - Boise, Idaho

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This has turned out to be one of my favorite bars in Boise. It is hidden in the basement of the Adelman building & I continue bringing people here. They have TONS of drinks and it starts with $2 Coors Lights. Nice! There are all sorts of 25 cent old school arcade games, pinball machines but my FAVORITE part is the TV that hooks up to NES, N64, Super Mario & The Game Cube. You can sit here all night with cheap beers playing Mario Kart. Does it get any better than that? Oh - plus the bar tenders are always laid back & easy going. Another +. read more

If you dont allow kids under 21 put it on the freaking website before we drive down there pay for parking and get told when we come in. Bartender says well its on the door. Thanks for the info. Also called there number on the website 8 times before going down there no answer. Also got the managers card called him left a message of course no call back. Place seems shady to say the least. read more

Meh. It was much smaller than I had hoped for and the games they had were just okay. Only 4 pinball machines which was kind of sad.

I recently visited my friends in Idaho and this was on the list of places I "had to see". The place: I was told this place was an underground bar/arcade. That it was full of arcade games and was a blast. My first thought was " OMG! Yes!". It seems like the perfect idea. I mean an arcade, an underground ar-cade, pure awesome. Now mix it with a bar and you have winning, or so i thought.... My friend and I showed up to find the place indeed underground and with a bar, but not exactly as I expected. Well, not at all like I expected. The place is small and cramped, as if someone took a basement and placed a small bar then shoved some very old arcade games to the side and said "Grand opening!" To put things in perspective, picture walking into a very crowded room. To your left all along the wall, you see pinball machines (about 10 or so). In front and to the right you see a row of arcade machines, not the kind found in an arcade nowadays, but rather ones found in your parents days and old 80's movies. You know, the old ones with a screen and levers (joysticks), like Donkey Kong. Now imagine walking forward, but dough, you just bumped into someone cause the isle isn't wide enough for both of you. But you maneuver your way through and to the right, right to the "bar area". To your right you see a small bar and in front you see a few tables (all taken by young drunks). You decide to turn around play some games instead, but find there's maybe 1 arcade game open and no pinball machines open. What do you do? That's exactly what happened for me. This place has the potential to be great. To be exactly what I first pictured. Maybe if they found a bigger place and expanded their game choices it'd be a grand place, but as of now, it's simply too cramped and has far to few games I've even heard of, let alone know how to play, for it to be any place I'd visit again. read more

Kyler was great. He was super respectful and attentive to us. If you go to space are look for kyler.

This is the coolest retro arcade I've been to.. such a fun thing to do any night. Being an 80's baby, I loved playing all the fun games, it's like a time warp for sure! Also the cool bartender dude was great! Good music too! There is a good variety of local beers on tap and other drinks too- I will definitely come back here! read more

We went to Spacebar before dinner at Fork for my fiance's birthday. I wasn't expecting there to only be beer and wine but that was fine. The games were a lot of fun, especially the old school pac-man. The games I played were all $.25 each, but they also ate at least $2 worth of my coins. read more

Was in Boise from Los Angeles for a wedding. I never thought I would find a place like this. Pure fun good atmospheric waves. Great video games from the 80's and 90's. No hard liquor only beer and wine but that's wasn't a problem for me. I loved it so that I tried to go back on Sunday before I left but they were closed. Anyway don't leave Boise without visiting Space bar. Only game I didn't see was PAC MAN. So I played Tron, Track and Field and pinball all night. read more

Spacebar Arcade - My Sister playing Centipede - Bars Near Me - Boise, Idaho

Beer and retro arcade games....how can you go wrong with that? Cool place! Stopped in and played some games that I haven't seen years and it was nice to revisit them with a pint of hefty IPA in one hand. They also had some free consoles to play too so I whooped my friends ass at Mario Kart on 64. Good times to have here come on down!! read more

Spacebar Arcade - Yes! - Bars Near Me - Boise, Idaho

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Mediocre dive bar/arcade. Selection was so so, some games ate your quarters and many people were in the way, not playing. PBR pint was a little warm and the music was decent. Might go again to try Trivia. Ended up going to Big Al's for their happy hour. read more

Yes! Loved this bar. Awesome arcade games and old systems to rent and play

This place was so cool to just walk up on. The bartender wasn't the friendliest to us but besides that my boyfriend and I had a great time playing old school arcade games and pinball Machines and of course drinking a beer along with it. Highly recommended. read more

I traveled 150 miles to Boise space bar Arcade with my 9 year old son just to thrown out because kids are Not Allowed! It would have been nice for website/reviews to have mentioned that this is not a kid friendly place. read more

I love it. This is a little bit of nerd heaven. If they added some micro brews this place would be outstanding Love the atmosphere. Love the clientele. Luke skywalker greets you at the bat. Oh the best part. Tron read more

SPACEBAR RULES! Games, usually decent music, and cheap drinks! What is not to like? Well, maybe that they only serve beer and wine but I will take it if it means I can play Frogger uninterrupted for hours. Last time I came here there were free donuts and pizza. After that, there is little that they could do to change my mind. They have a cash-quarters machine inside so don't worry about that but get some extra quarters for the juke box! read more

I love this quaint and nerdy local bar. Where else can you play old school Mario Brothers or Guantlet for hours while sipping back on a cider or a beer? Here! That's where! The games are a quarter and the alcohol is decently priced. The staff was welcoming on my first time in. I won't lie, I was a bit intimidated since I ventured here by myself one night. But I was put at ease and grabbed a drink and a game. I ended up spending only under 10.00 and kept myself occupied for 2 hours. Spacebar FTW! read more

Maybe the guy was having a bad day? The boyfriend and I have never been to Boise,ID so we had a day to explore the city a bit and stumbled on this gem. Its located what looks like a basement of sorts, from the initial directions that was given from Google maps. We walked in it pinball machines were lined up along the wall small collection of classic retro games. We pulled out some cash for coins and started playing, the man behind the bar did not acknowledge us from the moment we walked in. I tried to make eye contact with him and he just stared back at me with out a reaction. After a while two women had walked in and he kindly greeted them which was the complete opposite from when we walked in. It rubbed me the wrong way and I mentioned it to my boyfriend,we finished whatever game we had been playing and left. I'm giving this a three star because of the retro games I grew up with playing and the crappy customer service we had received. read more

These people know how to target a demographic and do it well. Not only are all your arcade faves (and a few pinball machines) there for the playing, but many have an attached rack that will hold your beer while you play. A live DJ spins the indie hits, and there are ample quarters for you to trade your dollars for. There's a nice, if small, variety of craft beers, including many in cans, served by really nice bartenders. A gem! read more

Cowabunga dude! Like being launched back to 1980! Subterranean and dark, with the lights of several vintage pin ball and video games illuminating the space. This place is fun! Board games and consoles are there to play also. Local micro-brew beers on tap and the standards in cans are offered at the bar along with wine, sodas and coffee/teas. I've taken out of town friends here, who were instantly thrown into flash-back. Cool beans. read more

This place is pretty freaking cool. So many arcade games, video games, and board games available at this place! I also liked the bar itself... they really decked it out with a super 80s/90s theme, especially with their menu, it looks like a video game menu! So rad! They offered beer, wine, and cocktails which were super cheap (around $4-8, which is cheap to me coming from Los Angeles). Bartenders are cool, and the crowd is chill as well. Overall, I had a good time, thanks! read more

Fun, old school video games and lively atmosphere. Not tons of games, but the ones they have are good.

This place is great for a unique night out at a bar. Anyone can enjoy the laid back casual ambience of the place. Gamers and casual game enthusiasts will love the selection of retro games available for the patrons to use. It's a great place to hang out with friends or to take a date. I would give it five stars, but it's only a beer and wine bar. I was a little disappointed by that, but I had enough fun that I didn't mind too much. read more

This visit was pretty great! The only reason I have to take a star off is because I couldn't do a half a star and that would be for the cleanliness of the place over all. The walls had many spots with gross stuff on them which should have been taken care of. All in all a good time I hope to be back and I'm hopeful they will get better. read more

Good atmosphere, overall a fun place to hang out. We were visiting from out of town and space at provided us a fun and unique place to go. Would have liked to see some more drinks on tap but loved all the available games and live DJ that was there on Saturday night. I recommend anyone passing through to check it out. read more