Free Gold Watch

PRINT SHOP ARCADE? In the legendary Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco is what may be one of the nations most unique arcade venues. A spot called ?Free Gold Watch? that is not only the city?s largest pinball destination, but it's also a fully functional commercial print shop. They were literally screen printing t-shirts in the middle of the arcade during my visit and that's something I've never come across in my travels. Free Gold Watch has at least 50 well maintained pinball machines spanning th

SO. MUCH. FUN. Amazing collection of pinball machines, including some super rare ones. And awesome older non-pinball kinetic games, all in a super fun laid back atmosphere with ultra friendly folks. A pinball destination for sure!

I was visiting from NYC. I compete in pinball regularly there and am on a city team. Thought I'd check out the place bc it has 60 machines. A few tables I'd never played. There is a quarter machine and atm, classics, modern stern, 90?s Williams, and plenty of Indy tables. Was on 4% and needed to Lyft home. Figured I'd charge my phone while playing safe cracker (RNG is very favorable. Got a magic token out of it.) Dude preferred idve asked which is fine. At 756 I go to ask if there's time for ball 3 and he s

Nice pinball arcade near Golden Gate Park. Pretty impressive collection of pinball games. They have a 25 cent monthly pinball game.. Super fun for kids and adults. Lots of nostalgic games.

Pinball, pinball and more pinball! They have a good selection/collection of machines in good working order. Games cost .50 cents for the video games, and .75 to $1.00 each for 3 balls pinball. They have canned sodas, water and vending machine snacks available for purchase. Bring cash for the change machines that give quarters! Have fun????

Friendly staff, free entry and just pay to play pinball machines for a reasonable price (max is $1 but most are $0.5 to $0.75). They have ping pong table in the back and lots of fun and interesting games to play. I love this kind of spot and we gotta keep supporting them so that we can keep the local culture alive!

Great selection of old and new pinballs. They are all well maintained!

If you like pinball or miss the feeling of going to a real arcade, you absolutely need to come here. Very wide variety of pinball machines from super old to super new, and lots of other non-pinball arcade machines as well. The prices are fair, most machines were $.75 to $1.00 to play. They even have the older style change machines to use.

Really happy I decided to dedicate 4 hours of my trip to pinball, and double glad that I decided to go to Free Gold Watch! Great selection of games and very well kept/clean inside. Enjoyed the lighting further inside as it wasn't to dark or have annoying glare.

The ultimate pinball alley.. super chill and not crowded on weekdays? all the machines are in super good condish?

If I could give this place more than a 5/5 I would. This is a screenprinting shop with 50+ pinball machines. I play a lot of pinball and believe me when I say these machines are in great shape and maintained well. The prices are fair and the matches and replays are set very fair as well so if you are a decent player you can get some bonus games. The owner and staff were very inviting and friendly. I wish nothing but the best for this place and it's owners. We had a fantastic time.

Great selection of pinball games, both modern and old. I appreciate having a few other games too - like bubble hockey and mario kart to round out the experience. I love that they have many of the newer pinball games on - and the games rotate regularly. Most games are 0.75 - $1, which isn't cheap, but way cheaper than the chain arcades that have popped up in recent years. They keep the roll up door open helping with the ventilation during COVID.

Pinball machines were in fantastic condition and the selection of games was great! I always appreciate a collection with a wide variety of games from different eras and manufacturers.

what an absolute gem of a place and so close to haight street !

Since I got into pinball, this is the place everyone keeps telling me to go, and I finally did and was so happy. The bond anniversary pin, the American girl doll pin, and the newest Metallica remastered were some fun highlights of mine, but barely scratches the surface of the 60ish machines here. Without a doubt I'll be back again and with a pocket full of quarters

Extremely photogenic arcade located in a thin remodeled house. There were a ton of classics here, I could?ve stayed all day.

Cool spot, fun games not just pinball. Always a good 25c machine available.

Pinball! Pinball! Pinball! This place was an amazing find. Old mechanicals and games from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and current. Tons of machines. Arcade games scattered in. Even has a working bubble hockey game.

This is a great experience and an interesting place. Loads of arcade and pinball machines. Includes some unique antique pinball machines. The Simpsons machine was my fav!

One of the coolest places in the city. They have a ton of pinball cabinets, but also have other games such as star wars, 2049 sf racing, mario kart and some older games such as Donkey Kong and street fighter 2. Prices are quite good and they always have a pinball game of the month which is only a quarter

Simple. I love a challenge. I love games, I love it when people like me respect and showcase what made interactive electronic games from the past and present have the "wow cool!" aurora. If you want to escape the grind called life for a while, come forth.

I want to thank whoever owns Free Gold Watch! What an awesome place awesome vibe, clean environment, price is on point????and friendly staff. My son and I are huge fans of arcades and always trying new games, and this place is above and beyond. Thank You Free Gold Watch! We will be back soon.

Pinball lovers heaven! A great selection of newer and classic pinball games. A must visit for me each time I am in San Francisco

Absolutely love this place! They've gotten some of the top machines in the past few years. Super easy to spend a whole day there rolling thru the machines. Price has gone up a bit though, but quality is amazing!

Wow... It was hard to take it all in at first... So many great titles I can't believe I have been sleeping on this place for so long.. I could spend a lot of time here, and a lot money?? Was fortunate to have seen the owner and watched him the (main mechanic) of around half the pinball machines repair the new Deadpool ..was also fortunate to meet one of the best pinner's in SF crush Iron Maiden Premium Edition with over 1.5 billion! ..my first time in I did ok on Deadpool with over 178 million.. Really look

Arguably the best pinball arcade on the west coast (Bay Area for sure). My friend and I developed an unhealthy obsession with pinball for a good 6 months and we would ball at Free Gold Watch almost exclusively. The environment is both inclusive and laid back. Prices are cheap compared to any bar in the city. 10/10 would recommend

Awesome place to play pinball. Huge selection of games to play, they have snacks/drink vending machines, as well as an atm and many change machines, so plan on staying for awhile!

A rather impressive collection of rare pinball machines. All in great condition. Staff is quite friendly as well.

Kinda off the beaten path. Fun place to play pinball machines and arcades. Games ranges between 0.25 and 1.00.

Amazing atmosphere and too many pinball machine to choose from. Free Good Watch will help bring out your inner child and have an amazing time!

Definitely my favorite place to pass time. There are soo many amazing pinball machines from vintage to modern. And the prices are soo fair, it's clear that the owner created this place out of a desire to share his love for pinball with the community. There's always a $.25 game of the month plus a bunch of others from $.50 to $1.00 for the brand new machines. Even if you're broke, it's easy to get lucky and find a free game here and there. This is the kind of community center the city should be funding. I ho

Incredible place to pinball around in ? but really!!! A must go to if you are around!

Imagine all the fun you can have with pinball...great place for a quick play...also for dates of all ages..still a great place...other sf hoods should have this.

If you like pinball you will live this place. Bring quarters, lots and lots of quarters. Most games are 75 cents. All are well maintained and play as expected.

Just discovered this local gem. We told the owner we were new and he bought us a couple of free games on some amazing old school arcade machines! Definitely gonna come back to develop our pinball skills.

A great place to get your pinball on. Machines all in good order, from the oldies to the newbies. All the big hits. Wish the hours were longer, usually 7p but they closed early before 6 the other day. Still gets 5 stars. You gotta figure it's hard to keep that kind of place running smoothly and keep all those complex games running at just a buck a game. Gotta appreciate that. Still a winner, 5x more machines than anyone else in the city.

Pinball as far as the eye can see. A perfect spot for any pinball enthusiast.

In sf and looking for pinball? An impressive collection of 50+ pinball machines. Check the hours before making the trip, and allow for time to find street parking. Drinks and snacks available on site. 11/2023 update - still a great place for arcade games. Something for everyone, and then a ton of pinball.

So many pinball machines! Had a blast playing all of them! New to old, fun for everyone.

This place brings you back. Everything is in good condition. Prices are okay and the elderly sir who may run the place is the sweetest guy ever. I recommend especially if you are a tourist.

This place is AMAZING!! So many awesome pins from all eras. All machines were in excellent working condition too. It's an absolute SF gem. Staff was great too.

A hidden gem in San Francisco there's no doubt about that! This place is a dream, had all my childhood favorite pinball games and arcades. Quick story, I played Tales of Arabian Nights as a kid at a restaurant once and for 20 years I looked for that table to play it again and this place had it. Thank you so much to this place for letting me relive a few childhood memories along with Black night, Medieval Madness, Indiana Jones and so much more. I had a blast. I asked one of the workers what the best thing a

This underground museum has a great feel it too it , can i say Groovy ???? Had to get a shirt but im a cheap skate Go deep in pinball because they have a great selection

Great pinball machine selection, old and new, lots of fun.

Super charming, old school arcade fun. The owner of this place really makes it extra special. My kids said today is the best day ever because of our visit here.

Probably the best collection of modern pinball machines I have ever seen. The location is great, right across the street from Golden Gate Park. I took my kids to the de Young Museum, then we had a nice 10 minute walk to "Free Gold Watch" and played pinball for 2 hours straight. A great day in the city. The machines are very well maintained and you can buy non-alcoholic drinks. I will definitely be coming back.

Can't get any more old school than this place. Great place to re-live childhood.

I love free gold watch. Best selection of pinball machines in SF. Great shirts and folks too... Housed in an old SF fire house well worth an hour of your time if you want to play pinball. Update: Free gold watch only gets better. Lots of the latest/newest pinball machines + historical classics ... You need to visit ..

What a cool lil place to take your kid out even alone for that matter. Brought back some really great memories of playing pinball when I was an adolescent and even a child. This place is clean and the staff is her courteous. Definitely a nice spot hidden in San Francisco. There are quite a few older and newer pinball machine as well. What a great place.

A gem of the city! They have so many pinball machines and the energy here is one of community. Would highly recommend for anyone looking to enjoy an afternoon or day unwinding with pinball and arcade classics. You can also reserve the place for events too. How better to celebrate an occasion than to play arcade games together?

Great place to visit if you're in SF and want to play some of the best pinball games. Great classic games like medieval madness, Twilight zone, Adams family, theater of magic along with other classic pinball games. All around. Good time.

This is absolutely one of the best pinball locations I have ever been to. The lineup is fantastic and the games are really well maintained. If you are a serious pinball player or are interested in trying out a variety of games this is the place to go in the the bay area.

One of my favorite neighborhood hangouts. Big pinball selection, and chill vibe. Come on Thursdays for the food trucks across the street.

This place is really cool a mini pinball museum right by golden gate park. Lots of games in a cool space. The downside as I see it is the cigarette smoke. One person lights up outside and they may as well be smoking right next to you. It seems to happen about half the times I go there so I wouldn't recommend taking kids there. If you don't mind cigarette smoke though this place is really cool.

Great spot. People here really love pinball, and the shirt printing is top notch too!

Do you love pinball, classic games, and screen printed shirts? This IS the place. Even if you are interested in 1 of the 3 listed, you will be delighted. They have an excellent assortment of pinball machines. There's some real classic machines from the 70s, and a bunch from the "golden age" of pinball in the 80s/90s. I'm not too familiar with the history of it all, but I did spend many a quarter in arcades in my time, and I remembered a bunch of the titles they had available. People in know seem to re

Was my favorite place in all of SF! If you like pinball, this place is a must! Staff is great, machines work well, and shirts are cool too. I moved away and I'm gonna miss freegoldwatch a lot!

FYI... Because of covid-19, Make sure to call ahead because the times they're open are not accurate... But they have reopened!! Great selection of pinball games... And most are in very good shape. THE PLACE to play Pinball in San Francisco! FYI - sometimes they stay open a little longer than the posted hours.

This place is the best for pinball. So many great machines all super well maintained. Awesome place to stop by for a half an hour, or two hours if you have the time. They also have vintage machines for only 25? a play. Most games are 75? - $1.

Great selection if games. Many new and retro. Better variety of pinball than Emporium and the games are not "order of order" as often at Free Gold Watch. Some are priced at $.75-$1 a play but the quality is worth the extra quarter. Good place for a date!

For fans of pinball, this is a travel worthy mecca that is a must visit for anyone in the bay area. An extremely large selection of tables from 70s and 80s classics all the way to the newest releases. What sets this apart from other arcades is that the games are all privately owned by various pinball enthusiasts, and as a result are very well maintained. There are also some arcade and other classic coin-op games (remember Chexx Hockey?) Also, the place is a custom clothing print shop so there is a selectio

This place is so cool and so hidden. It's like a little garage entrance but it's a deep building with so many cool pinball machines. Theres also classic arcade games like miss pacman. I recommend the 50 cent machines as they are a bit older and pretty charming in that sense. Also you can just play them more times for cheaper. Most machines are 75 cents or a dollar. But make sure you find your way here, it's so cool

Pretty awesome place. Mostly this is a pinball arcade, but they also sell t-shirts and maybe do custom printing. The pinball machines are great, but a little pricy, ranging from 50-cents to 1-dollar per game (3 balls). When you're as bad at pinball as I am that gets expensive fast, but the place is definitely worth a visit.

I loooooved this place! Their collection of pinball tables is outstanding, and I was beyond thrilled to play Cactus Canyon for the first time?a rare table to stumble across. Also, you can bring your own booze!

Silk screening: This place is rad. They have a lot of designs to choose from, lots of t-shirts/hoodies/totes/whatever to put them on, and a variety of colors. The prices are pretty fair, and the staff is excellent. But that's not really what I'm reviewing... PINBALL: As a pinball hobbyist, enthusiast, and amateur competitor, this is one of the ONLY places in town to go if you're serious about silver ball. They have about 20+ machines, lovingly maintained and even donated by a few dedicated volunteers

This is a fantastic place to spend some time. If you're at all a gamer, ever were one, or just want to satisfy your ADHD fix for the week, you could easily burn a few hours in this pinball wonderland. Plays are around $.50-$1.00 so not going to crush your wallet either. If pinball isn't your thing there are also regular video game machines to hang out at. Do yourself a favor and drop in for some sensory overstimulation.

The best place for pinball on the west coast. Great environment, fair prices, excellent selection, nice staff, clean restroom, and right next to GG park. I've been coming here for many years now!

The screen prints are awesome, but it's the pinball I come here for. They have more than ten games in good repair and have added a bunch of old school video games. Stop by to play a game and you just might end up buying a shirt. And check out the pinball league night. It's a blast.

Man, I would have had no idea walking past this place about how flippin' awesome it is! Seems to be a bit of a hole-in-the-wall in passing, but once you step inside you will find true delight for the pinball aficionado (or wannabe). There are about 10-15 machines, all lovingly cared for, including Medieval Madness! Not only that, but in the back there is silkscreening galore. Bring some quarters and that old t-shirt you've been thinking about tossing for an excellent night out! The staff are all super rad a

Most fun i've had in awhile; amazing pinball machines and history <3 make sure to bring a ton of quarters. A good time all around, even their bathroom is cute.

This place is awesome! A wide variety of pin ball machines and video games. Close to where Haight meets the park. Definite must stop if in the area.

Good staff, great selection of pinball (55+) every video game ,silk screening for all needs! I have seen world ranked experts playing next to kids, fun place. I now work there

I wish I lived closer. Great screen printing shop and an even better pinball spot

tl/dr: The pinball is off the chain! Excellent spot to stop in for a few minutes for the best fun/cost ratio in all of San Francisco! I want to mention my favorite machines to play but I'm afraid that they'll be busy when I come in so I suggest you come find one that speaks to you. The pinball is great and their apparel is legendary. I finally got my first hoody after years of eyeing them and proudly call it my coolest garment.

So this is a print shop, with pretty awesome rates and a really kickass staff, but that's not what this review is about. This little hidden away gem on Waller near the Golden Gate Park houses San Francisco's largest collection of pinball machines. This is where the pinball people come to play the pinball. A constantly growing and sometimes changing lineup, priced to play, and everyone who works there is very knowledgable about the machines. Pinball not your thing? They have a little arcade as well with skee

Charming and kozy lil arcade hub. Mostly pinball. Play per Play style. Fun decorations good for all ages! Nice date idea! Make sure to check out Lego window.

One of the best places in San Francisco for pinball. Machines from back in the 1970s as well as more recent decades. Over thirty games to play including some real classics like Medieval Madness and Cactus Canyon. Jersey Jack games like Dialed In and The Hobbit. Rare games like the Star Wars game by Data East. They also sell fun pinball themed T-shirts and hooded sweatjackets that they design and make on site. They can also take custom silk screening shirt orders.

Really cool pinball arcade!! Please check out pictures for a glimce of what they have currently. They have a Whack-a-Mole! They have a miniature Mrs Pac-Man game! It's only one block up from Amoeba Music and worth a visit. Most cost between 50 cents to $1 to play. Bring cash, they have change machines.

Lots of classic and newer pinball machines, and a t-shirt press

Really liked this spot. A large selection of pinball games. $5 lasted me about an hour. The negatives were the prices. A lot of the machines were $1 for 1 credit. Can get a little crowded at times also.

Welcome to the mecca of West Coast Pinball. the most inclusive clubhouse you'll ever find. A great place to make or meet friends. Come down for the bi-monthly "Free Gold Cup" tournament.

Free Gold Watch is one of those places you have to hear about from a friend (most likely a nerdy or artsy friend) as you aren't likely to stumble upon it. But stumble upon it you should. Boasting the highest collection of pinball games in San Francisco, this garage-turned-screen-printing-studio-tshirt-seller-pinball-haven is San Francisco in a nutshell. Creative, eclectic, boot-strappy and cool, this space caters to the alt crowd for sure, but is an awesome space for events as well. If you're looking for un

This place was a lot of fun! The staff was friendly, as well as knowlwdgable and passionate about pinball. There were a few other arcade games as well. The most fun I've had with five dollars in a long time!

Free Gold Watch is one awesome place. Take a pinball arcade and envision it enrobed in a full-service screen printing shop, and you get this fairytale Upper Haight business. In one single garage Free Gold Watch has managed to marry the retro-nostalgia of the 70s and 80s seamlessly into the world of screen printing, in so much that you wonder why more places don't do the same. This family-run business is also owned by some of the best people you'll ever meet; I've worked with them to put together a Pinball &

The best pinball arcade around. They have super rare machines and some fun arcade classics as well

Favorite place for pinball. They have over 40 pinballs and they are fairly priced ($0.25-1). I love their pinball of the month which is always 25 cents.

A lot of fun, huge variety of pinball machines and other arcade machines.

They've got about 30 (more?) Well maintained pinball machines from the most vintage retro (Pinbot, Black Knight 2000!) to brand new games released just this year (Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, The Wizard of Oz). Bring small bills, because sometimes (often...) the cash register has less than 20 dollars... Do you really need $20 worth of quarters? They also do a league, so check ahead or you might not be able to play the games when you go.