Retro Arcade & Fascination

I recently visited the retro arcade in Wildwood, New Jersey, and I have to say, it was one of the most unpleasant experiences I've ever had. The moment I walked in, I was hit by an overwhelming smell of urine that was absolutely disgusting. It was so strong that it made it hard to enjoy any of the games. I can't believe they haven't done anything to address this issue; it's a huge turn-off for anyone trying to have a good time. On top of that, the owner, Randall, was incredibly creepy. He seemed to be lurk

A place that transcends you to your childhood!! Somewhere you can step back in time, like a museum that you're allowed to play and interact with what's on display! Also, the only place that I know of where you can still sit down and play the most addictive game, Fascination, a game played since the early 1900s! So much fun and a wonderful family friendly activity to do together! If you're in wildwood, Retro Arcade and Fascination is the must stop place to visit!

My name is William Childs I'm the one and only Dewmonic Abyss. Throughout my time on YouTube, I've made a name for myself in the Bottom of YouTube, Animatronic Community (mainly Rockafire Explosion, Chuck E. Cheese, and Five Nights at Freddy's), and Diceorg as a commentary channel. I gave a voice and a platform to many and strive to deliver you scrubs some quality content.

This is my favorite arcade on the boardwalk, partly because of the nostalgic games and variety, but mostly because of the awesome owner, Randy. My family and I found his arcade halfway through our trip, remembering the one he used to run at the boardwalk mall, which we loved visiting every year. Even though his space is smaller now, I think it makes the experience more personal. Meeting Randy was the best part for us. He introduced us to a game called Fascination, and now I'm hooked! Randy also has a YouTub

i love this place, it's so fun and you can play fascination for hours with $10-$20 ? i?m saving up all my points for a big weird stuffed animal

This place is a national treasure. The owner Randy is friendly and helpful. He shows incredible patience when dealing with trouble makers. My family had such a great time playing Fascination and other retro games. This is the best arcade on the Boardwalk by far.

I used to play fascination at Randy?s location in Seaside. I have been to the Retro Arcade a few times and loved playing. I brought my daughter with me one time and she also enjoyed playing. It's great that this arcade has so many old machines that you just don't see anymore. If you are is Wildwood I would highly recommend stopping in. Let your children play fascination, they will love it!

What an arcade!!! Randy is the BEST!!! This place is magic, and we are so lucky to have people like him in this world to save these almost forgotten treasures from the past. What he does is so important, he is keeping history alive, and it's an incredible history of that! Randy, thank you for all you do. There are so many people that appreciate you so much!

My favorite place on the boardwalk. Sure, you can go to the other arcades and watch 20 bucks go by in a flash. 20 dollars here actually lasts long enough for a good time and a good memory of it. The Fascination game is addictive and fun. And it doesn't matter if I've played Pac Man a million times, if I see the machine I play it again. Also fun checking out some old games I never saw before. The guy running the place was very helpful and friendly, and he's basically running the entire show himself. From doi

Only arcade of its kind in Wildwood, and only Fascination in New Jersey. That in itself makes it special. Classic machines to play and Fascination tables with coin slots, which I don't remember from Olympic. My kids had fun playing. A couple minor things worth noting: 1. Other boardwalk arcades like Ed's and Mariner's get more foot traffic but are always meticulously cleaned. This arcade was on the dirtier side with grime on the floors and lots of dust. 2. No photos are allowed. I get Randy is allowed to ha

I live in Phoenix, AZ. Visiting this arcade is one of the key draws for me to the Jersey Shore. I highly recommend stopping in and playing an hour or more of Fascination. Randy is sweet, friendly, and makes the games very exciting with his narration. Randy - thanks for making my occasional trips east that much better!

If you remember Flipper's Fascination or Remember When arcade--or have seen Randy Senna on the show Hoarders--just know this is Randy's latest amusement hall venture. Back on the boardwalk where it belongs. The Fascination play is much better than at the Boardwalk Mall "Remember When" location but not quite as good as it used to be at the Flipper's Fascination spot several years back. But this is Randy's first year here, and no doubt improvements will come. This spot is a nice blend of pure Fascination (lik

Obsessed with this place and wish I found it decades ago when I first started coming to Wildwood. I could spend multiple days back to back here, all of the games are so quirky, one of a kind and FUN, I couldn't help but smile at every game that came into sight. And then the game Fascination..it's so addicting!! Our family had so much fun here but my husband and I had a hard time walking away. And the owner is very cool and helpful, I appreciate his investment in maintaining amazing and unique experience!!

?????????? An Absolute Blast! Like Being on a Real-Life Game Show! We had such a great time at Fascination in Wildwood! It's like stepping into a real-life game show with all the excitement, competition, and fun. The atmosphere is a perfect mix of nostalgia and thrill, and you can feel the energy from everyone competing for that big win. The staff is friendly, and it's easy to get caught up in the fast-paced rounds. Whether you're a regular or a first-timer, the experience is just pure fun. Definitely a mu

I absolutely love the Retro Arcade. The owner Randy has an amazing passion for the classic board walk game Fascination. The arcade is a blast back to yester year. The Retro Arcade has games that I haven't seen in 30 or more years. I have to be honest by saying watching and playing fascination was the highlight of my Wildwood vacation. The owner Randy is a great guy and super nice. He is very approachable and was awesome with my young 8 year old daughter. We even won a giant Red Dog. The Retro arcade has man

I haven't been to the new place yet. I used to live in Wildwood but an illness forced me back to pa. When I was there I used to go to the boardwalk mall location and when I came back to pa I saw that hoarders episode on the Pacific Ave Woolworths location I really wanted to see. But I don't and to this day see anyone in any arcade carrying pinball machines. I could count on retro arcade for that 2 years I was there playing pinball thanks for the memories and the pinball God bless and be well Randy

Randy's arcade is an amazing place. All sorts of retro games at retro prices. Definitely the best "bang for your buck" in Wildwood. Is Randy a bit "quirky"? Absolutely! Is liquor & weed legal in NJ? Absolutely! Can it be a bit annoying you can't take photos in the store? Absolutely! But here's the thing, It's Randy's store & polices. If you don't agree thats your right here in America, but it's also Randy's right to refuse these things. This guy has a genuine love for these games & wants to share it wi

I just started coming to this arcade a few years ago with my family. We absolutely love this arcade and visit it every time we are in Wildwood. It has that old arcade charm and runs off 80s arcade prices. I can't think of any other arcade where my family of 4 can walk in and have fun for less than $30 for an hour. The owner has always been very nice and we always have a good time. I hope this arcade stays up and running for years to come

This place could use some TLC, facing the same issues many small independent storefronts on the WW boards do, but it is a tragedy for anyone who misses playing "Fascination" at the back of the arcade. The game is timeless, always a blast playing against your group and it's very affordable to stop in compared to say Gateway 26. Which we also love. Fascination IS wildwood to me and many others who grew up coming down.

This is absolutely the place to go if you want to get all nostalgic about the arcade games you used to play as a kid. I spent an hour rolling Skee Ball (full-size lanes, not the shorties I've seen at some places) and left with a huge grin on my face. There were lots of pinball machines and other games I haven't seen in decades so I'll definitely be back to play those as well.

Randy is a swell guy and works hard to maintain this glorious gem on the boardwalk. Whenever i?m in wildwood I stop in to play some of my favorite pinball and soak in some vintage boardwalk memorabilia. Randy is successfully keeping the spirit of wildwood alive, and you must check out his arcade.

I really wanted to give this place 5 stars but I think it can be improved upon and I hope the owner takes my review seriously. Randy, the owner, is eccentric but without him collecting this stuff and providing this experience, much of what he has would have ended up in a dumpster. The displays are dusty, but just the fact that the stuff is still there and on display is priceless. I talked to him a little and his stories and information so informative and great. I hope that he can open a museum sometime,

The Retro Arcade & Fascination brings a unique enjoyable experience to Wildwood. Fascination is truly a game to comeback to the boardwalk time after time again. Randy brings a fun lifelight and goodtime vibes to the gameplay. Recommended YOU share in the times to be had at this rare, one of a kind Arcade. Pinball, vintage machines, memories and more.

I grew up going to Wildwood as a kid and playing fascination with the family. On a trip to Wildwood I went to play fascination at Olympic and to my surprise it was closed and gone. Well I have not been back since that depressing trip. Then I just heard about Retro arcade that has fascination. I will be heading there this weekend As far as the people complaining about it being dirty or whatever then don't come back. If I could I would help the owner clean it. This will be my first visit to Retro and I am sur

I give a lot of credit to this establishment for their collection of classic and (some) retro gaming and for the well-restored Fascination game in the back. It could use more arcade games from the 70s-80s in my opinion though - was hoping to see these. Also the "prizes" for tickets are very minimal. Appreciate the nostalgia here and hope they can expand.

Was hesitant to go inside, but brought my 2 year old to ?help me? play some rounds of fascination. We ended up having a blast. Where else can you have this much fun for a few quarters? We ended up winning a few tickets while playing some games (far from enough to win a prize) but Randy let my son pick a rock candy for him to take. I'm sure this will be a must do when we return to the boardwalk.

Best place ever! Such a fascinating place (no pun intended). As a lover of all things retro, I could not be happier. Amazing games, and great atmosphere. We walked in and were immediately invited to play a game. Such a lovely owner as well. It didn't even feel like we were at the Boardwalk; we felt like it was it's own world. We spent hours there and would do it all over again. So lovely to see retro games alive again in 2023. Great experience all around. Also a great introduction to the game of Fascinatio

The ONLY place on the boardwalk that stands true to what boardwalks once were and still should be. The games, the music, the fun, it transports you back to a time before the boardwalk was nothing more than a sea of iron-on T-shirt stands, head shops, bars and cash grabs. A $20 bill will get you literally hours of game play. Playing the cranes? Everybody wins! Playing Fascination (the only operating fascination in NJ)? Not only do you get free plays for winning, you also get redemption tickets for playing! T

As the years go by we slowly lose many of the unique places that always made the boardwalks of NJ so unique. The Retro Arcade is a welcome oasis amongst the endless t-shirt stores selling questionable items and other arcades that are loaded with crane games. Fascination is fun and affordable, sitting there hours can pass without even noticing. Randy has many great games to play and memorabilia to see as you walk around the arcade. Places like this are here once and never again so get in and make some memori

Funny smelling dump with a miserable old owner! It's just a waste of time and space on the boardwalk! Stay away! Don't try to take a picture if you somehow have a good time! Can't wait to see this clowns CRAZY response!

Anybody who tries to go in here and take pics, bring booze, etc is missing the point of what this arcade is about. Randy's arcade is more like a museum and time capsule. I hung out here off and on for the better part of a week- my 7yo is on the autism spectrum and would get overwhelmed by all the noise/crowds. Randy's arcade was such a nice break from the cacophony of the Boardwalk, with gentle music and a gentle atmosphere. He is excellent with children and families and obviously cares deeply about histori

What a magical experience! I stumbled into the Retro Arcade expecting to see some old game machines (and they have plenty), but the main attraction was a bunch of people playing this old game called Fascination. I didn't even know what I was getting into, but I was invited to sit down and play. It took me a couple of games to figure out the objective (it's bingo but with rolling balls), and it certainly fascinated me for a couple of hours. The atmosphere, music, and live host made it even more special. It's

My wife and I are in our 50s. We had so much fun in here re-living our youth of the 80s. So many classic arcade games and pinball machines from our youth. If you walk in, plan on spending 2 hours in the place. That fascination game in the back is addicting as well. What a fun place to spend a rainy day down the shore. We will make it a point to be back.

Very nostalgic when you go in there awesome games, my wife?s been going there for years with her family and I started going with her three years ago, when we go down vacationing to Wildwood it is a mandatory stop on the boardwalk, Fascination is the best game in there and when you win, he wants you to keep playing so he gives you free games.

This is a five star review because I am a big fan of retro arcade and only want to encourage any business that exists to fill that void. But the owner would be best served by not being seen as occasionally hostile to those that come. This is based on my experience and a few reviews I see along with long winded replies from the owner. The owner seems obsessed with his no pictures policy. It is his right but despite signage he needs to realize its not going to be obvious to people casually walking in and pe

Pretty cool collection of retro arcade games, many of which are very unique. Fascination was more fun than I expected. Definitely would stop back here next time I'm in Wildwood.

Refreshing to see there's at least one real arcade left on the boardwalk that isn't all about tickets and redemption. Great collection of older machines and memorabilia. Compliments to the owner for keeping it all going!

Outstanding collection of pinball machines and an excellent wild variety of electromechanical entertainment. Fascination is a great game for all ages and groups, big or small! The owner is on-site and truly accommodating to newcomers like us. Lot and lots of fun!!!

Hard to explain the vibe here. It's a musky mix of comfort and wonder. I could listen to Randy's Facination facilitation all day. I would add photos but taking them there is frowned upon.

Spent Countless days and nights here. My dad used to run the arcade back in the 80s. The owner was Terminal Vending, based out of Oaklyn NJ. Had some Great Memories at this place. Looking forward to stopping in this summer!

A Wildwood Boardwalk Treasure. Classic arcade games like skeeball, pinball and many more that other arcades do not have. Affordable. Owner operated. Kids love the place and will take adults back to childhood memories.

Hands down best arcade on the boardwalk! My wife and I spend hours playing fascination every time we are in WW. It's like stepping back in time. Amazing how the older machine still work- if you long for yesteryear this is the place to find it?? Love the owner and his employee

I would not recommend this place. I recently watched an episode of Hoarders on A&E. It looks like a dump on the TV episode and it was correct. The owner is very rude and needs to take a bath.

I wouldn't spend a nickle in that dump.The creepy owner thought it cute to pay his taxes in cash..despite having a viable checking account.Just to annoy and add to the WW employees day. Yet complains about government inefficiency.Then goes on social media and brags about it.I That place has been going downhill for years..and has an unpleasant odor. Zero stars..plenty of nicer arcades on boardwalk. Typical Randy can dish out the complaints.But can't take them. Just another reason to avoid this angry lonely m

Enjoyed playing Fascination, the pinballs. skeeball.and even Pac-Man.A must see if you're in Wildwood. The owner Randy is a kind and caring man. He even opened his place last Thursday evening so we could help my friend celebrate her birthday. Thanks again

Absolutely loved it! Came here with my family to see some old fashioned games and it was awesome. Place has a nice atmosphere and the pinball collection is very nice. It would be nice to grab some pictures around but I'm sure the owner has his own reasoning for it. Not sure if the owner was the one working that day but whoever it was, was very respectful when pointing it out to my mother, who is deaf. 5/5 would come back any day.

Only arcade I step into everytime I'm down in wildwood. Yeah there is a couple other ones on the boardwalk but only one I truly like is retro arcade and fascination. Randy always makes me feel welcome. Very nice guy. He's a good friend and he's like part of my family.

Great place! Randy the owner is a walking encyclopedia of fun and amusement games! I can't wait to return and i really hope to see Randy in great shape and health to make this place live on and on! Great job!

This place is very different than any other arcade on the Boardwalk. I come here with my family very often when we are down and we're pretty close to the owner Randy. It has an old-fashioned vibe with pinball machines and other old arcade games that you don't see everyday. The arcade games range up to the 1940's-1990's which I find to be very cool. My favorite arcade game is Skee-Ball and I was surprised to find Skee-Ball at a retro arcade, because the retro arcade up near me doesn't have it. The main game

I grew up with my family taking me to Wildwood every summer. Now I take my son and have been on several of the Boy Scout trips. I can't wait to see your arcade. I don't like how all the others have turned into. You take me back to those fond days of my childhood watching your videos and I thank you for that. I wish there were many more people like you . You are a great man and I mean that from the bottom of my heart!!! I hope to see you and your place soon.

I heard such good things about this place - how it has old school games and a fun quirky owner. But when I went (it was just me and a friend and no one else was in there), I tried 3 different machines and none of them worked. The quirky owner was there, never said "hi" or greeted us. And when we walked from machine to machine with nothing we were very hesitant to continue feeding coins into non-working pinball and fortune teller machines. Another very strange thing is that you are absolutely forbidden

Randy is preserving some real gems in here. One of the only places you can still play Fascination. They had a Marvel Vs Xmen arcade cab running and some very unique pinball machines, oldies that I have never seen before!

Awesome display of dark ride artifacts, it even has the smell of the old time dark rides. The vintage video games and Fascination add to the old Wildwood feel that has been missing for so long. My kids really enjoyed playing fascination. Don't be put off by the lack of a big fancy sign, go in and enjoy the old wildwood!

The place is ok, the owner is RUDE! Next time I'll make sure me and my friends go to an arcade thats actually worth our money and time and somewhere where we are respected. The amount of dirty and creepy looks we got were INSANE. HORRIBLE! ??

EDIT 2: I see the owner replied to my review. There's no need to take it so personally, it's only constructive criticism. If you really love that place you'll fix the things I mentioned. EDIT: After some time of going here I really have to knock off a star, it's genuinely remained pretty stagnant. and slowly getting worse. The machines continue to be in disrepair and in many cases aren't even installed right (the Space Invaders screen is BACKWARDS). It's more fun than the other places if you do find someth

Fun old school arcade games throughout, and playing Fascination is really awesome! Cool owner too who makes the experience very special!

By far the best arcade on the boardwalk. I make it a point to stop there for every visit and I'm usually there daily when visiting the boardwalk. The owner Randy is a strong part of the the magic here at Fascinations. I highly recommend you check it out

I walked into this arcade over the summer, beer in hand, joint in the other (LEGAL IN NJ). I need the weed for a chronic illness, and I needed the beer for a true arcade experience. This was anything but. I was scolded beyond belief for taking a picture of the lucky, ducky, clucky machine. Wow..a picture. What a crime. Call the cops. Not a true vintage arcade experience like Gateway 26 has. They have true vintage machines and allow beer and weed (LEGAL IN NJ). No wonder the Boardwalk Mall kicked him out. Th

I went to Randy's live on Facebook and saw Mr. Tuckey came to RETRO ARCADE & FASCINATION and I like it when you and todd do feet at a fascination.

Memories ?????? Randy thank you thank you for saving OUR wildwood past . Like Joey says you ARE the man . Looking forward to playing hours of fun with Fascination from the old Olympia that you were running back when we were younger. My wife and I thought omg best memories ever ???????????? . See ya in August our wildwood ambassador !!!!!! Btw nice touch on the Hunts pier memories so awesome you are !

Playing fascination here was great! And I loved all of the retro games as well. This place is very much worth visiting.

One of the very few places left in the world to play fascination. Dance dance revolution is also a rare sight these days. We had a few quarters get eaten by some of the older machines, we got randy for the first one or two but he looked busy after that.

Went today and had a lot of fun with my wife playing Fascination! Owner was great at explaining the rules of the game for us newbies! Highly recommend any retro arcade fan to check this out when your at the boardwalk in Wildwood!

Dilapidated, smelled like mold, mildew, mothballs and dust. As I see the owner is extremely defensive and rude with any responses to his low rating so don't even bother responding I won't read it? I just found out he's the guy on the show hoarders and it all makes sense, I'm assuming that's why you can't take pictures but who knows could be something more sketchy.

Great place for memories, my kids like going in there seeing the older retro games. Definitely go in check it out & say hi to Randy!

Only place I could find a Pac-Man and a Ms Pac-Man which was cool but other than that not a fan. Very dirty, unkept, and there's a strange odor. A puff of dust literally came off the Pac-Man when I was playing, not sure where it came from. Guy that worked there told us we couldn't take any pictures? I was taking a innocent pic of my girlfriend playing a game. Seems sketchy.

The props from all the old Hunts Pier rides are on display. That alone is worth the visit. But there is a great collection of vintage games as well. Anyone who loves Wildwood back when it was cool will enjoy Retro Arcade !!

The retro Arcade with Randy is the best place on the boardwalk. If you are looking for a fun family activity bring them down to play fascination. Owner is a very nice guy very friendly.

Great place to bring the family on a rainy day and play fascination and vintage arcade games. One of the cheapest attractions on the wildwood boardwalk and the owner has a true passion for preserving the history of the industry

saw the man RANDY on the show hoarders and i was like there is no way this man exists in the same state as me, so i made sure my top priority when visiting wildwood would be to visit the mans arcade. outside the arcade were cardboard signs that read ?punch the coronavirus? we walked past the place twice before realizing it was randy?s place. as we entered the building i must say the vibes were very bot ????. some of the machines were probably older then me so like kinda sus, but i was still curious so we ke

Awesome arcade. Randy seems like a great guy, he is committed to keeping these memories alive!

Make sure this is your number one stop on the wildwood boardwalk. The place is filled up with the past and present of arcade and pier memorbilia. You can play the famous facination ball game. You will meet the man himself the great randy who will talk to you and treat you with wonderous facts and amusement history!

Great time!! Brings back great memories! Awesome owner and awesome job restoration and up keep!! Keeping the price down is a landslide as well!! I will be back next years vacation for sure!!!

I really don't know how this place is in business, at first it looked like a normal arcade, but after walking in, the smell of mold, and how disgusting the place is almost made me throw up. It looked like the place has never been cleaned. The guy working there looked like he was straight out of a horror movie, absolutely disgusting. What a place, I'm surprised I didn't catch a disease there, lol

An excellent collection of unique games, including the best pinball machine in the world. I'm not saying which one it is because y'all will just wear it out.

Had a great time here, Randy provided cool historical information about Fascination, played multiple different games here it's probably almost impossible to find still working anywhere else. Definitely worth a visit.

My son loves this place! ,He has been looking for a game for about 10 years and finally found it in Wildwood New Jersey. We are hoping that it is still open because we are coming tomorrow..

They don't make arcades like this anymore. Classic, vintage, retro and pinball games. It is awesome fun, and like an old museum because of all the cool old stuff inside. Definitely worth a visit to check out all the unique things to see. A lot of fun and my favorite arcade!

Randy Senna is a Truly Great Person with a Very Strong Goal to keep the Old Time Family Amusements Alive ... With all the Towns Rules and Blocks Stopping him from Opening a Truly Amazing Museum in Wildwood .. which included Amusement Businesses Past and Present in NJ as well as other Areas Some Long Gone but in Many of our Memorys and Hearts ... I myself was in Amusement Business and see what's happened .. SOO SOO Sad .. God Bless you Randy for Doing a Great Job to keep it Alive

My kids and I love the Retro arcade! Anytime we are on the boardwalk, we make it a point to stop there. Clucky, Plucky, Lucky, Ducky, and Crispy!

I am obsessed with Fascination. We came back two days in a row. I felt like I stumbled into a bonus level of life playing games here. You either get it or you don't!

This place is like walking back in time Randy is a character and a legend the vintage games are awesome I hope Wildwood politicians finally let him open up his huge space in town

Just look at the responses the owner leaves on his business. Completely clueless as to how to run his gross moldy run down disaster of an arcade, he should be embarrassed but he's too stupid to get a clue ??

Awesome arcade!!! Amazing place, Randy you should be proud of yourself. Your place is awesome and it brightened my day.

What a marvelous reminder of what boardwalks used to be like! One of perhaps tlfour operating FASCINATION games left IN THE WORLD! A must visit!!

You can't find games like this anywhere else. The staff was friendly and my whole family had a great time.

Can't wait to come by soon, while I pretend to love the ocean my love tester score is something I can not miss out on, don't steal a skee ball or nothin in here this arcade is the one to goto to get some gaming on, everything else is just tootsie rolls and tickets. Have a a good time gaming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Absolutely love this place!!! The Gentleman that runs this place has done an Amazing Job!!! It's fun & Entertaining!!! I felt young like a kid again!!! Everyone Should go there!!! Thankyou!!!