Up-Down DSM

My friend and I had a blast at this place! So many different choices of video games! The neon lights add to the 80s/90s theme, and the drinks and pizza are really good too! If you're looking for an arcade with classic arcade games with pizza that has stretchy gooey cheese, this is the perfect place for you! I know I enjoyed it! Only thing I would?ve changed was for them to play more 80s music and less modern crappy music. Other than that, perfect night out!

Super fun place to hang out with a drink and play some classic games! Something for everyone. All of the games cost 1 token and you get 4/$1. Two stories. Food available.

Super fun place with lots of classics! Good music, fun games, super spacious (two levels), and plenty of staff to help if needed. My friends ordered slices of pizza ($6 but they have specials on certain days) they were huge and smelled really good. Tokens were inexpensive in my opinion, I think we got 15 for $5 Will definitely be coming back!

I was celebrating my birthday last weekend and we ended up here an stayed until closing time. This place is incredible. It makes you feel like a kid again but with alcohol lol They have a bar on both levels and video games, pinball, skeeball, table team games, photo booth, huge pizza by the slice for $6, very nice and awesome bar tenders, well staffed, retro vibes for days and not enough good things can be said. I'd come back every week if I could honestly. Hidden gem of Iowa. Adults only, yes please.

I had fun playing video games almost made it to the final fight in sol calibur ?? at the same time service wasnt the best. The bartender seemed pretty cold and unapproachable. Made me only want to buy the one drink, didn't want to engage with them again so we decided to go somewhere else after a couple plays. Seemed like she would've rather been anywhere else doing anything else.. Still tipped her tho, just to be nice. But, lol xD it definitely was a charity not earned.

My go to bar on nights out for good food, good drinks and good vibes. Me and my friends love coming here and playing all the games! Bartenders are 10/10, especially Hunter!!!! Shout out to the GOAT Hunter ??

Really good place overall with lots of great games and food, although the fighting game selection was a little lackluster. Tekken, SSBM, and SoulCalibur are cool but lack of good 2D fighters like Super Turbo, 3rd Strike, Marvel vs Capcom, Fatal Fury/KoF, or Guilty Gear XX is a little disappointing as a massive fan of the genre. But otherwise I would definitely recommend

Exceptional barcade with great selection of new and mostly classic games, pinball, and skeeball. Great selection of beer on tap too. Pro tip: the Simpsons game gives out mad lives per token, beat the whole thing like a childhood dream coming true. Also, everything one needs to know in life is written on the walls in neon lights.

Cool little arcade bar in the east village right next to Wooly?s. Lots of old retro arcade games, pinball, skee ball. Most were working but several were not. Decent craft beer list and they had some mixed drinks/cocktails. Beers were a little pricey but not way out of line. Pizza is okay as is the cheesey bread. People working there seemed nice.

Assortment of beers mixed with an arcade/pinball area. This is a chain I'm told, and it looks similar to others. I haven't been to any of others, but I did enjoy myself here. Some of their games had issues like skee ball where you couldn't read the digits... or the mario party was super pixelated because of how big they made it. It needs a bit of fixing up, but aside from that there is a decent variety of games to play. No prizes if you do well, its a straight up arcade. They have an upstairs and a down st

Wonderful time here. Excellent games available (particularly like they have two sets of skiball) Many other games available for both solo people, couples, or groups. Playing games is pretty cheap - it's a quarter per game, for any game. Easy to get coins - both at the bar or using one of the machines throughout the bar. The drinks were pretty delicious too.

Super fun video arcade. I killed hundreds of zombies here ??. There's video games and pinball games and even a couch where you can play Mario Brothers on an old TV. Very cool! It's hard to find but there's 2 entrances. It's like you're walking down a staircase into the subway. Did I mention there's a BAR!

Very awesome place to hangout and have fun. Amazing variety of local beers as well as great national brands. The games are only a quarter/token to play! Loads of classic arcade games, pinball, skeeball, and classic console games. The pizza is incredible. Super tasty and super cheesy ??

Awesome arcade. They gave the first 100 people free tokens and we played for an hour and a half on them. Grabbed a few beers, played some Skeeball, pinball, Dr. Mario, Pac-Man, Tron, Centipede and more. Great place to spend the evening.

Would love to see a little more maintenance on machines, buttons and screens and such can be a bit iffy. Overall still very happy something like this is in the area. Worth checking out if you're remotely interested

The arcade features an extensive collection of 80's and 90's games, though the pinball options are limited. They offer a great selection of local and cold beers, and here's a tip: when you order a beer, they give you complimentary tokens, so start with a brew and then hit the token machine!

Always awesome but they definitely need to get a claw machine or two in there.

Several games were down or not working right to be expected with the age and style of games, just happened to be my favorite. Great drinks great staff fun atmosphere. If they get air hockey it'll be a 13/10 for me. Definitely a fun night.

This location is really gone downhill. He used to be a great place to grab some drinks. Get a slice of pizza and play some old-school video games, however, for a while now this place has steadily gone downhill with more and more games non-functioning or have extreme glitches in them due to lack of care and maintenance. The food has definitely gone downhill as well as the pizzas are typically either under Dunn or overcooked and there is no in between. Staff is hit and miss based upon politeness and willingne

Been a few times and love it so much! The staff is always awesome and I dig the vibe and retro environment. I've been a few friend and husband dates and with coworkers, so it's fun for everyone. Played Pac man!!!!

Games that are broken stay broken here? a game known as ice cold beer has been out of order for 4 months and nobody has touched it? more of there fun games are always broken too? please owner if your reading this, get to fixing your games. Its the reason why people come to hang at your establishment

Still love this place so much! 5/25 Editing after many years! They've since added another floor, it's much better smelling in there haha. Staff is top notch, beer selection is amazing, and the pizza?! YUM!!! First time going. I love the selection of games and wish I could have played more. The place could use a better ventilation system. It was super hot and smelled of sweat and stale beer. Service was quick given how busy they were which was awesome! Not upset with my time there but would recommend proba

I've been going here for the last few years and it's one of my favorite places in DSM. The pizza is delicious. The drinks all taste like jolly ranchers. The games cost about a quarter to play (compare to places like Dave and Busters or Spare Time that are at least $2-$4 a game). The atmosphere is nostalgic bliss. The only thing keeping this place from five stars is that a lot of the games have stopped working since I've been going. I get that this place isn't charging a lot for the games so I don't expect t

Creative night out. Mask Up and enjoy some old school pinball and video games. 5$ in coins will have you playing for hours. Great pizza by the slice. (Ask for fresh slice!!!) Specialty Drinks were cool. I had the Simpsons Margarita. Outside area with giant 4square. 2 levels of gaming. Mario Cart Ms Pac-Man frogger. Ooo and South Park pinball our favorites.

Had a great time on our first visit. All games are just one token. Saturday had a two-for-one token night and drink specials. There is even some free games to play plenty to keep you busy all night.

Near basement bar in the East Village of Des Moines featuring a good beer selection and arcade games. There's eight different pinball machines and a wide selection of arcade games from the more recent to ones several decades old. In fact I'm pretty sure I had my bear run on the Simpsons arcade game since the 1990s on my visit here. Tokens are super affordable in that it most games require just one token to play; $5 kept me busy for almost two hours!

A great spot to hit up on your birthday! They had an good drink menu and the game selection was great! A little sad I didn't grab any pizza because it smelled awesome.

This is legitimately one of the best places in iowa, old scool games, with alcohol, and an adult only crowd, this is actually the best place

Fantastic place downtown, cheap fun and great service and a ton of games to play! I come here whenever possible. Weekends are packed but still worth it. Gameside servers will refill drinks so you can keep playing games. All the music and TV's are retro themed. Various game shows from the 90s play and it's a nice throwback!

I'm 40 and this places pizza brought me back to an age of nostalgia. Homemade sauce, dough. Incredible!

What a classic arcade experience! The staff is very smart and super friendly. The games are varied and fantastic, and include Addams Family pinball, my personal favorite. Attentive and kind staff, awesome atmoshpere, overall most excellent experience. Highly Recommended!!

Hanging out with friends, playing games, eating pizza, and having a few drinks. This is a fun and unique place, with a fun atmosphere. Not a lot of seating though, probably to make more room for all the arcade games, so don't expect to be sitting around the entire time.

Sometimes it's packed sometimes I've got the place to myself. Great selection of games. Nice to have an old school arcade downtown. Pizza is delicious as well. Ski ball, pinball, race games, Donkey Kong Jr, Galaga, and Ms. Pac-Man personal faves.

Loved the Up Down. Most barcades charge a lot for the games but not Up Down. They have a good choice of alcohol and a spot to put down your tokens and glass at every game you play. The 2 for 1 tokens at the bar meant that I beat old video games from my childhood that I never could.

A bit cramped for my liking, not much space to move around on a busy night. Bartenders are fast, but not the friendliest. Pizza is delicious, but it goes fast so gotta snag it when you can. Overall I've had decent experiences here, it's definitely a cool place.

All the games are broke, bad service, and bad food. Do NOT do skee ball, it doesn't keep score. What a joke. The employees know they are broke and don't care! The pizza isn't that good either, even when you have had a few. Also, we were supposed to get free tokens from a concert, that didn't happen! Horrible place! Do not go!

Loved all the old-school games! Bartenders were attentive and friendly and drinks were good. Good variety of drink options.

Up Down is pretty sweet! Typical arcade/bar but the prices are great and the staff is too! Check it out! Edit: Ok seriously... this place is killer fun. Bumpin' atmosphere, great drinks, and this pizza.. I mean come on!

Celebrated my son's 21st birthday here tonight which was absolutely perfect! He's a lot about old school games and I hadn't heard of Up Down until today. Free tokens on your bday too.EPIC! Thanks for a great combination of fun and drinks! Michael Jackson's game had us howling with laughter! Priceless!!!!

Lots of good old arcade games. Several pinball machines too! Surprisingly good craft beer selection.

I've been going to UpDown since the night I could legally drink. I have had so many great experiences. Tonight I was out with a friend and a guy touched her and made and offensive comment to her. The staff, Derek who was the doorman and Jessie who was the manager, handle my complaint immediately and respectfully. I truly appreciate knowing that UpDown cares about the comfort and well-being of their patrons to level I was shown tonight. Thank you so much for making sure that me and my friend were ok and taki

We had a great time and they had great pizza and awesome staff!!!

For $200 you can have them open early on weekdays. You get 800 tokens and a bartender to work the bar. And the games are excellent. Maybe my new favorite bar.

Fun place. They need to do a better job maintaining their flagship cabinets like Killer Queen, there are a ton of dead games at any point in time, and the music is way too loud like most bars. Otherwise, the staff is nice, pizza is tasty and greasy, and it's overall a great way to spend some time with friends.

I ate before I came as I didn't see any vegan options on the online menu. I took my date here, we had a good time reliving teenage memories with the 80's arcade games. Pinball was also fun.

Been coming here for years but I think I'm done. I come for the beer and pinball but the games are in awful condition again. Plungers that don't plunge, slingshots that don't sling, shots that don't register... just not worth coming here anymore.

i spent about half of my tokens on broken games :) the place looks awesome and theres a good selection of games. when they are working. but the pizza is always great

The pizzas are awesome, but always when I come they don't have any. They know the demand they have of pizzas, and don't have any to offer. Its just frustrating ??. Thats why I only give 1 star. They should have more pizzas in order and ready to go.

It's the best pizza slice in Des Moines in my personal opinion! The pinball ain't bad either. My recommendation is the Princess Peach Punch if you are a fan of fruity, tropical, and pineapple-flavored.

This is my favorite arcade bar ever! I first went there when there was just a bar downstairs. When I moved here, I was pleasantly surprised to find they added an upstairs section AND now served pizza! Cocktails are extremely tasty and the pizza is pretty good too, and I like that they change the flavors of specialty pizzas occasionally as well. And they have so many different games to play. This place played a part of my decision to move to Des Moines. You won't be disappointed here!

Have always loved playing video games and this is just way too much fun! I love the double coin nights. The big jinga blocks are fun, and can be a challenge at times. Hands down, my favorite thing about up-down is the old school video games. You'll definitely catch me playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Went early with 2 friends. Bartender was very friendly & knowledgeable. Prices were reasonable. Drinks were great. Games were fun. Definitely like it more since the upstairs is utilized with food & other games. Had another great experience recently here as well! Still great.

Really fun place to play arcade games! People who are leaving will randomly give you lots of coins, a super fun game is the Pac-Man game near the queen bee game! It's only 4 coins and four people get to play five rounds total! It's a lot of fun and totally worth it!

This place is great!!! Went for the CTR tournament and Marcus the host had a fantastic personality and kept everyone engaged. Been here several times and the staff keeps me coming back. Great nostalgia and great times!! Cant wait for the next tournament

Went here for the childrens matin?e in the arcade. The kids had so much fun. Great collection of classic games, skeeball and pinball. Neat video game themed kids meal boxes that they loved. Photo booth in the lower level, make sure to have your heads at adult height or you will just get the tops. No adjustable seat and no time to change positions or picture redos. Quick assistance when games or change machine malfunctionned (and they do a lot, at least on that day). Highly recommend.

Fun, unique spot. People were nice enough, most of the machines worked well. Prices were reasonable. Sticky ground though, and not the best ventilation.

Tavelers from afar this is the place to go for a good time. The literal best place to enjoy a nostalgic gaming sesh. As a local, I can't thank you enough for keeping this place safe and the boxes running like they were just made. Slices are great, service is 10/10, and the place is always clean.

The tap list is good and the variety of arcade games is good, but the real glory is on the TVs - look for true old school anime like G-Force!

Place had a cool atmosphere. Old arcade games and two bars (one upstairs and one downstairs). Pizza was ok, 5$ a slice. Staff was great, all pretty nice. The one issue is the arcade games themselves. While the games are cool and I wanted to play them, half of them are broken or don't work. Good luck finding a working ski ball machine. Even though there's six of em, you won't find any that register the 100 point corner shot, and will most likely steal your coins. I get the appeal, but the games are your main

Games are fun enough. Some of the bartenders are unprofessional (if they don't like you, you get a bad drink -- barely any booze in it) Seem to be understaffed. Will be better once properly staffed. They should also start taking Apple Pay at the bar (they currently don't).

Amazing place, the staff is great with great beers on tap. The best part of this place is the games are priced incredibly cheap so you can play and drink all through the night or day. The games are right up the alley of the patrons age range for when they were younger. Thank you for continuing to keep games reasonably priced with specials on tokens. Always a pleasure going in there and playing games and the games they have are well-maintained. Could be a little less sticky on the floors and the games, but I

I absolutely love this place! Old school arcade with adult beverages. The staff is awesome. And the pizza is delicious!

Came in from out of town and this place was awesome! So much fun and such a great deal. We must have gone during some happy hour or some special the tokens were half priced and we only got $10 worth and were unable to spend them all in the hour of time we had set aside for the night. We were told we could take our tokens and bring them back anytime. We gave them to our local friends of course :) this place is top notch and even have some pizza slices for sales which is awesome.

There are a plethora of well upkept arcade games and pinball machines here. We went on a Saturday and while it was crowded, we still had no problem finding open games to play.

Games, drinks, and the pizza is better than it has any need to be. Cute bartenders. Nostalgic vibes.

Fun spor for game lovers. Good bar.

I love the vintage games. It has an great vibe. It is in a basement of a downtown building so it feels like playing video games in your friends basement. Drink specials are nice. The staff is super friendly. Only issue preventing from getting 5 stars is it is a little stuffy. I wish there was better air circulation. Not enough issue to prevent me from visiting again. Great space. ??

I've never seen staff members be so quick to respond to a fight starting up. 1 guy RAN full speed from 1 end of the bar to the other and had it handled in no time. Impressive and entertaining ??

I didn't think such a place existed especially in DM of all places. But still the mix of 80's arcade and pizza with a bar is just an excellent combination. I don't think a single game was over 25 cents that we played during a bachelor party and I'm glad someone recommended this place. If I ever have the time and energy in Des Moines I will definitely visit again. I highly recommend anyone visiting Des Moines to try this place out especially for nostalgia and the good pizza

Great little gaming bar. Fantastic place to waste some time. Friendly staff. Playing classic pinball games is always a really neat expierence. Their quarter machines have had broken credit card readers for a long time but you can use your card to get quarters at the bar.

An adult arcade. It's awesome. Gets crowded on a Saturday night but that's no surprise. It's definitely a blast and pricing is perfect to boot.

Very fun all times. During the weekend it's packed with people but I've still had fun. I've gone on Sunday and Monday and you can play any games you want. I was able to actually read all of the titles and not really have to wait for anything. Plus good deals with tokens. Weekend is still fun to but you have to like being around people.

Love this place, super friendly environment, super chill servers :3

This is one of our favorite places in Iowa. We've been here so many times to play games and enjoy an afternoon. We love going there on Sunday afternoons because there's hardly anyone there until the evening. The pizza is some of the best too.

One of the best bars downtown if you're into gaming/arcades. They have fun retro/game styled cocktails, beer and specials on their tokens. The staff is always usually friendly as well. My only gripe is that they'd fix their ski-ball machines more often and maybe provide more space for projectors and consoles.

One of my favorite places in Des Moines. I went back when they were just downstairs and was pleasantly surprised when I visited later and they had two levels! Lots of games and the drinks are delicious and priced well. Update a year or two later: still love this place, still great games/events, still great drinks at great prices.

AWESOME BAR. Great atmosphere and decor. They serve good local beer and have a bunch of signature drinks like the Princess Peach. The games are a great touch as well, most I haven't played since I was a kid. Love this place will be back

Great place to hang out with friends! It can get a bit obnoxious during busy Friday/Saturday nights. If you want the "bar scene", go then. If you want to relax and play some retro games go during off peak hours. The bartenders are great, and they commonly have specials for discounted tokens, so you can play all night without breaking the bank. I am also surprised that after several years of being in business, most of the games still work great.

My husband and I go out to play pinball each Sat.here, it can get crowded after 9 pm but you can usually still find something to play. Its A lot of older arcade games, 2 sets skeeball, 3 pinball machines upstairs, 8 downstairs, good collection of old school arcade games. They also have several shooting games... Good prices and deals on tokens, $10 free on your birthday, and buy $10 in tokens get twice as many,( $10 free) on Sat nights b4 9pm. Since it is older equipment there are times machines are dow

Loved this place for years, it's constantly getting better! I found an amazing 'new age' game that isn't old and is all kinds of f***in fun !! It's a 'tug of war' style race to the left or right where you have to kill your opponent repeatedly to reach the finish line. My brother and I played this game untill the lights came on and patrons were asked to leave for the night !!??????

Was disappointed to find out after we got there that it is 21+ to get in, even though if shows pictures of kids on here. I gave a 3 star based off nothing since I never went in with my 14 year old.

Probably one of my favorite bars to go to. Since they've added the upstairs, it's a lot faster to get served, there's pizza for when you need to even out a bit and even more games to play. Their specialty drinks are fantastic and it's a fun place to hang out, especially if you're not any good at games. I would recommend going on Thursdays when they have 10 cent tokens because you can buy $5 worth and take home your extras for the next time you go.

One of my favorite places to hang out in the metro. Up-Down has a huge selection of old arcade games - especially pinball machines. They switch out pinball machines often, so you will always be surprised and have an opportunity to play something different. I especially love the couch area where you can play old-school consoles for free or the N64 area where you can battle your friends in Mario Kart on a giant projection screen. The beer selection is awesome - with several Iowa craft beers and is fairly pric

This place is epic - a must-visit hangout! Great selection of arcade games and pinballs, free to play Nintendo setups, cool drinks, and good specials like free or 2-for-1 tokens. If you like team games they have a really cool 5v5 game too, it's a blast! I'll be going here a lot, and I would recommend it to anybody!

A unique step back into the 1980's arcade era

Super fun place to go on the weekend! They sanitized machines very frequently and they had hand sanitizer available at almost every machine. They took COVID precautions seriously and they maintained great customer service! Up-Down is a great place to play old-school arcade games and have a nice drink! Highly recommend!

Great place of you love old arcade games and beer. Trendy atmosphere. Not easily accessible for wheelchair users, and flashing lights can bother people with seizure disorders. If go on your bday they will give you 10$ in tokens.

I went with a large group of friends and we played this game that can have up to 10 people. It was fun and competitive. I didn't look around too hard for games, but they did have a lot of old-school games like mortal combat, Marvel vs Capcom, and I saw a Super Nintendo in the corner. The drinks were good and tasty with an average of $6 a 12-16oz drink. One thing to note, the place is a little congested during the weekend, so I heard it's best during the weekdays.