Modern Pinball NYC

Cool idea! Came here on a cold, wintry afternoon with some time to kill. The place has about 30 machines or so and when I went there were about 10 people there so plenty of open machines to pay for. I would guess it can get crowded with kids on the weekend. Our rate was 12 $ for one hour or 17 $ for three. When we got the one hour, the staff member told us that we could always upgrade to the three after the one hour expired if we wanted. He also offered us a frequent visitor card where you get a free hour after a few visits. Very friendly and explained how the entire place worked! Only had time to play one hour but at the end I could have gone for one more to stay on the CSI or Game of Thrones machine! Two machines were down but the manager was working on one of them.
They do offer a groupon, not available to use on holidays though. But regular prices are really reasonable too.
I wish the place offered a bar… even just beer would be great! Pinball machines can have cup holders, ya know?!

I brought my boyfriend here for a surprise date. I used Groupon to buy a deal for 3 hours of pinball for both of us. We had an awesome time. It’s definitely not a fancy place, but it was a lot of fun. We’re both kind of competitive, so we hopped around from machine to I machine and spent that entire 3 hours trying new machines.
There might have been one or two machines that didn’t work but for the most part, everything was maintained. Most, if not all, of the machine have multi-​player mode so you can play with your friends or loved ones or whoever you bring.
Looking back, I think that Modern Pinball was one of the coolest and most laid-​back things that we did during our time in the city. I would definitely recommend it.

This place charges by the hour, and the machines are free once you paid you hourly dues; which is great. We went in on a week night so there were not many people around. The machines were well taken care of, most if not all of the machines looked to have been up dated with LED lighting. If you are in the area and enjoy kicking back with some old school and some new age pinball machines swing in I had a good time.

Say hello to pinball paradise! This place has over 20 machines and don’t you look down on them because they actually are a lot harder than they look… I thought pinball games were supposed to be easy! My bf and I used the Groupon deal which entails a 3 hour pass for two. We stayed for the entire 3 hours but they are cool enough to let you leave for food and then come back to play some more! Just let them know, of course.
Because we stayed for 3 hours straight, it got pretty tiring since there were no chairs to sit on. I grabbed a stool from the back and just moved it to the machine I wanted to play at everytime so that I could sit. It wasn’t too crowded when we were there so I got to play at all the machines I wanted. Only flaw was that there were maybe 3 machines that weren’t working. Also had some trouble figuring out how to make it a 2 player game instead of 1 at these machines.
Overall, I had a good experience and now know where to return whenever I am seeking a pinball extravaganza.

This is such a great place to spend a few hours. Simple. Nostalgic. And run by such enthusiastic guys who are so happy to share their knowledge with you! Great for groups, adults, kids, families.

Absolutely go to this place. The machines are perfectly maintained, the location is tidy and safe.
It isn’t fancy, but who needs that? Come on, think about the places you played back in the day… this is better than them.
The staff was friendly, the price was right. I highly recommend this.

JJ and I were looking for something fun to do in the city and we came across this gem as a result. I didn’t even realize that pinball arcades still existed and I was really excited to try it out. We went fairly late on a Saturday night and hardly anyone was there (which was great, because it meant we never had to wait for a game we liked). There were tons of really good games (I especially liked the Game of Thrones and the Star Trek ones).
$ 12 per hour (per person) is a steal, especially because I never felt like I wasted money playing a machine I didn’t like. You also got a discount if you wanted to play for more than an hour and they also stopped your time if you wanted to grab a drink at the bar next door (although we didn’t take advantage of either option).
This would be a great place for a quirky date, especially because there is a cool sushi/​karaōke place and bar within a few steps.

My company rented this place out for a work holiday party. Being a small office of only about 20 it was perfect. We hired a bartender and god some apps and they set us up in the back room.
We could play all of the machines unlimited for 2 hrs. It was a thursday from 4 – 6. The place had about 10 people in it besides our party.
All except 1 machine worked. They seemed well maintained.
The place is lackluster however. Its very basic. No decoration. Pretty small little bathroom in the back. Not much going on. Thats why I dinged in a star from my standard 4 stars. It just doesn’t have much going on besides some great pinball machines. I know its a pinball place but they could have tried at least a little to make the place look nice.
The back room had a wall design made out of paper plates. Pretty tacky.
Overall it was fun but definitely not memorable. Had it not been for my lovely coworkers and friends it wouldn’t have been nearly as enjoyable. Love pinball though!

Found it on Groupon (check Groupon first!) and decided to try it out. It provided about 35 minutes of fun on a Friday night. We expected it to be pretty crowded but it wasn’t. Definitely fun to try all the different machines — pinball is hard! A lot of the machines are pretty quaint and very detailed. It was cool to see how much work goes into creating them. Also they do allow food and drink inside, which is awesome. Great for a creative date or great way to amuse kids, perhaps on a rainy day.

As Murakami wrote in his Pinball tale: Pinball is the most useless game in the world. While somebody is reading Proust, and somebody else is writing reviews, somebody is playing Pinball. Pinball is a total waste of time, the only gratification you get is points and more points. After playing Virtual Pinball in the Playstation 4, I had a big flashback of my Pinball years in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I loved Terminator 2 and The Addams Family, Lots of coins I lost there as a teenager.
Times change and now I had a flashback. I had to play some real Pinball in this cool place. More than 20 pinball machines together at 3^rd avenue. That is a super place, something that doesn’t exists anymore. There are some individual pinball machines in assorted bars, mostly in Brooklyn. There is a cool page where you can find the lonely pinball machines in NYC.
They have strong ones: The Simpsons, Avatar, Theatre of Magic, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, vintage and interesting ones.
But we are not in the age of pinball anymore. There is no excitement if you pay 10 dollars for half an hour to play open pinballs.
It’s a cool thing to play Xenon but even with such vintage experiences I was bored. I’m not gonna spend one hour playing. It’s not the time and situation. So classic, so boring. so 90’s. Unique.

Went here on a Thursday night for a birthday. It was practically empty, which meant no waiting for us! The prices are not bad, either! We bought a groupon, $ 35 for two all day passes. We had so much fun. They had a couple of classic tables (Knight, Whirlwind). I wish I came with more people. I didn’t even know a pinball arcade existed in NYC. After, we ate at the Mad Hatter (10% off with the pinball wristband).
Staff was mad cool, one dude started cracking jokes with us.
Would go again!

Totally awesome pinball place for people who want some place to play pinball, no they don’t have tv’s displaying football, basketball, etc, no the don’t have a bar. What they have is an awesome collection of games, all in great shape. Pay by the hour and they are all on free play. Buy an hour and the give you a wristband, you can come and go as you please. The bar next door gives a discount on drinks and food with a wristband. This place is awesome, run by a legend in pinball.

Great place to go to for some fun. Went with my son as a part of a Groupon special that they had. The ability to come and go for the time that you reserve is great. They stop the clock when you step out.
Do you can get something to eat or drink in the area.
You can get your fix of the classic games and introduce the youngsters to the kind of games that I grew up with as opposed to the new video games.
Great value for the money considering how many quarters I would have poured through to play as many games as I did today.

This place is really fun. I brought my daughter on a rainy summer weekend. She had been here a few times before but it was my first time. She already knew where to get the step stools and where her favorite machine was (the older clown machine in the back). I had a great time. Was a little disappointed that The Simpsons machine was out of order but will check back in. Great family fun!

This place is amazing and harkens back to a simplier time when you could escape the confines of your apt and go to an arcade and spend a hot afternoon relentlessly pitting sheer will against a shiney metal ball and gravity.
The gentleman that owns this place is sooo nice and helpful.
There are deals and specials depending on how long you want to play.
The crowd here is completely mixed.
Young adults 20s and 30s, then parents with their little ones (sooo adorable getting them into it so early! Oh and the best 2 things is 1– They kids can barely wrap their arms around the game to the buttons and 2– The place provides «steppers» for them so they can stand and see the games!!!) and then cute little grandmas!
Don’t let them fool you, they are serious gamers. Grandma schooled the heck outta me on a game. I BOW TO YOUR GREATNESS OH PURPLE/​GRAY HAIRED ONE!!!
Lastly: There’s discounts at the spot next door for food and lots of options around the area. I went to Shake Shack which is a few bloacks away, but you know I like to suffer and wait on an eternal line for yummy fatting goodness.

Great place to spend some time with a few friends. Small but packed with strictly pinball machines. They had a few really vintage games which were quirky but lots of favorites that had major action. Wizard of Oz was our favorite and kept us busy for a good 30 minutes of play as we challenged each other back and forth.
Charge is by the hour per person ($ 12) with discounts as you add more time. No food available but there are plenty of establishments next door etc… which I prefer because no one wants sticky, greasy flipper buttons or screens.
Well maintained, clean and the staff was friendly. We’ll be making this a regular stop when on the east side of the city.

Pretty fun place to spend a little time.
You pay by the hour and there are quite a few fun machines. It is nice to know that you can try and play all of the machines if time allows.
Clean bathroom and a couple of chairs to sit in if you need a little break from standing.

Fair note: I’m spoiled by the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. It’s something like five times the size of this place and they have most of the machines I found here as well as a plethora of older machine.
That being said, I really liked this place. At first, I was a little put off by the $ 12 for 1 hour of play. Usually I can spend five bucks on pinball machines and be good. The bright side is that, you don’t have to worry about holding on to coins or running out of money (just time). You just go up to the machine you want and play.
The machines are really nice and clean. They have a ton of the more modern pinball machines like The Walking Dead one. They had a throwback one of Dr. Dude which was fun to see. I spent most of my time on the Simpsons machine. Although they upgraded the graphics on the screen and I’m not a fan.
I’m not a pinball maniac, so an hour was enough for me. There were only a few people there when we went so you could play any machine you wanted to.
My friends and I really enjoyed it. It was a good little excursion and there’s the Mad Hatter next door when you want an adult beverage after some pinball.

Went here on Christmas Day to blow off some steam after spending some hours with the family. It was great that they were open. A nice walk turned into an even better event when we ducked in here for an hour.
There are a lot of machines to play and a good variety of newer and older machines. My favorites are the Addams Family, The Simpsons and the Star Trek tables.
I think there is enough space to play and socialize a bit. I don’t believe they serve food order drinks at all, I could be wrong, but you can have a soda with you or whatever. They have some small tables in back, which is also nice.
We had a great time here and we’ll be back for sure.

I frickin ADORE this place.
Pay by the hour, 3 hours, or a day rate and play pinball to your heart’s content. So much fun. An hour goes by SO quickly.
So many machines, I’m pretty sure I’d never get bored here.