Arcades in San Antonio for Adults
Only two arcades in this table publish a rule that keeps children out. Kung Fu Saloon on N Loop 1604 W is 21 and over at every hour and open until 2 a.m., and Be Kind & Rewind on Alamo Plaza turns 21-and-up at 7 p.m., with its vintage cabinets set to free play.
The other eight admit all ages or publish no policy, so for a grown-up night the choice comes down to whether you want a bar around the games. Round1, PINSTACK Park North and Dave & Buster's put large game floors beside bars, bowling or sports screens, and admit families along with adults. Diversions Game Room and What's Brewing? Coffee Roasters have no bar at all: Diversions runs more than 60 cabinets at a dollar or less until 2 a.m., and What's Brewing is a pinball room that shuts at 8 p.m.
Our picks
- Drinks and games with no kids around: Kung Fu Saloon. 21 and over only, open until 2 a.m. nightly, and every game is free on Sundays.
- Free cabinets downtown: Be Kind & Rewind. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Galaga stay on free play; only pinball costs a dollar.
- Serious pinball: What's Brewing? Coffee Roasters. Dozens of machines at 25 cents to a dollar, and home to the Alamo City Pinball League.
- Late games without alcohol: Diversions Game Room. More than 60 cabinets on tokens of a dollar or less, no bar, and open until 2 a.m.
- A long session on Japanese cabinets: Otaku Cafe. Charged by time, $5 an hour or $10 for the day, for imported cabinets like maimai.
At a glance
| Option | Address | Games Focus | Age Policy | Game Pricing | Latest Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5531 N Loop 1604 W, San Antonio, TX 78257source | Mix of retro and newsource | 21 and over onlysource | Coins or tokens per gamesource | 2 a.m.source | |
| 115 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, TX 78205source | Retro cabinetssource | 21 and over at nightsource | Free playsource | 2 a.m.source | |
| 440 Crossroads Blvd., San Antonio, TX 78201source | Mix of retro and newsource | All ages welcomesource | Game card creditssource | Midnight or 1 a.m.source | |
| 7400 San Pedro Ave, San Antonio, TX 78216source | Ticket and prize gamessource | All ages welcomesource | Game card creditssource | 2 a.m.source | |
| 742 NW Loop 410, Suite 201, San Antonio, TX 78216source | Ticket and prize gamessource | All ages welcomesource | 2 a.m.source | ||
| 903 E. Bitters Rd, Ste 310, San Antonio, TX 78216source | Retro cabinetssource | All ages welcomesource | Midnight or 1 a.m.source | ||
| 9900 San Pedro Ave, San Antonio, Texassource | Mix of retro and newsource | All ages welcomesource | Coins or tokens per gamesource | 2 a.m.source | |
| 138 West Rhapsody Dr, San Antonio, TX 78216source | Pinball focusedsource | All ages welcomesource | Coins or tokens per gamesource | 8 or 9 p.m.source | |
| 7022 Bandera Rd, San Antonio, TX 78238source | Japanese arcade gamessource | Entry pass by the hoursource | Midnight or 1 a.m.source | ||
| 119 El Mio St, San Antonio, TX 78216source | Bar games and pinballsource | 2 a.m.source |
Which San Antonio arcades are 21 and over
Kung Fu Saloon is the only one with a published adults-only rule at every hour. Be Kind & Rewind is all ages until 7 p.m., a cutover published once, in a 2022 opening story, and not on the club's own site, so it is worth asking at the door. Round1 is open to everyone, but guests under 18 need a guardian 25 or older, which is why its late nights skew adult.
At the all-ages venues, expect children at some hours. Dave & Buster's gets busy with families on weekend evenings, PINSTACK's loudest stretch is weekend afternoons, and Diversions sees a mixed crowd in the afternoon and an older one late. Otaku Cafe and The Bang Bang Bar publish no age policy, so their cells are blank rather than guessed.
Paying per game, per card or per hour
The cheap rooms charge the old way. Most of Kung Fu Saloon's games run a quarter to a dollar, What's Brewing's 25 cents to a dollar, and Diversions' tokens a dollar or less. Dave & Buster's and Round1 load play onto a card instead. Otaku Cafe is the one that sells time: $5 for an hour, $7 for two, $10 for the day, which favors a group planning to stay.
Three venues never say how their arcade charges. Cosmic Mayhem publishes its mini golf ($12.99 a person) and axe throwing (from $12.99 a half hour) but not the retro cabinets, PINSTACK keeps its arcade pricing behind a location picker, and The Bang Bang Bar posts no game prices.
Hundreds of machines or a single row
Where a venue gives a count, game floors here range from several hundred video, ticket and prize machines at PINSTACK to roughly eight cabinets and two pinball machines at Be Kind & Rewind. The biggest floors belong to the all-ages entertainment centers, and Round1's leans toward claw machines and ticket redemption. At the bars, games are the side act: Kung Fu Saloon has a compact wall of cabinets, and The Bang Bang Bar keeps darts, pinball, a pool table and a Skee-Ball lane behind one interior wall.
The options in detail
Kung Fu Saloon
A 21-and-over arcade bar on the far North Side that puts a full bar next to a compact wall of cabinets: Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter alongside newer machines like Guitar Hero, with free Skee-Ball and private karaoke rooms. Most games cost a quarter to a dollar, and everything is free to play on Sundays. Doors stay open until 2 a.m. every night, which makes it the simplest answer in the city if the plan is drinks first and games second. The game selection is small, so treat it as a stop on a night out rather than a destination arcade.
Be Kind & Rewind
A downtown bar and dance club on Alamo Plaza built around 1980s, 1990s and Y2K nostalgia, with a row of vintage cabinets set to free play every night: Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, The Simpsons, Galaga. Pinball is the one thing that costs money, at a dollar a game, and the bar runs specialty cocktails and a daily happy hour until 7 p.m. It is all ages until 7 p.m. and 21 and up after that, open until 2 a.m. daily. The arcade is small, roughly eight cabinets and two pinball machines, so it works best as a break from the dance floor.
Dave & Buster's San Antonio (Balcones Heights)
The big-box option, tucked beside Crossroads off I-10, and the one most people picture when they think arcade plus bar. The floor mixes brand-new releases with classic favorites, from racing cabinets and shooters to air hockey and basketball, and the sports bar side pours craft beer, cocktails, wine and spirits under walls of screens. Play runs on a rechargeable Power Card, and the kitchen and bar run happy hour twice a day, including a late-night window from 9 to 11 p.m. It closes at midnight Sunday through Thursday and 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and it is open to all ages, so weekend evenings are busy with families.
Round1 Bowling & Arcade (North Star Mall)
A Japanese chain inside North Star Mall, and the only place on this list open from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week. The arcade leans hard into claw machines, rhythm cabinets and ticket redemption, with a prize room to spend points in, and bowling, billiards, darts and private karaoke rooms fill out the rest of the floor. Play is loaded onto a Round1 game card rather than paid per game. Beer is served (a party ticket covers a pint), and guests under 18 need a guardian 25 or older, so late nights skew adult even though it is open to everyone.
PINSTACK Park North
Fifty thousand square feet next door to Alamo Drafthouse, with 28 bowling lanes, laser tag, an indoor ropes course, a climbing wall, bumper cars and a game room of several hundred video, ticket and prize machines. The full bar is the reason it works for a grown-up group: 24 draft beers, a wine list and craft cocktails, served on the lanes, in the restaurant or on the climate-controlled patio. It stays open until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday and midnight the rest of the week. The venue markets itself to adults, children and families alike, so weekend afternoons are the loudest hours.
Cosmic Mayhem Blacklight Mini Golf and Bar
An entertainment suite off Bitters Road that stacks blacklight mini golf, axe throwing, pool tables and a retro arcade zone around a fully stocked bar, and it encourages you to carry a drink while you play. Mini golf is $12.99 a person for 18 glow-in-the-dark holes, axe throwing starts at $12.99 for a half hour, and the classic cabinets sit in the same glowing room as the pool tables. Hours run to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday and midnight most other nights. Veteran owned and open since 2017, it is pitched at date nights and friend groups as much as at families.
Diversions Game Room
An old-school game room near North Star Mall, lit mostly by the machines, with more than 60 new and vintage cabinets that all cost a dollar or less on tokens. There is no bar and no alcohol, which is the whole appeal for anyone who wants to play Galaga, Pac-Man or Tetris without a nightclub around it, and it stays open until 2 a.m. every night anyway. Air hockey, basketball and redemption games round out the floor, and the room can be rented for parties at $200 for two hours with 880 tokens included. Children are allowed, so expect a mixed crowd in the afternoons and a quieter, older one late.
What's Brewing? Coffee Roasters
San Antonio's longest-running coffee roaster, in business since 1979, whose Rhapsody Drive roastery doubles as the best pinball room in the city. Dozens of machines line the floor, from The Addams Family and FunHouse to modern Pro titles, they have cup holders for your coffee, and a game costs 25 cents to a dollar. The room hosts the Alamo City Pinball League, a Pinball Club for Women and a kids' league, so a weeknight can be busy with league play. There is no bar here and it closes at 8 p.m., which makes it an afternoon or early-evening stop rather than a night out.
Otaku Cafe
An anime shop on Bandera Road whose back half is a Japanese-style arcade, and the only place in town to play imported rhythm cabinets like maimai next to fighting games like Marvel vs. Capcom 2. You pay an entry fee by time rather than by game: $5 for an hour, $7 for two hours or $10 for the whole day, which suits a long session with friends. Thursday nights bring a weekly Smash Ultimate tournament at 7 p.m., and Japanese snacks are sold alongside the merchandise. It runs latest on Saturdays, when it stays open to midnight.
The Bang Bang Bar
A windowless vintage dive just off San Pedro, furnished like a great-aunt's living room and open noon to 2 a.m. seven days a week. Behind one of its few interior walls sits a proper game room: dart boards, pinball machines, arcade cabinets, a pool table and a Skee-Ball lane, with a patio, weekly karaoke, live music on weekends and DJ sets the rest of the time. The bar itself is the draw and the games are the bonus, so come for the room and the records rather than a deep game lineup. Drinks are cocktails and beer from a straightforward back bar.
How we researched this
A venue made this table only if games are a real part of the room. That kept out the breweries and bars with a machine or two, such as Idle Beer Hall, Roadmap Brewing and The Lonesome Rose, and it is why The Bang Bang Bar, with a dedicated game room, is in. Each brand gets one row. Slackers on the St. Mary's Strip is a genuine arcade bar but was left out because three sources give three different street numbers. Andretti Indoor Karting and Main Event were set aside as more big-box family centers, AR's Entertainment Hub because it is a children's facility, and Level Up Barcade because it is in San Pedro, Belize. Cidercade has no San Antonio location.
Diversions Game Room has no website, so its row comes from its Museum of the Game listing, and What's Brewing's 8 p.m. closing time comes from a directory listing because the roastery publishes no hours. Blank cells mean the venue never stated that fact. Late closing times, the 21-and-over rules and free-play Sundays are each venue's own policy and can shift, so a phone call before a late night out is worth it.