CASPER, Wyo. — Gamers of all ages have reason to celebrate, as an arcade opening soon in the Eastridge Mall will look to blend retro and modern gaming.
Spellbound Arcade — owned by the same people who oversee Spellbound Apothecary and Cosmic Candies in the mall — will provide people of all ages with dozens of retro arcade machines, virtual reality headsets with a plethora of games to choose from, arcade-style games and tables for tabletop role-playing and other card games.
While the virtual reality setups will give customers the chance to enjoy some cutting-edge VR experiences, Spellbound is going all-in on retro entertainment when it comes to the arcade games.
“The youngest arcade game we’ll have is from 1999, so it’s going to be old school,” owner Steve Howe said with a smile. “We’ll have Pac-Man, Mortal Kombat II and III, Dragon’s Lair, Robo Cop, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, NBA Jam — you name it.”
Howe said that, in addition to providing a place for residents in the Casper area’s east side to enjoy a wide array of gaming options, he hopes Spellbound Arcade gives people of all ages a place to be themselves and meet like-minded people.
He also added that this won’t be an arcade where people play for tickets to win prizes.
“This isn’t the Chuck E. Cheese model,” he said with a laugh. “Most modern-day arcades, you’re just playing to get some tickets that you can exchange for a toy or something. What I want is for people to play because they fundamentally like games. You aren’t trying to win anything other than the feeling of accomplishment you get when you get to put your initials on the leaderboard of that game.”
Customers won’t pay for each game they play. Rather, Howe noted that people would pay for certain amounts of time and could then play to their heart’s content. People will be able to purchase passes for a certain number of hours, all-day passes or even subscriptions that last a month or more.
Howe also said that this is another step in his efforts to help revitalize the Eastridge Mall. He didn’t take full credit, though, and also praised new business ventures in the mall like Swagger Sneakers and Style.
“When I was younger, the mall was a center for commerce, but it was also a place for kids and teens to come and have fun, too,” he said. “When you get more kids coming to the mall, you get parents, and parents are the ones who do most of the shopping. And when people come to shop, sure, they won’t stop in every store, but they’ll stop in some.
“New businesses in the mall drive customers to the other businesses here. It’s a shared customer base and we make each other stronger.”
Before the arcade can fully open for business, it still needs to wait for the actual games to arrive. Howe said the many arcade machines are in various stages of shipment, with some expected to arrive in the coming days and others still several weeks out.
Still, the new business will have a soft opening this weekend. On Saturday, Howe said the arcade will host a Pokémon event, which will allow attendees to try out some of the VR games that have already arrived.
“Arcades were fun and created a sense of community that you were among like-minded people with similar interests, and that’s what I’m excited to bring to the mall and Casper’s east side,” Howe said.
