On the arcade floor

Arcade Cabinets

The machines that held the games — from the classic stand-up upright to the sit-in cockpit and the ever-clattering pinball table.

Standing cabinet

The Upright

The classic arcade silhouette — a tall wooden box you stand at, with a screen at eye level, a control panel at the waist, and glowing side art you could spot from across the room.

Stand-up play for one or two
Bold side art and marquee
The default cabinet of the golden age

Sit-down table

The Cocktail Table

A cabinet built into a low table with the screen facing up through the glass top. Two players sat across from each other, and the picture flipped between turns.

Seated, face-to-face play
Screen set under a glass tabletop
A favourite of cafés and lounges

Compact upright

The Cabaret

A smaller, narrower take on the upright, built to fit where a full-size cabinet couldn't. Same stand-up play, less floor space.

A slimmer upright body
Made for tight spaces
Often a single-player setup

Sit-in deluxe

The Cockpit

The showpiece of the arcade — a seat you climbed into, wrapped around a big screen with a wheel or a stick, built to put you inside a racer or a starfighter.

A seat built into the machine
Wheels, pedals, or flight sticks
The premium arcade experience

Electro-mechanical

The Pinball Table

Not a video screen at all, but the arcade's old soul — a slanted table of bumpers, flippers, and ramps where a steel ball and quick hands decide the score.

Physical ball, flippers, and bumpers
From bells and lights to digital scoring
Shared the arcade floor for decades