The Arcade

Eighty-five games, and no clock on the door

The arcade is a room in its own right, not a corridor of cabinets on the way to something else. More than eighty-five video games line it — driving cabinets, shooters, basketball, air hockey, the big-ticket redemption machines and the crane and claw games children make straight for.

There are two ways to play, and they suit different visits. Time Play gives unlimited play on participating games for a fixed block of time — thirty minutes for $20, an hour for $30 — which is the one to buy when you want to stop counting. Classic Arcade Credits work the traditional way, as tokens loaded onto a card, and they are what you need for ticket redemption, prizes, the crane and claw machines, and both the billiards room and the bowling lanes.

It is also the part of the castle that stays open latest. On a Friday or Saturday the arcade runs until midnight, long after the amusements have shut for the night, which makes it the room where an evening actually finishes.

There is no admission fee to the castle. You pay for what you play, and nothing else.

• There is no general admission charge at Silver Stone Castle — you pay as you go, attraction by attraction.
• Time Play gives unlimited play on participating arcade games for your chosen block of time.
• Time Play does not earn tickets and does not cover ticket redemption or prizes.
• Crane and claw machines are excluded from Time Play and need Classic Arcade Credits.
• Bowling ($7 per person) and billiards ($4 a game) are also excluded from Time Play — both are traditional token play on an arcade card.
• Classic Arcade Credits are sold in tokens, from 40 up to 400, loaded onto a card.
• The arcade stays open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
• Every party package includes a one-hour unlimited arcade card per participating guest.