Well, I’ve been holding onto this little side trip to Geeks Mania since around March of last year, but since I enjoy writing up these little gaming destinations for you, I’m still going to make it happen. I absolutely want to share more about this wonderful little arcade just off of US Highway 14 in Madison, Wisconsin. I was able to make it in on an unrelated trip to the city last year, and I was totally impressed because I didn’t expect to see such a quality arcade out in the suburbs of Madison. This was a fun gaming lifestyle opportunity for me, and I even ended up making a little YouTube video about the whole arcade.
Geeks Mania has existed for the good part of a decade and is an independent business with tons of veritable gems of games, as well as a ton of pinball machines. For the record, this is not the largest arcade, nor is it the only one, but it has a really great feel and tons of awesome games that I really enjoyed playing and looking through when I visited. It is $15 per person for unlimited play, which makes it particularly appealing, since you can easily spend all day here playing games if that’s what you want to do. The arcade has lots of pinball, a classics room, skee-ball, pool tables, and all sorts of other neat attractions like the World’s Largest X-Men Arcade, Dance Dance Revolution, and a whole host of deluxe systems!
The Games at Geeks Mania Arcade
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So, what games does the arcade have? Well, as a novice to arcades, I honestly couldn’t recall all of the major highlights outside of my photos, but most of them were definitely classic essentials. If you visit the arcade website, they do list all of their current systems. There are some major highlights, though, like the Classics Room, which has all of your standard late ’70s and ’80s arcade cabinets such as Joust, Tron, Paperboy, Centipede, Rampage, and just a bunch of really solid classic games. This room was actually my favorite and where I took the most pictures.
There are also plenty of newer games in the arcade and other great titles like Area 51, Time Crisis, a Star Wars Battle Pod, lots of Neo Geo machines, an original Donkey Kong, Vs. Super Mario Bros., and even some indie games thrown into the mix. I’ll reiterate again that this is an unlimited play arcade, so it’s a great place to sample a little bit of everything. They even have more deluxe systems like racing games, motorcycle games, and plenty of light-gun games.
This is also a family-friendly venue, and many families were present in the arcade celebrating birthdays or just enjoying the weekend. This is not a barcade, which honestly didn’t bother me at all.
They also have tons of pinball machines with great titles like The Addams Family, Dr. No, and The Addams Family among the mix. I really liked how, when a machine went down, the owner immediately came out to try and fix the games. This is something that seems rare, at least in my area, and really adds to the quality of the arcade.
Where to Find Geeks Mania and my Review
The arcade is located at 6502 Odana Rd, Madison, WI 53719, just off of US Highway 14. It was relatively easy to get to. For reference, it’s located near the Market Square Shopping Center and the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store in the Greentree neighborhood—or approximately that area (big reveal: I don’t know my way around Madison all that well). It’s a fairly safe, quiet neighborhood, though.
I do recommend checking out their website, if you’re looking for more info. You can find that at geeksmania.com.
I wouldn’t say this is one my more dramatic gaming adventures, like Midwest Gaming Classic or Arcadia in Illinois, mainly because everything went relatively smoothly. But I did try to take lots of pictures of the machines and layout for you.
Overall, I’d give this arcade a 9/10. It had a lot of awesome games, and the owners seemed really nice and friendly. Everybody was having a great time.
I don’t know, as an out-of-towner, when I’ll be back, but if you live in Madison, you definitely have to spend an afternoon there, as it is well worth it for me as a casual two-hour stop-through.
Photos From My Visit to Geeks Mania
And I did want to share some photos from the trip, since that’s the best way of seeing what it’s all about. So, putting those right… here:
Final Thoughts on the Arcade and This Article
That pretty much wraps up my Geeks Mania review. I do have a video that goes more in depth. I feel like this travelogue could be more polished, but I just wanted to share this before it fades from my memory, since it was almost a year ago. And you do have that photo dump, so you get to see everything better that way.
I hope you enjoyed this gaming article, and I hope you get to check out Geeks Mania soon and support this awesome little arcade. Note that I am not affiliated with them in any way. I do write gaming articles, though, with a variety of reviews, guides, commentaries, and explorations, so be sure to take a look around. Do subscribe to my YouTube Channel if you get a chance as well! Thanks for reading, and I’m Mr. Dave Pizza.
