As Featured in Toronto Life

Frolic’s Arcade is an audio-visual overload. A fleet of 15 pinball machines rumbles and shimmers, tricked out with lights and other additions. The back wall is a mirror, creating the illusion that the game cabinets stretch infinitely. Overhead, a ribbon of multi-colour lights lines the rim of the ceiling like a slice of Rainbow Road, the Technicolor finale from Mario Kart. And, at the entrance, there’s an orange neon sign in a Tron-like typeface. The space might just be the last true arcade in Toronto. It’s also a secret.

Read the article

Current lineup

Some new games have come in, some others have left, the current lineup is:

Pinball:
Dialed In! LE
Deadpool LE
Batman66 LE
Game of Thones LE
Star Trek LE
Total Nuclear Annihilation
Full Throttle
Metallica (Premium)
Ghostbusters LE
Iron Man (Vault Edition)
The Walking Dead LE
Tron Legacy
Mustang LE
AC/DC (Premium)
Medieval Madness LE

Vids:
Pac Man’s Arcade Party

Pinside invades Frolic’s Arcade

Pinside.com is the biggest pinball website community in the world. It’s been a part of my daily life since I first discovered it in 2012.

It was founded in the Netherlands by 2 brothers, where they operate it from. On their recent visit to North America I was able to invite them over to the arcade along with some local Pinsiders.

It was cool to bring everything full circle with their visit here.

Frolic’s Haunt

Not arcade related, but we hosted a Haunted House on our property this year, primarily focused on people with disabilities that don’t get participate in Haunted Houses normally, because of accessibility issues.

It was a huge success that had great turnout and lots of media coverage.

Current lineup

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The updated lineup.

Pinball:
Dialed In! LE
Game of Thrones LE
Batman 66 LE
Mustang LE
Avengers Hulk LE
Star Trek LE
Full Throttle
Metallica Premium
Ghostbusters LE
The Simpsons Pinball Party
Tron
The Walking Dead LE
Iron Man
AC/DC Premium
Medieval Madness LE

Vids:
Pac-Man’s Arcade Party

LE = Limited Edition model
Premium = Full featured “Premium” model

TV Show Taping

We were invited to the taping of a tv show where they built the world’s biggest pinball machine at our friend Adam Becker’s arcade and property. Both my kids got to play it on camera. Not sure when the show will debut but it was a pretty neat spectacle.

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Frolic’s Arcade raising its profile

“Jersey Jack” Guarnieri, of Jersey Jack Pinball showing off his new Frolic’s Arcade shirt as the first Dialed In machines get ready to leave his factory. I had told Jack I’d send him a shirt to commemorate the first Jersey Jack Pinball making its way to my arcade.

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Dialed In is expected this summer.

In memory of Adam West

Adam West passed this week at the age of 88.

I’m heartened by the life he lived, and the love he felt from his fans. I also take a bit of comfort in knowing his involvement in the Batman pinball game was one of his final bits of work.

My Batman was a limited edition, #13, and signed by Adam West himself. It will always be a special machine.

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New Game: Batman ’66

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Batman LE from Stern, based on the classic TV series.

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Every LE was named after an individual episide or batgadget. Mine was Episode 13: The Thirteenth Hat, which we coincidentally received delivery on Friday the 13th of January!!

The LE also features a very cool topper.

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Vancouver Flip Out 2016

vanflipout-pinball-expo-2016-logo

I will be traveling to Vancouver for their Flip Out expo happening in September. Over 130 pinball machines will be playable, plus lots of guest speakers from the industry will be there.

I also look forward to meeting in real life many pinball contacts I’ve made on the west coast.

If you will be at the show feel free to say hello and introduce yourself!

well that was interesting

I never realized an article about my little arcade could turn into a world wide viral thing. It leaves me in a weird place because now I’ve had hundreds of requests from people to visit, when this isn’t a business and I’m not trying to monetize it. Obviously a real brick & mortar business would have loved all the attention, but I don’t know what to do with it.

Then came more media requests and TV requests. I’ll have to let the dust settle before I decide what I will do next. In the meantime I will continue to update this site as a blog about what I do with my arcade.

Where to play Pinball

There’s been interest in the arcade due to the Toronto Life article. As mentioned, the arcade is a private collection, but on occasion we’ve opened it up for a charity night. I’ve created an email address for people interested to be put on a list.

You can email your interest to:

guestlistrequest@frolicsarcade.com

Outside of this, this isn’t a business, so it isn’t available for private bookings or rentals.

Other places to play:

There are multiple leagues that play regularly in and around Toronto:

Toronto Pinball League – plays every Monday at venues around the GTA.

City Pinball – Plays regularly in Toronto.

Bluff’s Pinball League – Plays regularly in Scarborough

DRAPL Pinball League – Plays regularly in Durham and east of Toronto.

There is also

The Church of the Silver Ball – Open most weekends in Mississauga.

Happy Flipping!