In New Hampshire, just off the western shore of the vacation destination Lake Winnipesaukee, there’s a town called Laconia. With a population somewhere south of 17,000, it’s barely a blip on a map—except on Bike Week, when around 300,000 motorcyclists swarm the place. On the other, quieter weeks of the year, Laconia is best known as the unlikely home of Funspot, the world’s largest arcade.
Meanwhile, in Brookfield, Illinois, about 45 minutes west of Chicago and the shores of Lake Michigan, you’ll find Galloping Ghost Arcade, a sprawling suburban palace with a nondescript exterior hiding a mind-blowing collection. With over 1,000 arcade cabinets (plus a further 46 pinball machines), Galloping Ghost is the world’s largest arcade.
Yes, there are two arcades in the US labeled as the world’s largest, and while that may seem a bit paradoxical, a visit to both proves that while only one can be the biggest, both are the greatest.
Funspot
We’ll start with the eldest of the two. Funspot’s origin story dates back to 1952, when Robert M. Lawton founded it as an indoor mini-golf and penny-arcade pavilion. Over the years, its location has changed and expanded, a fact evident in its architecture: a series of loosely connected buildings spread across a gentle slope.
Credit: Tim Stevens You wouldn’t think it, but you’re approaching one of the world’s largest arcades. You wouldn’t think it, but you’re approaching one of the world’s largest arcades. Credit: Tim Stevens
It can be a bit hard to know which of those buildings to enter, but so long as you steer clear of the Funspot Bingo Hall, you’ll eventually arrive in video game paradise.
Funspot is spread across multiple floors of a discordant series of structures, housing everything from a throwback mini-golf course to a small go-kart track for the little ones. There’s even a 20-lane bowling alley. It’s all inside and protected from the harsh northeastern weather, making Funspot a four-season source of entertainment.