One of Dublin’s most loved spots is The R.A.G.E on Fade Street. The R.A.G.E is home to all things retro and man is retro hot right now. Building on the tidal wave of popularity, the team behind The R.A.G.E are opening Token. Here’s what you’ll need to know about Dublin’s Token arcade and the 5 reasons we’re extremely excited about it.
What’s an arcade?
You might think we’re starting off with the basics here, but just to be on the safe side. Arcades were massively popular in the 1970s throughout America. Like, seriously popular. These buildings were full of standing games consoles you would feed with coins to play. All the classics were in there like Donkey Kong, Pacman and Space Invaders. Even today, you can watch documentaries on Netflix about guys trying to break longstanding high scores. Take a look at Man vs Snake to see what arcade games mean to people.
Where is Dublin’s Token arcade?
To be fair to the team being The R.A.G.E, they’ve picked a cracking spot. Dublin’s hottest new venue for everything will be just north of the Liffey in the heart of Smithfield.
Any I honestly mean the hottest venue for everything. Without further adieu, here are the 5 reasons I’m ridiculously excited about Token opening up.
The line-up of arcade games is amazing
Seriously, if it’s a classic arcade game, Token will have it. Dodge Donkey Kong’s barrels, hum the Tetris tune while neatly stacking shapes and get some shots off with Time-Crisis. That should give you a fair idea of the depth on show in Token, but here’s the longer list which is still to grow even more:
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| Donkey Kong
Pac-Man Space Invaders Tekken Tag Tournament Street Fighter 2 Mortal Kombat 2 Ghosts ‘n Goblins Sunset Riders NBA Hangtime (NBA Jam 2) Superman Mario Kart GP Point Blank Time Crisis 2 |
Tetris
The Simpsons Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles X-Men 4 player Marvel Vs. Capcom Metal Slug Metal Slug 2 Spiderman 4 player WWF Royal Rumble Final Fight Double Dragon Crazy Taxi |
|---|
Token will also boast a rake of classic pinball machines with retro themes like Baywatch.
Yeah, you’re getting pretty excited too right? We’ll there’s more. There’s lots more.
Token will have not one, but two bars – one with a twist
Arcade games are for kids – said noone ever. The team behind Token know their market. While promising abstaining from alcohol won’t affect the craic, there’s going to be quite the selection. Token’s downstairs bar will host brewery takeovers – take a moment to enjoy that thought. Yup, different companies will pop in every forthnight allowing patrons to sample staple brews and experimental stuff.
You’ll also get facetime with the people behind the brews. Just writing this is already giving me an idea of the welcoming atmoshpere you can expect from the Token arcade and there’s even more to come.
Where there’s beer there’s food
Isn’t that like some sort of legal requirement? Anyway, Token will be serving up great grub on top of games and grog (I expect royalties if that gets adopted). Whether it’s a legal requirement or not, Token’s food offering will be anthing but a token gesture. Taking note of food truck movements in America, Australia and pop-ups in London, there’ll be class food for everyone including gluten free, vegan, and vegetarian options.
They’ve even promised food eating competitions which is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to events.
They’ve promised a geansaí load of events
So, obviously they’ll have gaming competitons and the likes to accompany eating competitions. But, the team from The R.A.G.E have always been a creative bunch. To give you an idea what that means, in July the Token arcade will host the second ever Emoji Spelling Bee.
It won’t take long for Token’s function room to be worn in. They’re fans of reality tv, wrestling, board games, podcasts, vinyl records, Dungeons and Dragons, and bad movies. This place is going to be a grown-ups wonderland.
Their Kickstarter campaign was hilarious
Technically, this doesn’t fit into the list but it really does say a lot about what looks like Dublin’s best new venue. We were going to get the Token arcade. The successful Kickstarter campaign was to refurbish the building’s lift. Without it, certain areas of the building would have been wheelchair inaccessible. Now, everyone can enjoy what looks like a stunning venue. But let’s not brush over the Kickstarter campaign either. Some of the rewards were bloody hilarious and will live on with the arcade forever. No, literally. Some of the rewards will effect the place forever:
I’m counting down the days to this place opening…
When is Token open?
They are flat out prepping the place and aiming for mid-May. Facebook looks like the best place to get updates. Actually, this post in particular is the best spot. Subscribe to this and they’ll post the official opening date when it’s ready.
Token is clearly going to be immense craic when it opens. The team driving Dublin’s latest attraction are totally dedicated to this place being inclusive, fun and developing a huge community. So, go on. Like their facebook page and don’t bloody miss it.