Updated August 2026

How to buy a cabinet

Path first, crate contents second, power third. If the stair loses, do not buy the cabinet. Polycade Sente $2,499 is the 90 lb open-PC start. Dreamcade Vision 32 $3,999 list is the licensed menu in the crate. X-Arcade Machine 32 $2,000 is the empty 400 lb American upright. The Arcade Co does not stock Arcade1Up.

The Arcade Co is a dealer for Polycade, Dream Arcades, X-Arcade. We do not stock Arcade1Up or AtGames.

The Arcade Co sells home and light-commercial machines on 110V. If you need a coin mech or 220V operator iron, stop and write us. Below is the rec-room path: what is in the crate, whether the stair wins, and why Arcade1Up is a different store. It is long because a $2,000–$9,500 freight event is not a vibe.

A home game room is not a Walmart countercade

Search “arcade machine for home game room” and you will hit Dreamcade Vision 40 and Creative Arcades, not the Arcade1Up carousel. That query is the rec-room buyer: 2-player vs 4-player vs wall-mount, licensed menu vs open PC, a cabinet that survives Saturday. The Arcade Co sells that floor. Vision 32 $3,999 list, Vision 40 $4,599 list, Polycade freestanding Sente + marquee $3,399, Skee-Ball Premium $4,499. If you meant a $334 Pac-Man Classic SE at Walmart, that is a different store. If you meant a home game room, start here, then walk Best Home Arcade Machines 2026.

Measure the delivery path

RETROCADE describes this in prose and does not mark it up. We do. Five measurements, in order, before a card:

1. Measure door width. Measure the clear opening, not the door slab. Subtract hardware, weatherstrip, and any ramp lip. Polycade Sente is 25.5 inches wide; X-Arcade Machine 32 and Dreamcade assembled uprights need a real doorway and a plan for the turn.
2. Measure the stair turn. Stringer to stringer, plus the landing diagonal. A 90 lb Sente can hang or stand. A 400 lb X-Arcade does not walk a Victorian stair. A 10-foot Skee-Ball Classic is length. Pinball is a pallet and a backbox. Photograph the turn.
3. Measure ceiling height. Cabinet height plus wheels, marquee, or pinball backbox. X-Arcade Machine 32 is 73 inches tall. Dreamcade Vision 32/40 need headroom at the landing. Confirm the finished ceiling, not the open joist.
4. Confirm crate class. Parcel-class (Polycade Sente $250 continental published), assembled upright freight (Dreamcade, X-Arcade), alley length (Skee-Ball Premium $4,499 / Classic 10-foot $8,995), pinball pallet (Stern James Bond 007 Pro $6,999). Do not combine two classes into one mystery pallet in your head.
5. Confirm liftgate, dock, or white-glove. Residential driveway almost always needs a liftgate on assembled iron. Skee-Ball white-glove is +$949 on the maker’s menu. Inspect on the truck. Photograph crushed corners before you sign. Concealed damage: 48 hours.

What to look for

Path first. Door, stair turn, ceiling, the corner at the bottom of the basement. A 90-pound Polycade Sente hangs or stands. A 400-pound X-Arcade does not hang. A 10-foot Skee-Ball Classic is length. A pinball is a pallet and a backbox. If you start with a marquee color you will buy a cabinet that loses the house.

Then ask what is in the crate. Licensed menu (Dreamcade), open PC (Polycade), empty cabinet (X-Arcade today), alley (Skee-Ball), licensed table (Stern). We print it on the card. We do not load ROMs onto an empty cabinet and then take a software return.

Key specifications, explained

Open PC vs licensed menu vs empty. Polycade is a powder-coated steel body with Sanwa JLF sticks, octagonal restrictors, eight buttons per player, and a mini-PC in the drawer. Standard configuration is 256GB SSD, 8GB DDR5, Ryzen 6850U at $2,499. You bring Steam, GOG, and the Polycade store. Dream Arcades ships 300+ licensed titles in a custom front-end on a Windows 11 PC, US assembled, 32-inch or 40-inch HD. X-Arcade’s 73-inch, 400-pound American cabinet currently ships without games. Pick the honesty that matches Saturday.

Power. Residential 110V on this floor. Dedicated circuit if a pinball and a cabinet share a wall. Tankstick is USB. Nothing here is a 220V FEC drop from ICE Games. Coin door is a contact-form quote.

Weight and dimensions. Sente: 90 lb, 25.5" W × 42" H × 14.5" D. X-Arcade Machine: 73" tall, 400 lb. Dreamcade Vision 32: 32" HD (31" viewable), wheels, tilt-to-move. Vision 40: bigger glass, 4-player available. Measure. We will refuse a ticket that loses the stair.

Freight. Polycade publishes $250 continental US on one Sente ($500 HI/AK), 1–4 days out, 3–7 in transit. Everyone else is quoted: liftgate, residential, crate class. Inspect on the truck. Photograph crushed corners, wet cardboard, tilt indicators. Refuse if the crate is destroyed. Concealed damage: 48 hours. White-glove on a Skee-Ball alley is +$949 on the maker’s menu.

Licensing. Dreamcade licensed in-box. Polycade open. X-Arcade empty (the 250-game cocktail bundle is discontinued). Skee-Ball is an alley. Stern is a licensed table. The Arcade Co does not pirate a library onto a serial we just sold.

Price tiers

$150–$300. X-Arcade Tankstick at $199. USB deck. The honest try-before-a-crate SKU. Not a $400 countercade with a licensed marquee.

$300–$500 Arcade1Up-style. That band exists at Walmart. We do not stock it. Arcade1Up and AtGames bartops are compared on /compare so you can see the gap: retail sticks, living-room unbox, public discounts. This floor starts at a real control panel.

$2,000–$4,000. X-Arcade empty 73-inch $2,000. Polycade Sente $2,499 wall, $2,699 marquee, $3,399 freestanding, $3,895 striped. Dreamcade Vision 32 $3,999 list (maker also publishes a promo; we show list). This is the home multicade band.

$4,500–$9,000. Vision 40 $4,599 list. Skee-Ball Premium $4,499, Premium+ $5,999, Classic 10-foot $8,995. Rec Room Pair $7,898 (sum of streets, not a MAP cut). Stern James Bond 007 Pro $6,999 — current-production pinball on this floor.

Custom / premium from Arcade Guys, Game Room Solutions, Big Daddy Games can run $3,000–$6,000+ and is a quote when it is not a published street. ICE Games is commercial. We will not pretend a rec-room cart is an FEC floor.

Brand comparison, short

Arcade1Up: mass retail, $300–$600 class, not on this cart. AtGames: Legends line, consumer libraries, public discounts, not on this cart. Dream Arcades: US-assembled licensed uprights, on this cart at list. Polycade: Sanwa steel, open PC, published freight. X-Arcade: American empty cabinets and USB decks. Skee-Ball: Wisconsin alleys. Stern: current-production pinball at live maker street. Full matrix: Compare.

Common mistakes

Buying a 400 lb upright for a Victorian stair. Assuming games are in an X-Arcade crate. Treating a maker promo as a dealer MAP cut. Signing the bill of lading before photos. Combining two freight classes into one mystery pallet. Putting a 10-foot Classic where a Premium would fit. Ordering pinball for one person to walk down a stair. Expecting Arcade1Up scale at Polycade money, or Polycade Sanwa at Arcade1Up money. Using a 2017 pinball MSRP as today’s street.

Expert tips

Send path photos with the first email. Tell us dock vs liftgate. Dedicated circuit for pinball plus cabinet. Monthly financing is cash ÷ term — useful, not an approval until the MID is live. Inspect on the truck. 48 hours on concealed damage. Licensed software is not an open-box item. The manufacturer warrants the serial. The Arcade Co is the dealer of record.

If you are still on form factor, walk the aisles: upright, wall, cocktail, alley, pinball, controls. If you are still on brand, read the compare table. If you are still on money, every card already prints cash and a 36-month financing estimate.