Throw down on on three tables inspired by rock legends at Heavy Metal Pinball Lot! Heavy metal and pinball go hand-in-hand, and the modern age of pinball started right around the same time that bands started to push the boundaries of rock music, making everything heavier, faster, and louder! Video games eventually overtook pinball in most arcades, but heavy metal…
Now Available: New Year’s Eve 2016 VIP Wristbands – While They Last!
UPDATE 12/29: VIP Wristbands are now SOLD OUT! If you purchased one, you’ll receive a follow-up message soon. Thank you to everyone that purchased one! Our NYE party is already a killer deal, but sometimes you just need a little bit of VIP treatment. Get a VIP wristband and skip the line at the door, so you can get right…
Open Regular Hours Labor Day – Monday 9/5
Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade will be open regular hours on Labor Day, Monday 9/5. All ages are welcome at Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade from Noon-4:50pm daily. We begin checking IDs at 4:30pm, and can only admit those 21+ with valid ID from 4:30pm-close. Our bar opens at 5pm for alcohol service. If you've got the day off, come on down! We're also open late Sunday…
Raiders of the Lost Arcade: Rally-X
Simple yet colorful, addictive and fun, Namco's Rally-X first hit Japanese arcades in 1980. Race your lone car through city streets and rack up points, all while avoiding the mounting number of enemies who are out to wreck your car! The game is deceptively easy at first, but it quickly escalates into an adrenaline-filled race against a dwindling fuel tank.
Bonus Round Free Play Party – Tuesday 8/16, 10pm-close
Close out your Tuesday night with Bonus Round Free Play! From 10pm-close on Tuesday August 16, every arcade game and pinball table at Ground Kontrol will be set to free play. Over 90 games spanning decades of arcade history from the vector classic Asteroids to the indie game Killer Queen, all for one low $3 cover! Feel like you're not…
No Pun Intendo featuring Becky Braunstein – Thursday 8/18, 9pm
Stand-Up Comics & Stand-Up Games! Every Third Thursday, No Pun Intendo brings fantastic comedians to our lounge! Plus - video game competitions between teams of audience members with fabulous prizes! Each month, we feature fantastic comics from Portland & beyond. This month's lineup: Becky Braunstein Neeraj Srinivasan Harry Riley Natalie Holt Maddie Downs Hosted by Portland's Funniest Person, Nariko Ott!…
Back in the Arcade: Tempest
Nightmare-inspired, unrelentingly difficult, and Lemmy's favorite game: The 1981 Atari classic Tempest has finally returned to Ground Kontrol!
Considered one of the top 10 arcade games ever released, Tempest stands out in arcades even today. This artistic, highly stylized game is also intelligent and engaging, not to mention appropriately difficult. It was created by acclaimed game designer Dave…
Clash of the Classics: Smash TV VS Forgotten Worlds
Fans of musclebound men with unlimited firepower and the ability to shoot in any direction, take note: You've got a tough decision to make during this month's Clash of the Classics! One game stays, one game goes, and only your quarters can truly decide. We're pitting the 1990 Williams shoot 'em up Smash TV against the 1998 Capcom shoot 'em up Forgotten Worlds! Similar…
Raiders of the Lost Arcade: Forgotten Worlds
“Emperor Bios, the god of destruction and creator of evil. Eight evil gods he created were destroying every civilization. Destroyed cities turned into ruins called the Dust World. But aura of people’s angry mind created two super warriors to fight against evils.”
A strangely worded narrative from the 1988 promo flyer sends us into straight into the action of…
Clash of the Classics: Centipede VS Millipede
We've given our games a bit of a break from our semi-regular Clash of the Classics challenge, where two games compete to earn the most quarters, with the winner earning a spot on our arcade floor and the loser exiled to storage. Now it's time for another tough decision: Do we keep a well-known classic, or its more complicated sequel? Centipede (Atari -…