High Score Arcade + Cafe Brings Classic Arcade Energy Back to Rhinebeck
High Score opened in Rhinebeck at the end of August.
Pac-Man, pinball, and slushies are back on the block in the Village of Rhinebeck. The newly opened High Score Arcade + Cafe at 6 Garden Street channels the golden age of gaming with 30 machines, split between classic arcade cabinets and pinball. There’s also a concession counter serving snacks, drinks, and ice cream. The spot is owned and operated by local resident Brian Tamm, who also works as the town’s zoning administrator.
The idea for High Score goes back several years. Tamm was part of a business partnership that ran Megabrain Comics, which has since moved to Red Hook. Megabrain had a small arcade in the back, and when it moved, Tamm stored the machines while searching for space for a standalone arcade. “It was really fun when we had one in the back of the comic book store, and it was popular, but it was also hidden,” he says.
Brian Tamm
After two and a half years, the right space finally became available. The storefront on Garden Street offered just over 1,000 square feet to work with. Tamm signed the lease in April and spent months transforming the bare interior into a retro-styled arcade. The work included new plumbing and electrical, building walls, and adding heating. Local artist and longtime friend Cookie, of Graceland Tattoo, decorated the space with foam core Pac-Man and Space Invaders characters, painted wall art, and contributed other handmade pieces. “It was just an empty white space when we got it,” Tamm says. “Now we’ve got crazy colors and art on the walls.”
High Score officially opened on August 27 with a quiet start. Permits, inspections, and insurance approvals made it hard to pin down a date. “Everyone was asking, ‘When are you opening?’ and I was like, ‘I don’t know—when all the stars align,’” Tamm says.
The arcade currently houses 22 classic cabinets and 8 pinball machines. The lineup includes Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Defender, The Simpsons, Virtua Fighter, and racing games like Super Monaco Grand Prix. All the pinball machines are popular, especially newer ones like Godzilla and The Walking Dead. Tamm also keeps personal favorites on the floor, like Robotron 2084. “It’s kind of an obscure game,” he says. “It’s one that I wanted, so really I got it for me.”
All the games run on quarters. “A lot of people told me I’d make more money charging a flat fee,” Tamm says. “But I didn’t want to do that. I want kids to be able to say, ‘Oh, I’ve got two bucks, let me go in.’ I just want it to be accessible. It’s more fun that way.” High Score has a change machine and an ATM on site.
Tamm sources new cabinets and parts through Facebook Marketplace and repair forums, and maintaining the machines is constant work. “Pretty much every free moment, I’m looking for cool stuff and trying to get a decent deal. But usually a decent deal means it’s not working quite right. I have a garage full of machines in pieces,” he says. He does as much of the restoration himself as he can, then ships out for repair. “Sometimes the boards might have acid damage and stuff that’s beyond me,” Tamm notes.
In addition to games, High Score offers concessions: soft pretzels, hot dogs, chips, candy, sodas, and slushies—currently watermelon and blue raspberry, with cherry to be added. Soft serve ice cream is available Friday through Sunday. Tamm also created the ‘Level Up,’ a slushy blended with vanilla ice cream in the milkshake machine, and he plans to expand to milkshakes and soda floats. For adults, the arcade serves beer and cider.
Since opening, the response has been strong. Families, teens, and adults have all stopped by. “It’s been great,” Tamm says. “People will come in who don’t even have kids and say, ‘This is amazing, I’m going to tell my friends who have kids.’ Local dads bring their kids, hang out at the bar, and play together. So many people just say, ‘Thanks for doing this,’ which makes me feel good.”
Tamm mostly runs the arcade himself, though he recently hired a part-timer to help cover shifts and give him time for repairs. High Score is open five days a week. Between running the business and balancing his town job, the pace is demanding. “It gets hectic,” he says. “You might have three kids ordering food, adults ordering drinks, and then a coin jam at one of the machines. You’re constantly running around.”
Looking ahead, Tamm may add birthday parties, tournaments, pinball leagues, and live events like karaoke or DJs. But the core is still the games. “If my younger self walked in here, he’d be here all the time,” Tamm says. “I grew up in Rhinebeck and we had a couple pizza places and a laundromat with some arcade machines, and we would just ride our bikes there. But it was like four machines in the entire town. Now we’ve got all this.”
High Score will be closed this weekend, from Friday, September 19 through Sunday, September 21, and will reopen on Wednesday, September 24, with normal hours: Wednesday and Thursday 2–8pm, Friday 2–10pm, Saturday 12pm–10pm, and Sunday 12–6pm.
