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Free Play Arcade’s Denton location is now open

Updated on July 10 at 11:07 a.m.: Free Play Denton has announced on Facebook that they will open their doors to the public on Friday, July 13. (Ohhhh, spooky.) They are clear to serve alcohol and they have more than 50 arcade and pinball machines ready to be played.

Original story: There is little doubt that classic arcade games are now back in force in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but depending on where you live, your date with Robotron might still require a bit of a drive. Free Play Arcade, which already has locations in Richardson and Arlington, is making it a bit easier on some folks by expanding to Denton in late spring.

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Free Play Arcade (Denton)

Free Play Arcade (Denton)

101 W. Hickory St.

Denton, TX 76201

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True to its name, Free Play allows you to play as many arcade and pinball games as you want after paying a cover charge to get in -- no quarters required. If you're going to be there awhile, you can also order food and drinks from the bar (and, let's face it, you'll work up an appetite playing through Michael Jackson's Moonwalker in its entirety).

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The Denton location will boast around 45 classic arcade games and 10 pinball tables. The specific games available will vary over time, enticing customers to keep coming back to see what's new.

Free Play Denton may also end up being a destination for beer lovers. The arcade is moving into the former Denton home of growler bar Lone Star Taps and Caps. Appropriately, Free Play plans to expand their own craft beer offerings with a growler bar of their own.

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"Ever since we opened our doors, we've had a huge take-home demand that we simply can't meet under the regulatory framework for our other locations," says Free Play president Corey Hyden in a press release. "This new Denton location allows us to explore this business and hopefully bring a whole new dynamic to the take-home beer market." The Denton location will have "a rotating selection of 20 draft beers, more than 150 packaged products at any time, and the best craft beer happy hour in all of D-FW."

The arcade is now in the process of securing the proper permits to make that happen. "Given the square foot challenges built into Downtown Denton and the City of Denton Municipal Code we had to get a little creative with our model to bring our trademark arcade to Denton," says Hyden.

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The two existing locations also make splashes with events and tournaments. Last year, modern arcade history was made at Free Play Arlington when Plano resident Lauren Featherstone shattered the world record for Tapper after a 24-hour marathon.

Free Play Denton is scheduled to open in late spring and will be located off of Denton Square at 505 W. Hickory Street. The cover charge for unlimited gaming will be $5 (plus tax).