An arcade is a place filled with coin-operated games where people go to play and have fun. Classic arcades from the 1980s and 1990s had rows of standing game machines with screens and joysticks, where players fed in quarters to play games like Pac-Man, Space Invaders, or Street Fighter. Modern arcades often include ticket-winning games, racing simulators, basketball shooting games, and prize redemption counters.

People also use arcade as an adjective to describe a certain style of game. Arcade games are typically fast-paced, easy to learn but hard to master, and designed for quick play sessions. Even games you play at home on a console might be called arcade-style if they have that same exciting, pick-up-and-play feeling that made the original arcade games so popular.