As a computer geek and arcade game freak, there is nothing more exciting than hearing about a Video Game Museum in the area or country you are travelling in. This time we are heading to the Video Game Museum in Zoetermeer in the Netherlands.
Zoetermeer is close to Rotterdam and is also easy to reach from Utrecht or Amsterdam. That’s the big advantage of staying or travelling the Randstad area of The Netherlands, everything is relatively close and easy to reach
Info about the Video Game Museum in Zoetermeer
The Video Game Museum is located in a mall, in the shopping district of Zoetermeer so it is easy to reach by car (plenty of parking) or train.
- Address: Theaterplein 11 in Zoetermeer, Holland
- Info & tickets via the official website of the Video Game Museum
- Staying in the area: see all hotel deals in Zoetermeer
First impression of this arcade game museum
“Oh wow, this is huge and freaking awesome” are the first things racing through your head. The second is, “I want to play this, and that one…. Oh and definitely that one as well”. You will have a great time at this game museum.
The arcade games are arranged in chronological order. The first ones you come across are the classic 80s ones (Donkey Kong, PacMan, Burger Time etc). The next few rows are the big classic ones, like Ocean Hunter, Time Crisis 4, House of the Dead (2 and 4), Rambo etc. Then there is a row dedicated to racing games and then the more modern and/or Asian arcade games.
Some of the amazing arcade games I played here aka my favourites:
- Donkey Kong
- Burger King
- Popeye (pinball, yes they do have a few pinball machines as well)
- Ocean Hunter
- House of the Dead 2
- House of the Dead 4
- Time Crisis 4
- Wadaiko Master
- PacMan (also Junior and Miss)
- StarWars (pinball, told you there are some pinball machines)
- Operation Wolf
- Duck Hunt
- Pong
- Air Hockey
You will definitely have a great time here. Before you know it, your 2-hour slot is over and you have to leave the Video Game Museum.
Can they take this video game museum to the next level?
They sure can. The tickets your purchase online are for 2-hour time-slots (10 Euros for 2 hours of gaming), which is the only downside of their set-up. A more unlimited experience would be more awesome.
Similar Arcade Game Museums or Video Games Museums are taking the unlimited approach: one fixed price for unlimited classic gaming:
- Computer Museum in Zwolle, Holland (check out our blog post about this one)
- Carolina Arcade Museum in Forest City, North Carolina, USA
- ComputerSpiel Museum in Berlin, Germany (read more about it)
Although, when we visited the National Video Game Museum it was in the midst of the Corona/COVID pandemic so that could be a reason the museum was using timeslots instead of offering unlimited access.
Check out these arcade games (photos)
Check out the photos of the National Video Game Museum in Zoetermeer. Even though they aren’t the best photos (I was busy playing games… Sorry, not sorry), they’ll show you what to expect. Note: the museum is located in a former department store so that’s also a telltale sign of the size of the museum and the number of arcade games. Game on!
