Blast from the Past- Retro/Vintage Arcade

21/12/2023

💥FESTIVE OPENING TIMES💥

Here we go folks, my opening times for the rest of the year/holidays, the dates in green will be extra festive with a few extra special treats 🎊

DEC 23rd & 24th will be the Christmas Party here at Blast from the Past! I'll have all your classic Christmas tunes, extra board games to play in the living room, festive films and some sweets/treats!✨️

DEC 31st will be my New Year's Eve party! Come on down and celebrate the new year with a blast!! I've got 80s karaoke in the living room from 6pm and all your favourite video and board games to play! What better way to kick off your New Year's celebrations!!💥

16/12/2023

💥OFFICIALLY OPEN💥
Wow it's been such a busy afternoon!! Thank you to everyone who came down to my test opening week and have already visited today! The all new Blast from the Past Arcade is now officially open for today untill 8pm tonight!! 🎊

I've had a little change to my original pricing but I'm still doing my best to keeping it great vaule for everyone, the new prices are:

£3 for 30 minutes or £5 for 1 hour
After the hour it's only £1 for every additional 30mins you'd like to add!

There's new pinball machines, new games, new displays and the pièce de résistance is the early 1980s living room! Complete with sofa, fire place, a 1982 Sony Trinitron Television with the awesome Nintendo Entertainment System set up, a whole bunch of classic table top/board games and much more to be enjoyed like its Christmas 1982 all over again!!

So why not step back in time with a visit to Blast from the Past and come home this Christmas! 🚀✨️

09/12/2023

💥Reopened! Now bigger and better💥

Apologies for the late posting everyone, today has been hectic!! I am now reopened this week for a soft launch in my new and improved larger unit at The Piece Hall with a grand opening on Saturday 16th December!!!😁

I've just moved right next door to the old Blast for the Past and this week will be a test opening so there may be some issues with machines or usual displays not put up yet but please do come down and tell me what you all think so far as your feedback is incredibly valuable to me!

Thank you again for all your patience during this move! There will be a full reveal coming later next week with photos and videos to show off the all new Blast from the Past Arcade!!🚀

08/12/2023

💥CLOSED -PLEASE STAND BY- CLOSED 💥

Hiya Folks, unfortunately I will be closed today (Friday 8th December) while I finish working on my biggest project to date at the arcade!! 🕹📺

I really want to have this totally ready for this weekend for you all so I have decided it's best to spend today working on this to have it completed for opening tomorrow!

I'm incredibly excited to share what it is I've been working on and what has been happening behind the scenes at Blast from the Past and will hopefully have an announcement this evening!!😁

I am really sorry if this has inconvenienced anyone's day or plans but I can promise it will definitely be worth 1 day of being closed, I'm sure you're all going to absolutely love it!
If you're around The Piece Hall today why not come up and have a sneak peak in the windows! 👀

Thank you so much everyone and I hugely appreciate your patience this time! 🚀

29/11/2023

Thank you so so much to everyone who has visited me over the past 3 weekends during the Christmas Markets!!✨️

All I can say is wow, I honestly can't believe how many people have been through the door to have some festive fun playing my collection of classic games! Thank so very much!

I am back open now for another week of original arcade gaming joy, also keep an eye out for my end of year schedule/events being posted soon!! 🕹💥

31/10/2023

👻 Happy Halloween Folks 👻

Halloween is finally here! Which means it's the last (and best!) day of spooky treats here at Blast from the Past!💥

There's sweets and cakes for all you trick or treaters visiting The Piece Hall today, so come and get them before all the ghouls, ghosts and goblins take them all! 😱

I hope you all have an absolutely spooktacular day and a huge thank you to everyone who has visited me over this spooky season!! 🎃

25/10/2023

🎃 HALLOWEEN HALF-TERM 🎃

Looking for something fun for all the family this half-term? 👾

Blast from the Past has got you covered at a price that wont scare you silly 👻 Just £2.50 for 30 minutes or only £5 for 2 hours of original arcade fun!

Remember, all my machines are set to freeplay, so once you've paid entry there's nothing else to spend! Just have fun! 💥🚀

21/10/2023

💥Back To the Future Weekend💥

Great Scott!! Once again it's October 21st, and if my calculations are correct that means it's Back to the Future day! Because this is my favourite film series of all time we'll be celebrating all weekend here!! ⚡️🚗🔥🔥🔥

Come on down and travel back in time at Blast from the Past, we have Back to the Future props/memorabilia/music/films and games all weekend! 🕤

Also, this weekend only we have 2 Back to the Future themed competitions:

👾 Wild Gunman- Whoever gains the highest score will win 2x 2 hour wristbands to return anytime you'd like, a little bag of goodies and be crowned the Cafe 80s crackshot!

👾Back to the Future III- whoever completes the 1st level on the Mega Drive game Back to the Future 3 and saves Clara will win 2x 2 hour wristbands to return whenever you'd like to!

And remember if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything! 💥

13/10/2023

⛺️HAPPY FRIDAY 13TH FOLKS⛺️

Ch Ch Ch Ah Ah, It's a spooky day in a spooky season!

Never mind escaping from Camp Crystal Lake, escape from reality this weekend at Blast from the Past Arcade and have a classic gaming experience like no other! 🚀

11/10/2023

💥New game of the month!!!💥

This October we welcome, for the first time, 'GALAGA'🚀

🕹Swooping into arcades in 1981 Galaga was the sensational sequel to the 1979 hit Galaxian which continued to improve upon the 'Space Invaders formula' known as fixed shooters! It was such a hit that it still appeared in arcade charts until 1987!

🕹Created by a small team lead by Shigeru Yokoyama at Namco, Galaga was a vast improvement on its predecessor, including double shots, a host of new enemies with their own personalities and a tractor beam, giving players a chance to create a dual ship with twice the firepower!

So why not come on down and see if you can be our high score champion this month, the score is climbing already!!🚀

19/09/2023

💥BOOK YOUR EVENT NOW💥

Celebration? Birthday? New Year? Team Building? Work Outing? Love Arcades?

What ever the reason you're looking to hire an exciting & unique venue, Blast from the Past has got you covered with end of year private hire bookings being taken now!

Featuring 4 decades of Pinball, 7 original arcade machines and 5 classic consoles with a libary of over 100 game cartridges there's plenty to play at Blast from the Past and even more to see with our fantastic displays of gaming & pop culture history🕹

Located in the beautiful Piece Hall and with bookings available at times to suit you, why not pop us a message to get your group booked in today before it's too late!

24/08/2023

💥🎂 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY 🎂💥

My gosh!! Exactly 1 year ago today we dropped the paint brushes, put up the last frames, fired up all the machines and I opened the doors to Blast from the Past for the first time!! It took 2 days for me to get my first customers, and its been nothing but up ever since!

A massive thank you to all you folks who have visited the arcade, hired for parties, donated items, sponsored events, given me words of encouragement/advice, left fantastic reviews, told me stories about the games you remembered and just made the past year an absolute pleasure and the best year of my life so far!

It has been my dream to open Blast from the Past since I was 14 and I bought my first Pinball machine (Williams Triple Strike)! I am genuinely so incredibly lucky and privileged to be able to realise that dream and get to share my passion in life with you all and see how much joy and happiness these old machines bring to people!
I can't begin to express how grateful I am to wake up everyday and head down to the beautiful Piece Hall and open up my Arcade, dedicated to bringing an authentic arcade experience to all. From the bottom of my heart thank you!

The arcade has grown so much in just 1 year! I've added 2 more original arcade machines, '1979' Galaxian and '1981' Defender (and have even more in the works). I've added the Super Nintendo, Sega Master System, PlayStation and expanded the game library from 16 original games to 86! As well as adding countless items from gaming/pop culture history waiting to be discovered!

Thank you so much to everyone who has visited and supported me over the past 12 months, you're the people that help keep my dream alive and keep a true classic arcade in Halifax.
Thank you to all my friends and family that always help in any way they can and keep me going! And lastly thank you to all my wonderful machines that, after over 40 years of life for most of them, have been running for another 2500 hours and are still going strong!

Here's to another year of restoring and adding new machines, new consoles, competitions, events and bringing you all even more BLASTS FROM THE PAST 😁

P.S- Apologies for the huge post! If you've read this far and you're around this week pop in and ask for a free cake💥

19/08/2023

🏳️‍🌈PRIDE DAY🏳️‍🌈
It's here folks and we're open till 8 o'clock with our Pride Party at The Piece Hall!!

We've got our fabulous arcade ambassador Queen Robyn Lane, we have free cakes & sweets, our '1976' Elton John Capt Fantastic Pinball, great vibes and the arcade is fully decorated with beautiful bunting designed and made by the incredible Megay.Makes!!💥

So bring your fantastic self down and enjoy all the awesome things going on at The Piece Hall today and celebrate everything that makes you your incredible self!!!
❤️💜💙💚💛🧡

05/08/2023

💥🏳️‍🌈Pride Party Announcement🏳️‍🌈💥

On Saturday August 19th The Piece Hall will once again be hosting this years Calderdale Pride ❤️‍🔥

As I'm sure you all know, if you've visited Blast from the Past, that one of my main values has always been inclusivity and creating a safe space for everyone and anyone to enjoy these classic machines and make new friends, no matter who you are!!!

Last year I had only just opened up before Calderdale Pride but still had an amazing day with everyone! This year I plan on hosting an all out Pride Party 😆 With free cakes/sweets, fabulous prizes, competitions, photo opportunities and even more. It's sure to be an absolutely awesome day and not to be missed!

So come on down 2 weeks today on August 19th and party with us and the rest of The Piece Hall from 11am till 8pm for a day full of fun and celebrate everything that makes you your incredible unique self!!

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

04/08/2023

💥NEW GAME OF THE MONTH💥

We say goodbye to Frogger for now but the beautiful Ms.Pac-Man has arrived!!🎀

Released in 1982 Ms.Pac-Man was the first playable female video game character and the sensational sequel to the 1980 classic Pac-Man.

Originally called 'Crazy Otto' and designed as a 3rd party modification kit for Pac-man by Steve Golson, the game was present to Midway to be official published after legal action from Atari relating to their other modification kits!

Come on down this August and experience the improvements on the original Pac-man including smarter enemy AI, varied mazes, moving fruits, and even more intermissions!!

😶🔸️🔸️🔸️👻🔸️🔸️🔸️

14/07/2023

💥NEW 'WIN THE MUG' COMPETITION💥

After the amazing reception to our 'Pac-Man' high score competition the awesome Retro Game Museum have sponsored a NEW GAME with a NEW MUG for you folks to WIN💫

This time we challenge you to the Russian beast that is 'TETRIS'! Created in 1985 by Alexey Pajitnov, who was a Soviet software engineer tasked with testing the limitations of computers, but ultimately he wanted to use computers to bring joy to people. There is a really fantastic story behind the creation of 'Tetris' and getting the game out of Russia during the Cold War!!

Starting from TOMORROW whoever manages to claim the highest score by closing on AUGUST 31st will be our Tetris champion and the winner of the awesome heat changing Tetris mug🏆

13/07/2023

💥New game of the month!!!💥
🐸🐸 FROGGER HAS RETURNED! 🐸🐸

This month we welcome back the absolute classic Frogger!!!

Released in 1981 by Sega, but developed by Konami, Frogger became an almost instant arcade success. Becoming one of the top earning games of 1981, and spawing a flurry of sequels and clones, even going on to inspire the 2014 game 'Crossy Road' 💫

So why not come on down and see if you can be our high score champion this month!!

06/07/2023

💥Pac-Man High Score Winner💥
Thank you to everyone who has visited over the course of our 'Pac-Man' competition!

We do have a winner folks so a massive congratulations to our high score champion GLITCH FEATHER who won the Pac-Man mug with a whopping score of 61800!🥇

However, now we have crowned our champion it does mean we do have to say goodbye again to the awesome 'Pac-Man' for now, but another fantastic arcade classic has already hopped into its place which will be announced later tomorrow evening!

If you missed out on this competition please keep an eye out on our page as we have more challenges and prizes to be won coming very soon!!💫

26/05/2023

☀️SUMMER HALF-TERM IS HERE☀️

We're back all of next week with even more classic arcade fun!

Whatever the weather, whatever your plans, we'll be here! Only £2.50 for half an hour, or just £5 for 2 hours of freeplay!💥🕹

We've got loads happening at the moment too!

💥Come on down and experience our totally awesome new arcade machine from 1981 'DEFENDER'!
💥Or challenge yourself on our game of the month 'PAC-MAN'! Highest score on June 30th wins the Pac-Man mug!
💥And we've still got the amazing 1982 'VECTREX' experience here with a fantastic selection of games till June 11th!

20/05/2023

Our fantastic friend and amazing crochet artist Maddie Made It UK is at Rochdale Comic-Con today! She's there till 5pm with all her incredible creations so if you're attending today make sure to find her and say hello from us at Blast from the Past 😁

If you’re at Rochdale Comic Con today make sure you check out my stall in the main hall for all your nerdy knits!

18/05/2023

💥ANNOUNCEMENT💥
We've partnered together with the fantastic Retro Game Museum to bring you all some extra special retro fun for May & June! 👾

First up! They have been ever so kind to allow us to borrow the incredible Vectrex straight from 1982!
This is a truly great piece of classic 1980s technology, and definitely something to see and play in person, who knows when you'll be able to use one of these again!
The Vectrex experience will be available until June 11th only at Blast from the Past, with 5 original games to choose from!

Secondly the Retro Game Museum are sponsoring our Game Of The Month (Pac-Man) by donating this totally awesome Pac-Man heat changing mug as a prize🏆 Highest score on June 30th will be the WINNER!!

There's never been a better time to come down to Blast from the Past, with new consoles/machines/prizes and even more to discover! So why not pay us a visit and experience an era!

13/05/2023

💥Back to Normal & New Machine💥

Sorry about the changes to open days this week everyone! I do sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by these closed days.

However we are now back open as normal, with everything up and running again!

We even have a new machine added into our line up!! We will be announcing this new machine at 8 o'clock tonight, but it's currently set up waiting for players! So if you're in town today why not pop in and see which awesome & iconic arcade machine has join the Blast from the Past Family!!

11/05/2023

!CLOSED TODAY!

Unfortunately due to unexpected necessary maintenance on some machines we will have to be closed today while repairs are underway.

I am extremely sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, we will be back open as normal tomorrow from 12:00pm!

If you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to message, again apologies about this and hope everyone has a great day.

04/05/2023

💫🌑Happy Star Wars Day🌑💫

💥We've had an Imperial take over💥

If you're out and about this May 4th why not pop into Blast from the Past and see what Star Wars day extras we've hidden around!! Or grab yourself a beautiful hand made treat from Maddie Made It UK Star Wars collection!

We're open until 8pm tonight so come on down!

⭐️May the 4th be with you all and have a fantastic Star Wars Day⭐️

03/05/2023

💥End Of Nintendo Month💥
A HUGE thank you to everyone who visited over April for Nintendo Month and thank you to those who attended our Super Mario Kart Tournament!

It's been a fantastic month full of fun and classic Nintendo joy, but all great things must come to an end ❤💚

However this does mean the return of our regular console collection! Welcome back the Atari 2600, Sega Master System and the Sega Mega Drive! All set back up with an awesome selection of games to play 😃

If you enjoyed or missed out on Nintendo Month keep an eye on the page for more upcoming themed months to celebrate gaming & arcade history!

01/05/2023

💥Happy Bank Holiday Folks💥
We're now open today for some Bank Holiday classic arcade fun :D

Remember today is the final day of Nintendo Month, so come one down and experience the evolution of Nintendo and Mario!
Its also your last chance to beat the Donkey Kong high score before we have a new game for May! 😯

07/04/2023

💥Announcement💥
Nintendo Month all this April at Blast from the Past.

To celebrate the release of the Super Mario Bros Movie we've had a Nintendo take over at the arcade! 🍄

Experience Mario from the very beginning and come along on the incredible journey of Nintendo! 🌟

From Mario's first appearance as Jumpman in the 1981 arcade classic 'Donkey Kong' all the way through to the 1996 best selling N64 game 'Super Mario 64' you can follow Mario as he levels up and changes with each new Nintendo console released and see how the series has shaped into the games we all know and love today.

💥So come on down this April and experience the evolution of one of gamings best known characters and pay respect to one of the companies that paved the way for the video game industry.💥

Send a message to learn more

05/04/2023

🌟HALF TERM IS HERE🌟

We're back this week with some more classic arcade fun 🎉
Whatever the weather, whatever your plans, we are here! Only £2.50 for half an hour, or just £5 for 2 hours of play! 💥🕹

Don't forget our Mario Kart tournament is this Friday! Pop us a message if you'd like to enter!

We also have lots of new creations for sale from Maddie Made It UK and Nazus Embroidery!

There is something for everyone so why not pop in and have a Blast from the Past? 😄🎉

01/04/2023

💥LAST CHANCE TO PLAY PHOENIX💥

Come on down this weekend for your last chance to play Phoenix before our new Game Of The Month next week!

Can you get the high score before it goes?!🕹

🌟Open 12pm-8pm as usual🌟

24/03/2023

The sun is shining, the weekend is almost here! 🌞

Why not come and have a play on our current game of the month, 'Phoenix' before it changes!

We've got lots of new console games and all your favourite arcade classics fired up and ready to play from 12-8pm!

💥Only £2.50 for half an hour, or just £5 for 2 hours!💥

11/03/2023

🏆TOURNAMENT TIME🏆

Here's our next Tournament announcement folks! I know a lot of people are going to be excited for this and so are we! 😀

🕹Game: SUPER MARIO KART

🗓Date: FRIDAY APRIL 7TH

🕰Time: 8:00pm - 9:30pm

🎟Entry: £5 per ticket (including free drink on entry)

Go head to head on the original Mario Kart game to see who is the cup champion!

🎟Book your place now!🎟

All skill levels welcome, we want you to have fun!
All of our usual games will be on and able to play as normal when it's not your turn as well!

To enter the tournament, either pop us a message on here, or pop into the arcade to book your place!

There will be prizes for the winners!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! 🎊

11/03/2023

💥NEW GAME OF THE MONTH💥

March is here, so we say goodbye to QIX for now and hello to 🌟PHOENIX🌟

Another Taito arcade classic Phoenix was released in Japan in December of 1980 and followed a European release the following month.

Phoenix was the first arcade game to present bosses as a separate level and vastly improved upon the basic fixed shooter style game that Taito made famous with their awesome "Space Invaders" 2 years earlier🕹

Come on down and see if you can destroy the first true video game boss challenge the 'Phoenix Mothership' and beat the current high score to get your name on the board! 💫

We are open until 8pm as usual, happy weekend everyone! 😄

10/03/2023

❄️ Happy Mario day everyone, we're open again today and ready for some classic gaming❄️

We've managed to get in and open up! So if you're in town today why not pop into the beautiful Piece Hall and visit us for a bit of snow day arcade fun and experience the original Super Mario Bros game on our 37 year old NES🕹💥

09/03/2023

❄️The snow won't stop us❄
💥We are open today as usual 12-8pm for your classic arcade gaming experience!💥

Why not pop in and warm up under the glow of an incandescent bulb and play some of the most iconic games ever made for a couple of hours?🕹

Our door may be closed to keep the heat in, but the CRTs are fired up and waiting for you! 🔥

Stay safe everyone 💫

05/03/2023

A huge thank you to everyone who attended our first Tournament Night on Friday evening! It was such an awesome night and really was a lot of fun! 😄🎉

Congratulations to our first champion Marcus aka E.Honda🏆(sorry I forgot to get a proper winners photo of you!)

I'm super excited for our next Tournament Night on April 7th, which will be fully announced next Friday at 6pm so keep an eye out to secure your spot! 👀💥

Thank you so much again everyone!

24/02/2023

The weekend starts now!

We are open 12pm-8pm 🎉

Kick off your weekend with a truly classic arcade experience!🕹

Don't forget to enter our Street Fighter II tournament! It's going to be a good night, all skill levels welcome It's just for fun 🎉 with prizes for the winners!🏆

We have gift vouchers available and some awesome creations from Maddie Made It UK