Cactus Jack's Family Fun Center

Pulling up to Cactus Jack’s Family Fun Center on the western outskirts of Oklahoma City, it’s hard to distinguish the facility from any other semi-suburban arcade that rings cities across the country. But the unassuming exterior of the building masks a passion for competitive pinball that is matched by only a few locations across the entire southwest.

Cactus Jack’s bills itself as Oklahoma’s oldest arcade, having operated in the same location since 1974. For most of its history, it was a traditional arcade, rentable for birthday parties and events, and even today most of the facility is still devoted to a standard array of now-classic arcade games and children’s prizes. However, as the allure of arcades declined by the 2000s, Cactus Jack’s reoriented itself around pinball. It now boasts the largest collection of modern pinball machines in the state, and one of the 10 largest public collections in the country.

Today, the collection rivals those found at many of America’s biggest pinball museums, although its commercial focus means it places a heavier weight on newer games and modern classics, as opposed to the vintage games found in similar locations countrywide. In 2015, the arcade became the host site of the first competitive pinball tournament ever held in Oklahoma, and it continues to host both national and regional tournaments, as well as meetings of the Oklahoma Pinball Enthusiasts Club.