Cocktail arcade tables

Updated Oct 1, 2026 · By Retro Field Guide research team

A cocktail arcade table is a low, sit-down cabinet with the screen facing up under a glass top, so it doubles as a table. New ones run from $599.99 for Arcade1Up's Ms. Pac-Man Cocktail Table to $3,099 for Bandai Namco's Pac-Man Pixel Bash Cocktail, and the four custom-built tables in between run $1,948 to $2,299. Arcade1Up and Creative Arcades prices are as of October 1, 2026; the others were read September 30, 2026.

Below: what counts as a cocktail cabinet, every table we track side by side, how seating works, how much room you need, and what the licensing labels mean for these machines.

What a cocktail cabinet is

A cocktail cabinet puts the monitor flat inside a table-height box, face up, under glass. Players sit on stools or chairs instead of standing.

Three shapes show up in the listings:

• Classic cocktail. About 28 to 30 inches tall, the height of a coffee or dining table. You sit on a low stool.
• Tall pub or bar-height table. About 39 to 42 inches tall, played from bar stools. Creative Arcades' Tall Pub is this kind.
• Three-sided or curved tables. Controls on more than two sides, such as the VPCabs Ultracade.

We file a machine as "cocktail" when the maker or seller describes it as a cocktail or table cabinet with an upward-facing screen. See the cocktail cabinet type page for the live list.

Cocktail arcade tables compared

"Sale" means the seller showed a reduced price that may end. The date is when we read the price.

The cocktail type page also lists a free cocktail table plan from The Cabinet Craftsmen for builders. Arcade1Up's Ms. Pac-Man Pub Table is marked discontinued, so it is not in the catalog.

How the prices split

• Under $1,000: one table. Arcade1Up's Ms. Pac-Man Cocktail Table, with a 17-inch screen and 12 named games, is the only new cocktail table under $1,000 in our listings.
• $1,900 to $2,750: the custom builders. Creative Arcades, VPCabs (through Game Room Shop) and Dream Arcades build tables with larger screens, Sanwa or arcade-grade controls, trackballs and preloaded game libraries. Creative Arcades includes two stools with both of its tables.
• About $3,100: the licensed Namco table. Bandai Namco's Pixel Bash Cocktail is the only premium table whose page names the licensor.

Head-to-head or side-by-side seating

Cocktail tables seat players in one of two ways, and the listing does not always say which.

• Head-to-head. Players sit at opposite ends, facing each other across the glass. In the classic design the picture flips for each player's turn. This suits games where players take turns, such as Pac-Man or Galaga.
• Side-by-side. Both control sets sit on one long side, so two people can play the same game at once. This suits fighters and co-op games.

What the pages state:

• The VPCabs Ultracade is a curved, three-sided table with trackballs on its single-player sides, per Game Room Shop's listing.
• The Dream Arcades Cocktail 20 is the only table here that states 4 players. Its page lists a flush-mounted 2.25-inch trackball and optional light guns and spinner.
• The Creative Arcades 2P Cocktail lists 2 Sanwa joysticks and a trackball.
• The Arcade1Up Ms. Pac-Man Cocktail Table lists 2 control panels.

For the others, check the maker's photos or ask before you order. If you want four people at once, the Dream Arcades table is the only cocktail option here; most 4-player machines in our catalog are uprights.

Sizes and seating space

A cocktail table needs more floor than its footprint suggests, because people sit around it.

Areas are calculated from the stated dimensions. A practical check:

1. Mark the table's footprint on the floor with tape.
2. Add room for a stool and a seated player on every side that has controls. For head-to-head play that is both ends.
3. Check the height. Classic tables run 28 to 30 inches. The Tall Pub is 42 inches and needs bar stools.
4. Check the weight. The tables that state it run 64.3 to 211 pounds, so ask about delivery and stairs.

Compared with an upright cabinet, a cocktail table is wider and much lower. It sits under a window or in the middle of a room without blocking anything. A bartop takes even less space but needs a counter.

Game licensing on cocktail tables

Licensing varies widely across these tables.

• Licensed, licensor named. Only the Pac-Man Pixel Bash Cocktail. Its page names Bandai Namco, the maker of its games.
• Official titles named, licensor not stated. The Arcade1Up table names its 12 games, and Dream Arcades describes over 300 licensed games, but neither page in our records names the licensing company.
• Game licensing not stated. The Creative Arcades and VPCabs tables advertise preloaded games or game counts without a licensing statement.

These labels report what each product page says. We do not judge them beyond that. See how we label game licensing for the full definitions.

Which cocktail table fits

Based on the stated specs:

• Smallest budget, a few famous games: the Arcade1Up Ms. Pac-Man Cocktail Table, $599.99 with 12 named games.
• Bar-height play with stools included: the Creative Arcades Tall Pub.
• Four players at one table: the Dream Arcades Cocktail 20, the only one that states 4.
• Named licensing above all: the Pac-Man Pixel Bash Cocktail.
• A larger screen at sitting height: the Creative Arcades 2P Cocktail (up to 26 inches) or the VPCabs Ultracade (26 inches).

Not sure a table is the right shape? Find your machine by budget, room and players.

Sources

• Arcade1Up, Ms. Pac-Man Arcade Cocktail Table product page, price read October 1, 2026: https://arcade1up.com/products/ms-pac-man-arcade-table
• Creative Arcades product pages, prices read October 1, 2026, as linked from each listing profile.
• Game Room Shop (Bandai Namco, VPCabs) and Dream Arcades product pages, checked September 30, 2026, as linked from each listing profile.

Related

• Cocktail arcade tables
• Upright (stand-up) arcade machines
• Bartop and tabletop arcade machines
• Creative Arcades
• Dream Arcades
• Find your machine