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Krakow Pinball Museum

Florian Buechting Museums & Exhibitions No Comments

Krakow Pinball Museum

70 PLN (all-day ticket)
Krakow Pinball Museum
4.4

Rating

 4.4/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Atmospheric museum
  • Good presentation
  • Flat-fee admission model (no costs per game)

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Some machines needed maintenance at my visit

In general I feel that the role of video and arcade games as a cultural heritage is strongly underrated. The more, I love visiting museums which deal with that topic. During one of my visits in Krakow, I was flattered to visit the Krakow Pinball Museum. The Polish city is thus a very interesting spot for gaming enthusiasts, as it also hosts the Krakow Arcade Museum (Muzeum Gier Wiedo).

 

Krakow Pinball Museum – Location & Admission

The Krakow Pinball Museum is located South of the Old Town of Krakow. You reach it as a building the basement of a building, the access is through a backyard. The museum is just a few steps away from Wawel Castle. Thus, the closest tram station is Wawel, which is served by numerous lines. An alternative stop is Stradom, which is also having frequent connections.

The opening hours of the museum vary by day. From Monday to Thursday, you can visit the place from 14:00 to 21:00. Friday opening is 14:00 to 22:00, Saturday noon to 22:00 and Sunday noon to 21:00. There are two types of tickets. You can either visit the museum for one hour or the whole day. In the latter case, you may even leave the museum and come back (you receive a wristband). In 2024, admission slightly increased compared to my visit. All-day admission is 70 PLN, which is roughly equivalent to 16 Euro. The one hour ticket is 50 PLN. There is no additional fee per game.

 

Krakow Pinball Museum – The Visit

Even though walking down the stairs to the basement-located museum does not feel too welcoming at first sight, the vault-alike rooms are very atmospheric. The majority of the arcade machines in the different rooms are pinball machines. However, the Krakow Pinball Museum also runs arcade games. Maybe due to the more central location, people are less disciplined, unfortunately,. Especially at the pinball machines, people tended not to finish their game during my visit, which is very bothering. Even though the museum is explicitly warning people not to behave in that way, it is, of course, rather hard to control for the museum owners.

The focus of my visit, which just roughly 90 minutes due to schedule constraints, were of course the silver balls. The museum is driving some really nice pinball machines, including some really vintage ones like the 1967 Jolly Roger. I especially enjoyed the machines featuring topics I relate to. For example, I loved the 1994 The Flintstones or the 1977 ice hockey pinball machine Power Play. Unfortunately, some machines did face technical defects.

If you rather like arcade machines, the Krakow Pinball Museum might be a treat for you as well. I loved to play Out Run and Chase H.Q., as I loved both games in the computer / video game versions. There are also very typical arcades like Street Fighter II or Pac Man. Retro games might love this classic ghost hunt or games like Galaga, Centipede and Space Invaders. Especially as some visitors are comparably rude to the games, I felt very impressed about the rather good condition of the exhibits. I am sure this requires a lot of effort by the museum.

 

Krakow Pinball Museum – Services

The staff at the museum is very friendly and helpful. The reception desks sells basic drinks and small snacks.

 

Krakow Pinball Museum – My View

Krakow Pinball Museum might not feel overwhelmingly welcome at first sight, but is finally a real treat. It’s a bit of a shame that people are not disciplined. I did not explore that that much in similar places and museums. Nonetheless, if there is a gaming nerd addiction in your heart and you visit this part of Poland, you will definitely have a lovely time here.

 

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