Channel your pinball wizard for a blast from the past at Coolum arcade

Wide-eyed kids of all ages will be glued to the shop front window of a new arcade in Coolum ran by an IT specialist and former skater boy.

Reliving the arcade dream is Andre Cooper who is bringing a retro buzz to Coolum Beach.

Since arriving in downtown Coolum Beach, Andre Cooper and his Arcade Box has wide-eyed kids of all ages glued to his shop front window.

Having officially opened on Sunday, Mr Cooper, 44, is delighted that his pride and joy – a tricked up air hockey game front and centre of this arcade time tunnel is stopping passers-by in their stride.

Mr Cooper, an IT specialist and former skater boy, loves reliving his own past watching the kid’s eyes light up when they walk through the door.

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“The reaction is completely different from my other IT business where most people come in all dreary and down in the dumps because their computer is not working,” he said.

“On the other end of the spectrum you’ve got the arcade where people just come up to the window and cup their eyes with their hands and look through and they’re like ‘whaaah!’.

“People love the air hockey table that is unlike most because it’s got a curved play area – kind of like a half pipe on a skateboard ramp, so it adds a little element to the game.”

Mr Cooper has a passion for pre-gaming pinball machines including classics such as the Addams Family, No Fear, Cactus Jacks, Super Mario Brothers and Street Fighter II.

“Those last two are not all that common,” Mr Cooper said.

“I do have Jurassic Park, the original machine, but it’s not here yet – I still have to do some maintenance on it.

It's Back To The Future for Coolum Beach when entering the Arcade Box.

“We’ve have the Fast and Furious racing game two player and a hammer game, like the Whack A Mole except it’s digital, that the little kids love because you have a screen that they just smash to get their aggression out.”

After relocating from a Noosaville industrial estate having started Arcade Box three years ago, he was keen to make the most of his new position a few doors down from Coolum McDonald’s.

“I wanted to turn the arcade into a skate shop as well and I figured the skatepark across the road would compliment the business,” Mr Cooper said.

He was channelling a large chunk of his youth to help bring a buzz into the local CBD.

“I wasn’t a pro skater or anything, but I pretty much skated to get from A to B before I had a car,” he said.

“I skate recreationally – every now and then I hit the skatepark with my kids.”

The arcade offers hundreds of rare and collectable “old school” skateboard decks with prices starting at $300-$400.

“Our decks are all Aussie, we’re trying to support the local economy,” he said.

Originally published as Channel your pinball wizard for a blast from the past at Coolum arcade