Throwback activities for families on Long Island for nostalgic fun

Long Island goes retro at various venues, offering throwback thrills. Pick your decade for a blast from the past playing pinball and arcade video games, roller skating, watching a classic movie or reading up on superheroes at a comic book shop.

Where to play arcade games and pinball

In the time before game consoles and VR headsets, baby boomers and Gen Xers spent Saturdays battling aliens and gobbling up Pac-Dots in mall game rooms.

Decades hence, modern game rooms such as Game On Retro Arcade, in Lake Grove (362 Smith Haven Mall) and Calverton (200 Tanger Mall Dr.), transform those childhood memories into an intergenerational bonding experience.

"Parents want to share what they had with their kids," Game On Retro Arcade owner Tristan Whitworth says of the moms and dads playing Pac-Man or Donkey Kong alongside their kids. "They want to go back to a simpler time."

For $15 a day, try dozens of vintage video games, including Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong, as well as Frogger, Asteroids and Space Invaders.

Both locations feature seven pinball machines, including "a really rare Indiana Jones" game that came out in early ’90s, Whitworth says.

Adding to the throwback vibe, Game On boasts a Pac-Man museum, a Blockbuster room with playable VHS tapes and a recreation of "a typical ’90s bedroom," Whitworth says.

In Nassau County, Round1 Bowling & Arcade (358 N. Broadway Mall, Hicksville; 516-595-2080; round1usa.com) features about 40 arcade games, including the latest imports from Japan, according to the arcade website. The arcade is open Sundays to Thursdays from 10 a.m. to midnight and Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.

Want to battle virtual villains before you bowl? A video arcade room with about 10 games and Deadpool and WrestleMania pinball in the bar can challenge you while you wait for your lane at Strike 10 Lanes Deer Park bowling alley (849 Long Island Ave., Deer Park; 631-667-7750, strike10lanesdeerpark.com).

Where to get old comic books and toys

Nick Testa, of Westbury, calls The Comic Box (840B N. Broadway, Massapequa, 516-795-2528) "a classic old-school comic shop." The 2,000-square-foot space, which Testa co-owns with Mike Bernstein, of Lindenhurst, packs in about 20,000 comic books, both old and new. "We specialize in keeping in stock books from the ’60s on," Testa says.

Popular mags include Batman, X-Men, Wonder Woman and Amazing Spider-Man, which Testa says is "always number one" with customers, especially Amazing Spider-Man No. 13, "the first appearance of Mysterio," the Spider-Man supervillain. Prices start as low as a dollar and at $3.99 per new-release comic book. The shop also carries manga, anime figures and non-superheroes comics such as Archie and Disney.

Can’t wait to get home to read the latest issue? "If you buy a book, you can stay and read it," says Michael Gold, of Hicksville, who bought The Comic Book Depot (2847 Jerusalem Ave., Wantagh; 516-221-9337, thecomicbookdepot.com) in 2024. Gold says his shop offers "a good collection of key books" from the 1970s and beyond, including Captain America, The Falcon, Spider-Man, Wolverine and Power Rangers. You can also pick up Pokémon cards, plush toys, Lego sets, Marvel action figures and Hot Wheels, as well as snacks and nonalcoholic beverages for your time at the shop’s reading table. 

"Comics are tied to the history of the country," says John Riley, of Stony Brook, owner of Grasshopper's Comics (76 Hillside Ave., Williston Park; 516-741-5724, grasshopperscomics.com). "The origins of the different characters over the years always reflect the popular paranoia," he says, adding, "In the ’60s, most of the origin stories deal with radiation."

At the 33-year-old store, trace that history back to the Cold War Era in about 35,000 comic books displayed alphabetically in bins on the main floor. "You can thumb through them like we used to go through records," Riley says. A total of about 200,000 comic books are in stock, as well as 10,000 graphic novels, he says.

Riley says hundreds of new titles come out monthly, with top sellers including Amazing Spider-Man, Batman and Fantastic Four. 

Comic book prices run as low as $2, with the average comic selling at $4 to $5, and rarities costing hundreds of dollars, Riley says.

Where to go roller skating

Hip-hop and R&B spun by a DJ have replaced yesteryear’s live pipe organ music, but at today’s rinks, the emphasis is still on freewheeling fun with extras like glow-in-the-dark skates and animation character sessions.

"It’s a really fun atmosphere, especially on a rainy day," says Juliana Bellini, assistant manager at United Skates of America (1276 Hicksville Rd., Seaford; 516-795-5474, unitedskates.com; $16.50 admission, $7 for skate rental; $25 for all-you-can-eat pizza, drinks, skates and admission), a 25,000-square-foot wooden floor rink open since 1978.

Bellini says popular sessions include Hip-Hop Skates on Saturdays from 8 to 10 p.m. The fun also includes glow skate sessions, DJ-led trivia games, scavenger hunts and performances by Skato, the rink mascot. During weekend "character sessions," you might also skate alongside Stitch from "Lilo and Stitch" or Mario from Super Mario Brothers.

GR8 Skates (30 The Green, Shirley; 631-729-6055, gr8skates.com, $14 per session) is lacing into the trend with skating to hip-hop tunes and DJ adult nights. The rink also hosts ’70s and ’80s music nights, and rolls out occasional R&B and reggae-themed sessions. The venue also features a full-service bar, a go-cart track and a video game arcade.

Patty Eubank, a manager at GR8 Skates, says "roller skating is making a comeback, with skating scenes in movies and on TV."

Where to see old movies

Grab a seat at a public library or art house to enjoy classic cinema the way it is meant to be seen — in a theater filled with fellow film fans.

"It’s nice to be with a group of people who appreciate time-tested films," says Tammie Bianco, head of public relations programming at the East Meadow Public Library (1886 Front St., East Meadow; 516-794-2570. Register at eastmeadow.info, free), which presents a free monthly classic film program on Saturdays at 11 a.m.

This fall’s series focuses on "master of suspense" Alfred Hitchcock, with showings of the director’s "North by Northwest" (1959) on Oct. 11, "Psycho" (1960) on Nov. 15, and ''The Birds'' (1963) on Dec. 13.

The screenings include comments by film lecturer Philip Harwood, "an expert who can lead interesting discussions," Bianco says.

Another must for classic film fans is the Cinema Arts Centre (423 Park Ave., Huntington; 631-423-7610, cinemaartscentre.org), founded in 1973 as a revival house and now showing both new releases and golden oldies.

"We try to stay true to our history by offering an eclectic mix of iconic classics and beloved cult favorites," says cinema spokesman Nate Close. "Weekend programming includes cinema for kids, night owls and cult film fans, and includes "some of the earliest films ever made in the 1910s and ’20s all the way through the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s," Close says.

Upcoming revivals include "The Lost Boys" (1987), a teen vampire flick starring Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, at 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 26 ($16), and Charlie Chaplin's silent classic "City Lights" (1931) at noon on Sept. 28 ($5-$13).

If you're a fan of the Japanese animation genre known as anime, masterpieces from the aughts are on tap this fall at Showcase Cinema de Lux Farmingdale (1001 Broad Hollow Rd., Farmingdale; 631-777-1122) and Island 16: Cinema de Lux (185 Morris Ave., Holtsville; 631-758-9100, showcasecinemas.com). The national chain's Event Cinema is presenting Studio Ghibli Fest 2025, with screenings that include Japanese animator/director Hayao Miyazaki's "Howl's Moving Castle" (2004) and "Spirited Away" (2001).