Massachusetts Is The Only Place In The World Where You Can Still Play This Vintage Game

Fascination is an arcade game that’s sort of like a cross between skeeball and bingo. The game involves rolling hard rubber balls across a wooden table and trying to get them to fall into 25 small holes set on in a five-by-five grid. The goal is to fill all the holes – the middle is a freebie – in order to light up a corresponding board above the wooden game. Players usually compete against other Fascination players. The first person to light up all five rows is the winner.

Fascination used to be incredibly popular across the nation, but gradually fell out of favor as electronic games were introduced. Fascination tables are large, clunky, and difficult to maintain. Newer, sleeker games were more attractive to arcade owners, so the number of Fascination tables in the country dwindled. (Pictured above: Fascination tables at Indiana Beach)

Today, the Fascination tables near Nantasket Beach in Hull, Massachusetts are some of the only remaining games. In fact, the Nantasket Beach Fascination parlor is the only place in the world where you can still play Fascination for an all-cash prize. The parlor had actually closed for a few years before reopening to the public in 2017. Now, everyone is welcome to head on down and check out this vintage game. The parlor is open on Friday and Saturday nights, and because there is a cash prize involved, you need to be 18 or older to play.