# ARCADE REPORT: John & Jay’s Arcade at The Hangar Pub and Grill - Amherst, Mass. (July 2021)

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2021-08-24  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/arcade-report-john-jay-s-arcade-at-the-hangar-pub-and-grill-amherst-mass-july-2021

---

## Analysis

Visit report to John & Jay's Arcade at The Hangar Pub and Grill in Amherst, Massachusetts, operated by John (YouTube host) and Jay (Free Play Bar Arcade owner). The arcade features a strong pinball lineup including new Mandalorian and Stranger Things machines, plus classic arcade games. The venue was extremely crowded during the visit due to a lacrosse tournament, and is undergoing expansion with a second game room in development.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] The Hangar Pub features pinball machines routed by John and Jay, with new games including Mandalorian and Stranger Things — _Direct observation during visit; named operators match known industry figures_
- [HIGH] John formerly kept a Ghostbusters pinball machine in his basement arcade and unboxed it on his YouTube show — _Author references 'the famous Ghostbusters game that John unboxed on his show' and basement arcade series tagline 'Hey Guys! We're in the basement'_
- [HIGH] The arcade is transitioning with part of the main room converted to brewery space — _Direct statement: 'Part of the main arcade was turned into a brewery'_
- [HIGH] A second game room is under development with Golden Tee and Arctic Thunder, with plans for additional games — _Author states: 'John and Jay are in the process of opening a second room of games...The duo plans to add even more games to this second room in the near future'_
- [HIGH] The venue was extremely crowded due to a high school lacrosse tournament with a two-hour wait for food — _Direct observation: 'buzz saw that was an unexpected huge high school lacrosse tournament' and 'There was a two hour wait for lunch'_

### Notable Quotes

> "There's a running joke in my family whenever he go on a road trip. Someone will say that they're hungry and I will nonchalantly say 'Oh, I know a good restaurant around here.' Of course this restaurant always ends up being a carefully selected arcade that I've been secretly banking on visiting the whole time."
> — **Author (Knapp Arcade)**, opening
> _Establishes the author's personality and motivation for arcade-focused road trip reporting_

> "Several minutes from campus is The Hangar Pub, which features a ton of games routed by John of the John's Arcade YouTube show fame and his friend Jay, the operator of the fantastic Free Play Bar Arcade in Providence, Rhode Island"
> — **Author**, introduction
> _Identifies the operators and establishes their industry credentials_

> "The good news is that we found the arcade and the games looked great. The bad news is that we ran into a buzz saw that was an unexpected huge high school lacrosse tournament at U Mass."
> — **Author**, mid-content
> _Summarizes the visit experience and explains limited engagement with the venue_

> "The pinball lineup was strong, including new games like the hot off the press Mandalorian and Stranger Things."
> — **Author**, machine-description
> _Confirms current game titles available at the location (article dated July 2021)_

> "The arcade portion of the Hangar is going through a transition. Part of the main arcade was turned into a brewery. John and Jay are in the process of opening a second room of games that includes things like the always fun Golden Tee and Arctic Thunder."
> — **Author**, venue-update
> _Describes venue restructuring and expansion plans_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| John | person | YouTube content creator (John's Arcade show) who co-operates The Hangar Pub arcade in Amherst, MA with Jay; hosts segment 'Hey Guys! We're in the basement' featuring his personal collection |
| Jay | person | Operator of Free Play Bar Arcade in Providence, Rhode Island; co-operator of The Hangar Pub arcade in Amherst, MA with John |
| The Hangar Pub and Grill | organization | Arcade/bar/restaurant venue in Amherst, Massachusetts operated by John and Jay, featuring pinball and arcade games with brewery conversion in progress |
| Free Play Bar Arcade | organization | Arcade venue in Providence, Rhode Island operated by Jay; previously visited by author pre-pandemic |
| Mandalorian | game | Pinball machine present at The Hangar Pub as of July 2021, described as 'hot off the press' |
| Stranger Things | game | Pinball machine present at The Hangar Pub as of July 2021 |
| Ghostbusters | game | Pinball machine formerly in John's personal basement arcade collection; unboxed on his YouTube show; present at The Hangar Pub during this visit |
| John's Arcade | organization | YouTube show hosted by John featuring arcade and pinball content, including basement arcade segments and machine unboxings |
| Knapp Arcade | organization | Source/author of arcade visit reports and blog content |
| U Mass Amherst | organization | University location near The Hangar Pub; site of high school lacrosse tournament during visit that caused crowding |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Arcade venue operations and expansion, Pinball machine availability and placement
- **Secondary:** Arcade operator profiles and YouTube content creators, Arcade venue portfolio diversity, Venue transitions (brewery integration)

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.78) — Author expresses enthusiasm for the arcade despite visit challenges; praises game selection and operator reputation; only criticism is external crowding from lacrosse tournament, not venue quality

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** John's Arcade YouTube show with basement arcade content ('Hey Guys! We're in the basement') demonstrates active community engagement and content creation around arcade operations (confidence: high) — Author references John's YouTube show fame and specific tagline from his content series
- **[gameplay_signal]** New pinball releases (Mandalorian, Stranger Things) present at location as of July 2021, indicating active game routing and operator focus on current titles (confidence: high) — 'new games like the hot off the press Mandalorian and Stranger Things'
- **[operational_signal]** Cross-operator relationship between John (The Hangar) and Jay (Free Play Bar Arcade, Providence) demonstrates collaborative arcade operator network (confidence: high) — Jay identified as 'operator of the fantastic Free Play Bar Arcade in Providence, Rhode Island' and co-operator at The Hangar
- **[venue_signal]** The Hangar Pub undergoing transition with brewery integration and second game room development, signaling operator confidence in arcade viability despite space reallocation (confidence: high) — 'The arcade portion of the Hangar is going through a transition. Part of the main arcade was turned into a brewery. John and Jay are in the process of opening a second room of games'

---

## Transcript

There’s a running joke in my family whenever he go on a road trip. Someone will say that they’re hungry and I will nonchalantly say “Oh, I know a good restaurant around here.” Of course this restaurant always ends up being a carefully selected arcade that I’ve been secretly banking on visiting the whole time. I then feign shock when we walk in and there’s arcade games and pinball machines 😂.

My family is going on a series of road trips to visit potential colleges for my oldest son this summer. The first stop was U Mass Amherst. Several minutes from campus is The Hangar Pub, which features a ton of games routed by John of the John’s Arcade YouTube show fame and his friend Jay, the operator of the fantastic Free Play Bar Arcade in Providence, Rhode Island (which we visited pre-pandemic).

So I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that we found the arcade and the games looked great. The bad news is that we ran into a buzz saw that was an unexpected huge high school lacrosse tournament at U Mass. The Hangar was absolutely PACKED with people. There was a two hour wait for lunch! Great news for the place and the operators…not so much for us lol.

I honestly didn’t get to spend a lot of time at this location. The pinball lineup was strong, including new games like the hot off the press Mandalorian and Stranger Things. It also contained the famous Ghostbusters game that John unboxed on his show and used to have in his well-known basement arcade (Hey Guys! We’re in the basement.)

The rest of the main room was filled with a great blend of classics, such as the iconic Frogger, Pole Position and Super Mario Bros., shooters like Aliens Extermination, Time Crisis 3 and Big Buck Safari, drivers like Crazy Taxi and Crusin’ Exotica and even Skee-Ball.

The arcade portion of the Hangar is going through a transition. Part of the main arcade was turned into a brewery. John and Jay are in the process of opening a second room of games that includes things like the always fun Golden Tee and Arctic Thunder. The duo plans to add even more games to this second room in the near future.

As I mentioned earlier, there was a two hour wait for lunch so needless to say my family and I didn’t eat or drink at The Hangar, but it looked like it had a massive beer selection. I could see it being a great place to hang out had there not been a thousand people there. If you’re in the area, John and Jay’s arcade is definitely worth checking out.

This was the first of many college road trips this summer, most with arcade visits along the way. Next up is a cool newer arcade in Connecticut. The games have already been played and the pictures taken. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading!

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 9fd0f2e7-b657-4f03-acdc-ed974196e212*