The Neutral Zone, Chesterfield

The Neutral Zone may have started out as a small retail store for video games, trading cards, and collectibles. But the biggest draw was always the handful of classic arcade games in the back of the space. Now it holds more than 100 machines, from new games like Tekken, VirtuaTennis, and Star Wars Trilogy to classics such as Galaga, Ms. Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong. Four-person games such as X-Men, NBA Jam, and The Simpsons make it easy to play as a group, and rarities such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time impress arcade connoisseurs.

The owners constantly add new machines to their carefully curated collection; recent acquisitions include Atari's Asteroids from 1979—in its own original dedicated cabinet—and Marvel vs. Capcom 2, which lets players choose from more than 50 different playable characters. One thing is missing from the retro feeling, however—players never run out of quarters and tokens. Instead, players simply pay one price for admission and enjoy unlimited arcade play. The Neutral Zone—voted the best St.Louis arcade in 2013 by the Riverfront Times —also has arcade games for sale, and the space can be rented for private parties on Sundays.