Ice Cold Beer

So, I’ve had my eye on a proper pinball table for a while now. The problem is, pinball machines are like boats—everybody wants one until they realize the upkeep and price tag. My little arcade is supposed to be about early ’80s nostalgia, the stuff I grew up on (back when arcades were mythical places in mall basements, not something you pieced together in a tiny northern Maine movie theater).

Then I found Ice Cold Beer. Pinball went on hold.

A Beer-Themed Game with No Beer in It

Taito released Ice Cold Beer in 1983, right in the middle of the arcade boom. The title sounds like something you’d find in a dive bar next to the dart board, but it’s actually one of the most unique mechanical-video hybrids ever made. Instead of flippers and silver balls, you get two joysticks that raise and lower a horizontal metal bar. Perched on that bar is a steel ball that you must carefully maneuver up a playfield full of holes. The goal? Land the ball in the lit target hole without dropping it into any of the wrong ones.

Sounds simple. It isn’t.

The further you go, the narrower the gaps, and the more nerve-racking it gets. Miss, and the ball drops—cue laughter, groans, and the sinking realization you’ll be fishing quarters out of your pocket again.

Why It Stands Out

Where most arcade games of the time were busy filling screens with neon pixels, Ice Cold Beer was tactile. The machine looks a bit like a pinball table standing upright, but the whole gimmick is physical precision. No flashy explosions, no lasers—just you, a ball, and gravity.

It’s the kind of game that draws a crowd because people think, “Oh, I can do that.” And then they don’t. Which is exactly why it’s brilliant.

A Little Trivia

The game was reissued in 2003 by Taito as “Zeke’s Peak,” featuring a mountain-climbing theme instead of beer, presumably to make it more family friendly.

Collectors still hunt these machines down because they hit the sweet spot: quirky, fun, rare, and totally different from everything else on the arcade floor.

Ice Cold Beer has become something of a cult classic, especially with folks who want something pinball-adjacent without the complexity of a full table.

Why It Belongs in My Tiny Arcade

Sure, pinball will happen someday. But for now, Ice Cold Beer scratches the itch perfectly—it’s retro, it’s from the right era, and it has that “just one more try” energy that makes people line up. Plus, it feels like exactly the kind of weird little artifact you’d stumble across in the corner of an arcade circa 1983.

And really, isn’t that the point?