Party

"Game Over" Arcade Birthday Party

🕹 Rented arcade machines 👥 16 kids and 30+ adults 💰 4-hour arcade rental, $300
Gamer birthday party food table with a video game controller tablecloth, Game Over plates, Level 4 cookies, a cheese and cracker board, a fruit bowl, and a meat and fruit board Pin it

The idea

My son is obsessed with arcade games (what little boy isn't?). We could have thrown the party at an arcade, but with 16 kids and 30+ adults that would have been very expensive. So I started looking on Facebook Marketplace and found arcade rental machines. Retro Ravens Arcade Rentals had the best games, including Fast & Furious, Terminator and foosball. We did a 4-hour rental for $300 and brought the arcade to our house.

The arcade

The machines were set up right in our house, so the kids could move between the games and the foosball table.

Rented arcade machines set up in a living room: a Fast and Furious cabinet, a foosball table, and a Terminator 2 Judgment Day cabinet

My son played the Terminator for 45 minutes straight!

Child playing the Terminator 2 Judgment Day arcade machine with the light gun, with a coloured heart covering the face
Adult and child playing the Terminator 2 arcade machine under a Happy Birthday video game banner, with coloured hearts covering faces
About the rental: The team at Retro Ravens was great: punctual, friendly, and they even brought a birthday card for my son.

The sweets

For the cookies and cupcakes, I used game controller chocolate molds from Amazon. Chocolate controllers went on top of every cupcake and cookie, and the cookies were finished with “Game On” and “Level 4” in green icing.

Plate of cookies and cream cupcakes with swirls of Oreo buttercream, each topped with a green or white chocolate video game controller

I decorated the cake as Pac-Man with icing only, plus chocolate letters for “Level 4”.

Pac-Man birthday cake decorated with icing only: blue maze lines, yellow dots, two yellow Pac-Man characters, a red ghost, and chocolate letters spelling Level 4

The cake and cupcakes were both cookies and cream. Here's the recipe.

Cookies and Cream Cake & Cupcakes

Makes: (2) 9″ cake layers or 24 cupcakes Oven: 350°F (177°C) Bake: cake 25–30 min, cupcakes 16–18 min

Cake

  • 5 cups all purpose flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 cups cane sugar
  • 8 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • 1½ cups sour cream, at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1½ cups whole milk, at room temperature
  • 2½ cups chopped or smashed Oreos (about 20 whole Oreos)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line (2) 9″ cake pans with parchment paper, or line a cupcake pan for 24 cupcakes.
  2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
  3. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed.
  4. Add the egg whites and beat on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Then beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract, scraping down the bowl as needed. The mixture will look curdled, and that's okay.
  5. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients just until incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour in the milk until combined. Do not overmix.
  6. Whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl, then fold in the chopped Oreo pieces. Avoid overmixing.
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans or cupcake pans. Bake the cake for 25–30 minutes, or the cupcakes for 16–18 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
  8. Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. It must be completely cool before frosting.

Buttercream frosting

  • 1 stick (1 cup) butter
  • 3 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 4 tablespoons whole milk (3.5%)
  • 1 cup chopped or smashed Oreos (about 8 whole regular Oreos)

Frosting method

  1. In a large bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed until completely smooth (no lumps).
  2. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until combined and completely smooth, at least 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed.
  3. Add a few tablespoons of the cold milk and beat until the mixture smooths and thins out.
  4. Fold in the chopped Oreos.

Decorations and favors

The party favors and decorations all came from Amazon: a 98-piece video game party favors set (goodie bags, keychains, slap bracelets, stickers and pixel sunglasses) and a 123-piece video game decorations set with plates, a banner and a tablecloth that serves 40 guests.

Materials

Result

We got a full arcade party at home for 16 kids and 30+ adults, with a 4-hour rental that cost $300. The rest was a Game On table, controller treats and a Pac-Man cake, and a birthday boy who played the Terminator machine for 45 minutes straight.

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