High Scores Arcade Owners Invested In Keeping Flagship Location On The Leaderboard

ALAMEDA, CA — As businesses on Park Street continue to come and go post-pandemic, the owners of High Scores Arcade are determined to not only remain open but thrive.

“We want to preserve the arcade environment, and we want to preserve the physical machines. We'll do whatever we can, and we'll pivot however we have to, in order to stick to that mission,” said Shawn Livernoche, High Scores co-owner.

Within High Scores Arcade are national treasures: over 40 classic arcade games from the 1980s. They’re available for everyone to play — and vie for top spots on leaderboards.

“The 1980s was a very optimistic time, and that's the moment we want to try to recreate for people,” he said. “We want to bring you back for a moment to a place that's filled with joy.”

High Scores has been a mainstay on Park Street for over a decade, and Livernoche and co-owner Meg Livernoche, his wife, hope to continue being there for the Alameda community in the years to come.

For adults of a certain age and generation, walking into High Scores and playing games like “Galaga,” “Stargate” and “Missile Command” is nostalgia at its finest. For youth, it’s a new experience. For families, it's an opportunity to spend time together in a unique setting.

“We see so many dad and daughter dates or mom and son dates — that kind of thing,” said Meg. “I think that we're losing opportunities as a society to really do that in a fun, super positive environment, and that's part of the reason why we still do it.”

Turning a passion into a business

The Livernoches hail from New Jersey, where Shawn was a public school teacher and Meg worked as a project manager. In the Garden State, their arcade game cabinet collection slowly but surely began to grow.

“I went on a business trip, and I came home to a ‘Donkey Kong’ in my living room,” Meg said, with a laugh.

As their collection expanded into different rooms of their home, they said goodbye to their day jobs and hello to opening their own arcade in 2010. The venture prompted an eventual move to the Bay Area in 2012, where they opened their flagship store in Alameda the following year and a location in Hayward, which closed during the pandemic.

They’ve amassed over 170 arcade games at this point, making them one of the largest private collectors on the West Coast.

Fifty-five of the game cabinets are in their second High Scores location, in Monterey, with many others in storage. Plus, there’s one in their living room — “Pac-Man” — that Meg, Shawn and their children, Journey and Link, play at their leisure.

“We live it to the fullest,” said Meg. “It’s very much a family business.”

They own classics such as “Ms. Pac-Man,” “Frogger,” “Star Wars” and “Tron”; their own custom-built arcade game cabinets, such as for “Oregon Trail,” “Super Smash Bros.” and “Legend of Zelda”; and games notable for their groundbreaking features, including “Gorf” (first game with a speech chip) and “I, Robot” (first game with 3-D features).

A prized game in the Livernoches’ collection is the previously unreleased game “Beat Head,” which former Atari game developer Chuck Eyler donated to them in 2018.

“Even before our first location in 2010, we've always had our hearts set on acquiring, fixing, restoring and keeping arcade games safe, and that vision extended itself into keeping the arcade environment alive,” Shawn said.

The preservation of arcade game cabinets has always been their focus, though it’s become an increasingly expensive and arduous endeavor, with replacement parts harder to come by.

Meg has become a pro when it comes to repairing the machines, and she trains High Scores staff on basic fixes related to buttons, joysticks and control panels.

“If it were not for her, this would have been over five years ago,” Shawn said. “We've gotten to that stage where having somebody who's self-taught be able to operate on these things is not a nice to have — it’s a need to have.”

Moving the joystick forward

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted many businesses, and High Scores wasn’t immune to its side effects. The Livernoches ended up closing their location in Hayward amid the shutdown in 2020. They opened a new spot in Monterey in 2023, and it has been doing well.

Park Street, they’ve found, has changed somewhat since the pandemic, with businesses on the street shuttering, relocating or changing their hours of operation. Plus, there are now more offerings at Alameda Point, the site of the former Naval Air Station, and people seem to be flocking there.

“It’s been very difficult for us,” Shawn admitted. “Every year, we have to make the tough decision, ‘Are we going to stay local in Alameda rather than relocate?’”

To bring more foot traffic to downtown Alameda and into High Scores, they plan to start selling beer and seltzer alcoholic beverages later this month. They’ve obtained a license and are set to meet with the City of Alameda mid-month for approval.

“Things like beer help bridge the gap to keeping the vision alive of preservation, which is where our hearts are at,” said Shawn.

High Scores will continue to be “all ages, all the time” and family-friendly, assured the Livernoches.

“Our party line for so long was, 'We don't have beer because we are strictly focused on the games,' and that ethos is still very much the same for us,” said Meg.

They’ve already taken the same business approach with their Monterey location, where they began selling beer and seltzer drinks a couple of years ago, with a positive result.

“The vibe is very much still focused on the games, and everything that we always have been doing,” she added.

Ultimately, the Livernoches want to keep the door to their flagship location open to the Alameda community and help bring Park Street itself back to life post-pandemic.

“There’s a lot of East Enders in Alameda that need something over on the Park Street side to stay kickin’, so we are invested in being the change we wish to see by bringing the beer in,” Meg said.

High Scores Arcade, located at 1414 Park St., Alameda, is open on Thursday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 12:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Hours are expected to expand mid-fall.

Cost options are $10 per hour for unlimited gaming or $22 for all day gaming, with ins and outs.

High Scores’ Monterey address is 459 Alvarado St. This location’s hours are available here.

To support High Scores Arcade’s ongoing operation, arcade game collection and preservation efforts, go here.