Corey Hyden spent his days practicing law and his nights playing one-of-a-kind arcade games with friends. Witnessing firsthand how much adults enjoyed the games, he instantly saw an opportunity, and that’s when Free Play Arcade was born. As one of the most beloved entertainment attractions in Texas, Free Play Arcade has five locations across the state and prides itself on authentic gaming experiences. “We’re the most popular purist arcade in the world,” Hyden said. A purist arcade is defined as a collection of games in their original, unaltered state. “All of our games run on the original, authentic hardware. If it came out in 1976, we’re running 1976 hardware in there, or else you’re not even allowed to play it.”
At Free Play, customers can play hundreds of games for a flat fee and enjoy a full-service kitchen and bar. The business also offers private venue rentals and hosts parties and events across Texas. “When we opened, we had national press and every major newspaper nearby writing about it,” Hyden explained. “It was 10 years ago, so there were travel bloggers coming and taking photos, and it went super viral. We started having lines out the door every night,” he added.
Despite its notable success, Free Play has navigated staffing and expansion challenges that turned those obstacles into opportunities for lasting growth. Here’s how Free Play leveraged Square tools to succeed.
With over 100 staff members, managing tips became an increasingly complex process for the business. The team originally relied on a spreadsheet to help manage tip allocation, but once the team invested in Square Shifts, the entire process became seamless.
“The organization of Square made the process substantially easier…There’s no other software package that can do what we need except for Square.”
Free Play operates multiple tip pools at every location with some locations managing three different pools, allowing employees to jump in and out as needed. The built-in reporting features enable management to view every minute that staff have worked and any necessary staff notes so they can quickly handle time card modifications or shift changes.
“Saving time is so important right now because it feels like everything in the world is taking longer than it used to, and everything is like pulling teeth… Everything is just a time suck, but not with Square.”
As an arcade owner, Hyden already knew the general trends around which days generated the most or least amount of traffic. Mondays drew the least traffic, but they weren’t without value. He looked for ways to balance those slower days with busier ones later in the week.
He turned to Square data and found a crucial opportunity on Thursdays. “We noticed on Thursdays between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. we had a lot of food and alcohol sales from the 21-and-over crowd. But closing at 11 p.m. was actually hindering us from making the most amount of money,” Hyden explained.
“There were 50 to 100 people leaving the arcade to go somewhere else to try and keep the party going. We went ahead and changed our hours to close at 2 a.m., and all of that came from me noticing trends on Square through the reporting.”
100+
team members
14x
increase in monthly revenue
5
locations
With Square as its point-of-sale of choice, scaling is more seamless and manageable. Free Play plans to open several more locations beyond the five they have today. “I know that if we didn’t use Square, we probably would have been one location, and it probably would have been fine. But with Square, it felt easy to expand. It felt easy to grow, and there was never a doubt…the amount of time we save during expansion is huge.” Whether it’s getting payment processing set up for a new location or setting up new kitchen printers for staff, Hyden expressed confidence at being able to handle each aspect with ease.
“I know for a fact that in every location we open that all of the POS needs, all of the software, all of that is solved,” Hyden said. “I order our Square hardware the week before, set it up two days before we open, and know it’s going to work. It’s not even a real thought when we’re growing because it’s taken care of.”
Seamlessly managing staff, using data to maximize sales, and growing with confidence have empowered Free Play Arcade to launch entirely new concepts, including its Tokyo Station Arcade and a streetwear clothing line. Tokyo Station is the focal point of the Arlington location and is “the most authentic Tokyo-style arcade in the United States,” according to Hyden. Featuring a large collection of Japanese-imported games and American versions of Japanese games, Free Play predicts the new concept will be its “highest earner very soon” because it’s able to offer a lot more offerings, including a “build-your-own” noodles option for food.
Separately, Free Play’s streetwear line uses Websites to keep all aspects of the business fully integrated.
“I know that if we didn’t use Square, we probably would have been one location, and it probably would have been fine. But with Square, it felt easy to expand. It felt easy to grow, and there was never a doubt…the amount of time we save during expansion is huge.”
