HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF YOUR ROUND 1

Article by Andy Castro

So you’re going to visit one of the “many” US Round 1 Entertainment locations, hooray! While you get yourself mentally prepared for the fun adventure you’ll have, here are some tips on how to get the most fun (and money) out of your time.

1) The Round 1 Club Membership Card

When you approach the arcade card counter (the first thing you’re sure to visit), you’ll see two different kinds of cards available: the basic red card and the club membership card. Here’s a flowchart to help you decide which card you should use:

Why Would I Want A Club Card?

A Round 1 Club Card offers you discounts towards arcade credits, bowling, billiards, darts, and karaoke. When you first buy your club card (that has a $5 activation fee) you’ll be at the most basic membership. This will take $1 off any of the above transactions! As you frequent Round 1, you’ll collect club card stamps with every purchase you make for bowling or arcade credits or whatever else you can purchase from a counter (other than food). Your card will upgrade after 10, 30, and 50 stamps, taking an extra $0.25 off with each upgrade! This means that once you hit Platinum Membership status, $10 worth of credits is only $8.25!

An employee tried to sell me on Time Play. Is that better?

If you found this guide as a BEMANI lover I can probably assure you the answer is NO. Most BEMANI games are not available for time play, and you can check to see if your favorite game is time-play-ready by looking at the color of its card reader. If it’s green - you’ve found a game that is time play accessible. If it isn’t? Your time play card isn’t gonna work on it.

Even if the music game you do love is available for time play, consider this: every moment you have to wait in line - every minute - is your time play money going down the drain. Do yourself and your wallet a favor by avoiding time play.

Does my club card last forever?

A club card is valid for a year after it is purchased. If you would like to maintain

your membership status, you’ll need to renew your membership once every year.

This is only a $5 renewal fee, and you’ll be given a new card automatically at the

upgrade level you were at before. Be sure to make the most out of the benefits

you have!

I lost my club card! What do I do?

If you’ve already lost your club card, you’re probably already out of luck, sorry to say! However, I have a big tip for all of you readers:

TAKE A PHOTO OF THE BACK OF YOUR CLUB CARD

If you have your club card on you right now go do that. Stop reading and do that immediately. If you ever lose your card you can show your photo to Round 1 staff, who are able to pull up using the card’s barcode all of your information (and hopefully respect all those stamps you’ve accumulated) and move them into a new card. Now it’s as if you never lost your card! There are other ways to keep your card information secure, but this is the fastest, simplest method.

2) Your Friendly Neighborhood Arcade Techs

You may be playing IIDX and find that a key suddenly stops working. If this happens, you might think it’s the best idea to either A) do nothing about it, or B) whine about it on social media. Those are terrible choices and you shouldn’t do either. If everyone were to do that, then nothing would ever get fixed. Simply pull aside any Round 1 staff member and inform them of the following:
1) What game is broken

1a) You’ll probably have to explain where that game is

1b) Do not get mad if staff members don’t know what game you mean

2) How it is broken

2a) BE SPECIFIC. The staff member, if not a tech, will probably relay the

information to a technician right in front of you. Speak clearly so

the tech knows exactly what to fix.

3) If possible, WAIT by the machine itself

3a) When the tech arrives you can explain exactly what is wrong

There may come times when the tech doesn’t know what you’re talking about, or

dismisses your issue as something not important (or not broken). While this may be

frustrating it is best to stay calm and re-explain the issue. Be patient with the techs - they have a lot on their plate but really do respect your desire for perfect arcade cabinets!

Blog Editor NOTE: Please do not get discouraged if the issue is NOT fixed immediately. Round 1 mechanics bounce between both bowling repairs and the arcade repairs, and when there are over 200+ games on the arcade floor, the workload for them gets overwhelming. Please be supportive and as patient as you can!

3) The Round 1 I’m Visiting Doesn’t Have _____! This Place Sucks!

Remember that Round 1 is a fairly new entertainment chain in America. While new

branches are slowly opening over this decade, no two locations will be exactly alike for many reasons! You may be disappointed that another location has a game you really want to play, but that doesn’t mean your location will never have that game! Support your local Round 1 and do your best to be happy with Round 1’s progress in giving you an accessible arcade full of games you won’t find anywhere else.