Napoleon Bonaparte. Known for his typical pose, battles, victories, superstition, luck and – more recently – Napoleon Games. How do you set yourself apart from the competition as a casino, or on a smaller scale, as an arcade? It was not a wild guess, but rather a calculated analysis that we offered the people of Napoleon Games. Their first renewed arcade concept opened as a pilot in Antwerp and this is the result.

Walk into seven different game halls and one thing will stand out: nothing stands out. All arcades look exactly the same. This is largely due to the amount of rules that the state enforces for opening an arcade. One of the biggest challenges we faced was creating a unique concept while playing by the rules of the law. Another big challenge was finding a balance between an esthetic room and something that suits the flickering – hurts our eyes to watch – machines.

We decided to base the interior design and branding on Napoleon Bonaparte. None of the competitors have a character like that. We built an entire world around our leading man Napoleon. For the design we started with the graphic aspect. We sort of dissected Napoleon and put him in a new graphic design.

The graphic aspect is important in this design. It is used all over the 3D design. You will recognize the elements in the lighting, the carpet, the chairs, the neon and the other graphic elements on the wall.

Because it is not allowed to look inside and because every visit to an arcade is preceded by a registration, a reception for paperwork is needed. This space is a cozy lobby with comfy chairs and plants, reminiscent of a hotel lobby even. At the reception, part of the registration is the photo opportunity for issuing a member card. In order to make this moment less awkward, we all know how strange it is to stare at a webcam, above the camera it reads “Luck Begins With A Smile”. It makes things more casual and accessible for visitors.

Registered? You will be offered some encouragement by the quote “Prepare to bet(tle)”. A nod to the tone of voice and a reference to the battles of Mr. Bonaparte. Then you walk into the room with the machines.

Besides the graphic elements, something else draws the attention in this space; we strongly focused on hospitality. We created a cozy lounge where visitors may escape the machines for a moment. They can have a chat, drink something, eat something or maybe exchange some advice.

Visitors can pick up a snack from the custom made buffet cart, which is a real eye catcher in this area. The bar won’t escape your attention either. The bar top is finished in linoleum, not a typical material to use as a bar top, but it has all the right properties to work. The welded seams, that are usually considered less appealing, were used to our advantage. We boast them by incorporating our graphic patterns.

The arcade in Antwerp is a pilot. The new concept is meant to be rolled out in all the other cities that have a Napoleon Games arcade. That’s why we designed building blocks. For each arcade, Napoleon Games can choose which building blocks they want to add depending on the budget and the surface area.