Two Paths to Play Lessons from KTR and Alley Cats by Barry Zelickson This month, we’re heading to two very different but equally compelling facilities: KTR in Chandler, Arizona, and Alley Cats in Burleson, Texas. One is built around motion, progression and high-energy activity; the other is a refined, full-scale FEC that’s earned its reputation over time. Both offer clear lessons for operators looking to sharpen their own approach. KTR – Chandler, Arizona KTR calls itself an indoor action playground, and from the moment you walk in, that description holds up. The space is built for movement. Skateboards rolling through…
Author: RePlay Editor
The Guest Lens Auditing the Journey from the Smartphone to the Front Door Owner of Planet Novak & The Novak Network As I travel the country for the Novak Roadshow, I hear the same refrain from nearly every operator I meet: “Clint, I just can’t find good help.” It’s the universal struggle in the 2026 FEC landscape. We are all fighting for the same talent pool, and when we find someone who actually knows how to smile and show up on time, we treat them like we found the Golden Ticket. As operators, we spend a lot of time looking…
Bowl Expo 2026 By Howard McAuliffe, Partner, Pinnacle Entertainment Group Every June, many of us fly to Bowl Expo, which, along with Amusement Expo and IAAPA, has become a tent- pole event in the family entertainment business. Most proprietors attend education sessions, walk the tradeshow floor looking for new ideas, and have a lot of fun at night with friends, colleagues and the industry at large. It’s easy to get excited, take lots of notes and then come back home and never implement any of them. This year, more than any year I can remember, it is essential to come…
Challenges & Solutions by Jack Guarnieri, Jersey Jack Pinball & PinballSales.com As I write this column, I’m thinking of the summer. The war with Iran is being held up in a shaky ceasefire. If that’s still the case when you read this, we have bigger problems, like the economy. Our business is known for being a lower-cost way to be amused and entertained. While everything has gone up in price, our industry still provides fun at a relatively low cost. In comparison, if I go to a Yankee game with two kids, I’m looking at the cost to get there,…
One of my favorite features in RePlay magazine is the Blasts from the Past that Key and Ingrid produce from time to time showing photos of those “good old guys and gals” we once met along our journey in this business. For many readers, it’s a peek back into the “good old days” when things were supposedly better than any at other time in their lives. This last thought is, as people well know, questionable. It’s like the guy who famously said: “My time in the Army really sucked, but when I look back on it, I really had a…
Bowling Powerhouse QubicaAMF Company Says Its Ecosystem of Products Can Work for Every Operator By Matt Harding From their traditional, yet modern, 10-pin bowling to the Fly’n Ducks duckpin bowling and Highway66 mini bowling attractions, QubicaAMF says they have something for everybody. The goal, said Bart Burger, director of marketing and investor success for new business development, is that each of the products “fits a different venue model.” Of course, 10-pin bowling is for centers of all types. QubicaAMF offers standard width lanes as long as 60 ft. (the certified length for competition) and as short as 24 ft. for…
Addition By Subtraction Why Keeping the Wrong Employee Is the Fastest Way to Lose Your Best Owner of Planet Novak & The Novak Network As I travel the country for the Novak Roadshow, I hear the same refrain from nearly every operator I meet: “Clint, I just can’t find good help.” It’s the universal struggle in the 2026 FEC landscape. We are all fighting for the same talent pool, and when we find someone who actually knows how to smile and show up on time, we treat them like we found the Golden Ticket. But there is a dangerous trap…
The New Games of Amusement Expo 2026 by Adam Pratt, Arcade Galactic & ArcadeHeroes.com We’re well on our way toward summer, but let’s take this opportunity to see what is leading us there, as found on the show floor of Amusement Expo 2026 in Las Vegas. Many things make me feel rather old these days, and one of those is the realization that it’s almost been 20 years since I first began attending the spring show. My first was in 2008, when it was known as Amusement Showcase International or ASI. I’ve only missed it once during that time. Sure,…
The Post AEI Issue – The Floor Is Talking. Are You Listening? by Nick DiMatteo, Pinnacle Entertainment Group There is a moment at every show where the noise fades just enough to notice something different. You stop looking at booths and start watching people. That is where the real story lives. Walking into AEI 2026, I expected incremental. A few reskins, some licensing plays, and a handful of standouts trying to break through. What I found instead was something better. The quality was strong, and more importantly, the games were fun. That may sound obvious. It is not. Fun is…
When We Say, WOW!, We Mean It! WOW! Golf & Entertainment Moves into St. Louis Area by Matt Harding A new, multi-level entertainment center held its grand opening Feb. 27 in Fenton, Missouri. Called WOW! Golf & Entertainment, the 27,000-sq.-ft. facility has a full-service indoor restaurant and bar, an 18-hole mountain-style mini-golf course, eight lanes of duckpin bowling, four Topgolf Swing Suite simulators, a virtual reality arena, polysynthetic ice curling, four karaoke lounges, private event spaces, and three outdoor patio spaces, including one on the mezzanine level overlooking the golf course. The center’s director of operations, Tommy Fernandez, previously had…