Great bar with an awesome environment. Drink specials are fun, games options are endless, and I especially like how often they change up the pinball machines. Easily the best bar on Willy St.

Great arcade with well-kept machines and pinball. Nothing was out of order, and the variety of games was fantastic. It was especially nice to see a couple modern indie cabinets sitting alongside old classics.The bar was nice and well stocked, and the bartenders were great. Overall, the vibe of this place is upbeat and playful. It’s easy to float around, interact and chat with strangers, which can make for a much better evening than camping out at a table and peeling labels off of beer bottles.Also: bravo to the management for Under-21 hours on Sunday afternoons. Educate those children.

This place has a very welcoming vibe. A great deal of thought has been put into its video game feng shui. The place is canon.

An incredible addition to downtown Madison! Tons of vintage pinball and arcade games with a well priced bar. This is exactly what Madison needs right now!

Love love love this bar! Who doesn’t like to feel like a kid again while drinking adult beverages? Visited this bar earlier this week and had a great time. The bar tender Ola was so nice and inviting. Had a great conversation and the other patrons made the entire experience enjoyable. Also, the best came hands down is the 4-man Pac-Man. Don’t believe me, give it a try ... and make sure to have quarters on stand by :)

Favorite place in Madison! Great games for only $0.25 each, they just got lockers to protect your gear, and its just solid beer all around.Be sure to check out their tournaments, events, and other gatherings! They host pinball, Beat the Brewer events, and have a strong Killer Queen community. This is my iconic spot to bring folks that dont live around here, and I usually end up here multiple times a month (or week).Oh and also the cocktail competitions - both the art and drinks are fantastic.

This place has got it all! Fun games, great beers and awesome people. Great place to just drop in, relax, and enjoy some games. There were really fun old school games like Rampage, tons of varieties of pinballs, and some other must-tries like Block-it-Blast. Highly recommended!

Such a fun place to go! The drinks are a reasonable price, a lot of the games are only 25¢, and there are board games you can check out. Its an easy place to kill an afternoon. They also just installed free lockers so you can safely stash your coat while you have fun.

Fantastic bar to come for games or just to sit and chat with friends! All arcade games run on quarters, but the board games are free! Rotating house cocktails are also fun to try, all themed after various “need” topics.

Awesome Arcade Bar! Great atmosphere, and great games with a collection of new and classic options.

Fun place to spend a few hours, arcades for 25 cents and free boardgames to use with your beer. Recommended!

Such a great atmosphere. The games are 25¢-75¢ a piece as a rule. They have an atm and change machines for convenience. You can play console, arcade, and board games that they have there. The drink options are numerous and affordable! Will continue to talk about this place and bring friends here.

Super cool place. Brews and old school arcade games all in one stop. How can you beat that?

Do you like alcohol? Do you like arcades? Have you ever dreamed of playing dozens of arcade games at a place that will make you mixed drinks and serve you beers? Well go here then, classic games, new games, streaming games, and some game systems on projectors to boot. So go here, unless your allergic to fun...

So fun, and games are only a quarter! Mixed drinks were not that great unfortunately but staff was great and bartenders responded quickly. Must see bar within walking distance of great food and dance club.

Great atmosphere, great games, great bar staff, and just overall a really really great time. It brings back so many memories and also creates new ones. And the games are in phenomenal shape, better than almost any arcade Ive been to in 20+ years!

Reasonably priced drinks, good atmosphere, and lots of fun games. Prices for games can be as low as $0.25, and up to at least $0.75 (I didn’t check all of them). Machines are well maintained and seem clean, even with all of the foods offered being finger foods.

Friendly staff. Games are a quarter. Beer is reasonably priced. Lots of room for hanging out and board games as well. Within walking distance of the Sylvee. 10/10 Would nerd out again.

Awesome place to hang out and play arcade games! Both the arcade cabinets and pinball machines change regularly, so make sure to come back and see whats new. The themed drink specials are always fun, and the accompanying art is fantastic! One fixture is the Killer Queen cabinet for larger groups; if youre interested stop in on a Wednesday for KQ night.

I went there tonight with 5 of my friends on a Saturday afternoon. If you go there early afternoon they are slow enough that you can get some board games in too for free. They have great selection of boards games. It picks up quickly around 5ish. Good beer list, my friends liked their mix drinks. Good service, nice arcade games. Overall, Ive had a good time every time Ive gone there with friends!

More food selection would be nice. Couldnt offer cheese with the pretzels but I was hungry that I got them any. They charges $5 for the pretzels. The games were fun but I wish there was more seating at regular tables.

I wish there were more .25 cent games! Drinks were great!

Awesome addition to Willy Street. Had a blast. Very friendly, fun people. Lots of pinball machines and retro games. Love the industrial decor.

So much fun for a date night! My boyfriend and I had a great time battling it out to our favorite old school games. Great atmosphere, staff was friendly and such an awesome concept for the Madison area!

Pretty lit place. Walked in went potty fixed their toliet and didnt get a free drink out of it. games were fun, drinks a little heavy on tequila but good. I liked the orange.

The place has just opened at time of writing, so I try to account for that. I/O is a solid spot but needs a little TLC to hit its full potential, yet their soft open gives a pretty good look at what to expect.The place is clean and well laid out, but lacks the real chattery atmosphere of a typical barcade (though preferences may vary on that) and yet could use some sound treatment to adjust the echoey room noise reflecting off the concrete, glass storefront, and high ceilings that make it seem loud even when its not that busy. Beer prices are pretty standard, about $5.50-$6 per pint across most things over their dozen or so taps. There are a few snack options but I wouldnt aim to have a full meal here - as best I can tell they are not equipped with a kitchen, or if they are, theyre hiding it very well.Despite the roomy floor plan, theres only about 40 arcade cabs and a dozen assorted pinball machines, and of those, at least a half dozen were out of order or unplugged, and an additional three we found were either pretty significantly damaged or unresponsive but unmarked as such. I dont know whether to dock the place for this though, as it would appear a good chunk of their offerings are being borrowed from rental spots around Wisconsin, and the cabs not marked with rental branding are actually the ones in the best shape. If they are using rentals, I hope both that their supplier is making good on promises of repairs/replacements, and that they can leverage their lack of ownership to shuffle cabs in and out frequently.Theres a solid mix of single and multiplayer games (at least a dozen of the latter, so good choice made there), a solid mix of genres, and even eras, from Tapper all the way to Killer Queen (which, if thats your thing, might be worth the trip all on its own) but again, there just doesnt feel like theres the critical number of cabs to keep you entertained for more than an hour or two. Of particular note was a dearth of light gun shooters, which is a shame both for the arcade-only novelty, and the fact that they tend to be real quarter munchers (a potential plus for the owner!)Most of the cabs are still set to their original credit values (no $3 plays to be seen) which is a huge plus, but if youll forgive the editorial, I think that they really ought to put everything on free play in exchange for a cover charge. I understand that theres a lot of complex considerations there, and that it might dissuade more casual walk-in patrons, but if after a year they find theres a good following of repeat/regular customers, a cover charge or membership system might serve both to mitigate the complexities of handling change and change machines, bump profits (margins cant be that high when most cabs are 25-50c) and increase regularity of their customer base.In addition, its in an odd location that both isnt super convenient for those without cars, and if you *do* drive, its hard to park, as the attached parking lot next door is entirely reserved for residents (a thing that should also be more blatantly signposted for the owners sake, to avoid angry neighbors down the line) and parking further out is patchy and questionably labeled in what amounts to an industrial park.I hope this place takes off, as Id love to have a local barcade to hang out at, but I think it may need some more polish before prime time.

Awesome place with a good selection of beer but there are a lot of machine/game hogs. We ended up leaving with pockets full of quarters.

Great playing pinball machines and good draft beer selection to boot. Will definitely be back!

Good layout with a large bar and big tables for seating, a focused selection of classic games, some cool new games (physical pong, killer queen, etc.), cupholders / shelves everywhere. The design of this place was deliberate and smart, kudos.

The selection of games is decent, and allow board and tabletop games. A good selection of drinks - overall a great place for gamers to hang out!

Great establishment! Love being able to play a bunch of retro games for just a quarter. The bar area had a great selection of drinks for pretty good prices as well, with a few different nostalgia driven specials. Only thing that would make it better is perhaps a couple newer options for the video games. They did have a switch being used but there was only one.. Im sure thats something theyll update in the future or something. Overall a great time!!

We celebrated my adult daughters birthday there. They were very accommodating. Its a nice big space with plenty of fun, if you like pinball machines its a great spot.

Expensive games, pinball is RIDICULOUSLY over priced, terrible selections... On the upswing, the beer and drinks were nice.

They have a wide variety of arcade games, great beer selection, fun and thematic drink specials, board games, pinball, and ample seating. The staff is nice, I love hanging out here. They even offer kids times on Sunday mornings. Highly recommend! Good times!

Great arcade bar with 12 pinball machines that are well maintained and a couple dozen arcade machines. They are the only place in Madison with Killer Queen, so if you are into team vs team arcade play, definitely check it out! They always have a good variety of beer on tap for you to enjoy while getting your game on. Support your local pinball operators so that they can keep their pinball machines in top notch condition!

Lovely place. Fun themed drinks fantastic choices. And the best game rotation.

This one of my favorite bars in Madison. The Killer Bee scene is pretty lively. It’s a fun arcade game that supports up to 10 people. Plus they have a ton of older machines. I’m a big donkey Kong guy, but the DK machine was messed up last time I was there.

Edit: had a much better experience my second go. bartender tended bar well. 28FEB2020

Who doesnt love an arcade bar? They have great drinks including nerdy movie themed cocktails regularly! Great for dates and groups looking to have fun. Parking in that area isnt super available, so you may have to walk a few blocks. Additionally, the place is an attraction so it can bring in some interesting folk. The last time we were there we almost were next to a physical fight and I got beer spilt on my coat. Also, dont forget your quarters... You will need them!

This is a really fun retro arcade and bar. They have many older games and a few new features as well. If pinball is more your style, they have a wall of that too. Nice take on an old idea.

Super fun! The staff is great and its a super fun environment.

Great place to hang out and the vibe is hella dope. Check out the front door!!! I dig it

Cool bar with an amazing atmosphere for gamers! Super cool and friendly staff who are also passionate about games. Totally a perfect place for drinkers with a gaming problem.

Good choice of alcohol. Games are limited compared to other arcades in town. Great location and aesthetic.

Great beer selection and dont forget to pump some quarters in the pinball machines!

Great bar with plenty of great games and drinks selection. Skip the parlor game bars and have a fun round of Killer Queen. Only gave it four stars because I was happy to see Tetris half working but wasnt familiar with this subpar version.

Cool bar, with some great games. They have like all the arcade games you wanna play, plus some board games and Nintendo games. They also had some cool ones Ive never seen.

Great selection of beers, awesome themed mixed drinks, and all of the nostalgic arcade games make this my new favorite bar in Madison. Wish I could make it there more often.

This place is cool, but I wish you didnt have to pay for the games. Im used to the arcades in Chicago, and most of them have the same games, but theyre free.

Wide selection of games, prepare to spend as much on quarters as drinks, but a good place to burn a few hours. Adults only makes it a unique place to drink. RockHound is delicious.

Love the concept. Ample sized bar to get drinks, loads of arcade games from our childhood, and relaxed vibe. Some suggestions for them to improve - make sure theres a cup holder or beer ledge beside every game, put in some sort of coat rack or coat check, and narrow that big table right down the middle of the place (its so wide that its difficult to walk around the table to get to that row of machines).Ive been to similar concept bars in other cities and by comparison, $.75 per game for pinball is too high - especially when you devote so much space to them (half or more went unused the whole time I was there). $.25 per credit for arcade games is reasonable.

I would like to give a higher score, but I didnt have Good time. Its some pinball machines, old arcade, and a few new items. The new stuff seemed to see be verses and not worth the cost. Still if you have ten people and twenty dollars 5 games of killer queen might be enough experience to make it fun.

Ive had a more consistently excellent time at I/O than I have at any other bar, arcade, or combination thereof. The space itself is great; Ive never seen it get raucously loud, so conversation is easy, and there are plenty of places to sit and chat. The rotating tap list is always impressive, as are the adorable, nerdy drink specials offered weekly, and all are prepared by a friendly staff. And of course, there are all sorts of games to play. The selection of arcade cabinets is great, and keeps expanding; there are plenty of board games provided on-location to play with friends; and a projector runs free-to-play games on a screen (currently running the excellent Smash Ultimate). I couldnt recommend any other social scene more highly than I/O; Im happy to have found a new local haunt.

Great bar/cade with a good selection of classic arcade games, good beers on tap and a rotating selection of pinball.

Its an arcade, nothing original apart from the fact that its on Willy St. (an area away from campus where college grads live) and possibly the only arcade in Madison. Apparently arcades are, vintage, a word that has come to mean, old but cool. Hardly any geeks here, mostly young people who would have otherwise not given a care to arcades a few years ago. Interesting how theyve become popular among the non-geek community. Do NOT order food here.

Barcade! Great staff! Good draft beer...What more do you need.

I enjoyed my time at this Arcade Bar. Drinks are pretty pricy but theres tons of arcade games to choose from- my favorite being Joust. The inclusion of both modern and classic arcade games is a great way to get all types of people involved in playing them.

This is a quaint little place to visit. If you like beer they have alot of options. However if you want a cocktail the pickings are much slimmer.The selection of games to play is pretty good too. A wide range of machines from all different eras including a couple modern machines.They have killer queen here, which is a great time if you can get 6-10 people to play.The bar itself was a bit cramped on a Tuesday night.I think the biggest problem is that theres no parking anywhere near it. So if you come in a car, I wish you the best of luck.

Came here for my first time ever last night. Good atmosphere and the games are all retro and cost 50 cents or a quarter which really isnt that bad! MAGIC MISSILE is where its at a great cheap but tasty alcoholic beverage is always smiled upon! They have other spirits if thats not what your into. They have quite a few pinball machines as well. Most importantly the bouncers and bartenders were really friendly making the experience altogether very nice.

Really unique bar and totally enjoyed my time. Great spot for people of all ages Diverse games pinball, tabletop and new high end arcade games.

Had a fun night. Showed up for D&D and had lots of choices for beer

Great atmosphere, could use some better/actual food, and less noisy, but is fun.

We had a blast here. They have a wide selection of arcade and a board games ranging from pin ball up to some if the more recent fighters. The beer selection was surprisingly good, and even out non gamer friends thought it was a great time

There are SO MANY games here! If you love pinball I/O Arcade Bar is a dream. Not only do they have a lot of pinball machines, but they have some really excellent ones like Addams Family and Theater of Magic. The bar is well stocked, and they even have Ginger Beer and good Root Beer.

Great beer selection. Prices on par, maybe slightly higher with other bars in the area. Fantastic assortment of arcade cabinets (lots from the 80s and 90s) that take a quarter each, pin ball, board games, and a big screen for Smash Bros/other games. Its about time Madison got a proper arcade bar.

Love this place! Great games. Some pizza. A fantastic but small tap list.

The place looks nice and has a good selection of games but, it seems a bit pricey compared to other options out there.Parking is limited.

Nice themed bar with a decent selection of older arcade cabinet games (love that they have The Simpsons, Turtles in Time, and X-Men). Great that all machines accept quarters, but some range in price. Can get crowded very quickly on weekends.

This place is amazing. Tons of fun games and great drinking selection!

Awesome. Simply the best arcade experience you can have in madison. Top notch.

So much fun! Good drink selection as well.

I ah e to say for a place that recently opened the owner and staff are actually doing a fantastic job. They shouldn’t get anything less than a 5 star. Although I understand that many who review are tending to provide the best feedback possible. I’ve been here since open and continued to come reviewing the “negative feedback” and I’ve seen improvement everytime. The bartenders are friendly, the drinks are great and reasonably priced! I/O staff keep up the good work! You have my 5 star plus more!

This is a great little barcade in East Madison. The bartenders were great with a comprehensive drink selection. The place itself is very clean, that goes for the games as well. A good variety of old classics with some new age games as well and a good selection of boards games to sit down and play. Overall great experience and look forward to coming back!

Its a pretty cool place, but since its right by campus it gets very crowded and hard to get around. There is a decent selection of games and they have tables to play board games at as well.Warning: come closing time, they have a switch that will shut all games off even when youre in the middle of your best streak.

Good drinks, good games, great service. I only with they had Time Crisis 4 and the Jurassic Park arcade game.

An incredibly fun experience, come with ten dollars, stay for an hour, you honestly cant have much more fun for less. The regulars are wonderfully friendly and will teach you anything you want to know.

The owner is a super nice guy (and cute too). Bartenders are rad. Great selection of games and pinball. Diverse tap list and fun cocktail ideas. Anyone who likes gaming or drinking should have a good time.

I love this bar and what it does. This place is great, as long as the door guy is nice. Christian is bouncer who makes this place worth it. Other bouncers have tried to kick people out for arbitrary reasons. Within him at the door, Ill come back.

Cool place to play old-school video games like Donkey Kong.

Nice collection of the nostalgic old school games at fair prices. Plenty of pinball and board games round out your playing options, but improved seating would be nice. Also a few newer games wouldnt hurt but itd probably present a space issue.

Cool place with a nice local tap mix and great staff. Pay to play classic arcade machines are awesome but some of them have sticky controls from beer spills, and an entire wall of pricier per play pinball but they have (free) ultimate smash on a projector.

This place was a great time! They had plenty of games and were packed. If anything they need a larger location for all the interest they have generated; some people couldnt get in and had to wait outside based on space limitations. Their bar was constantly packed and hiring another bartender or two could have eased things for the staff and customer interactions. I look forward to going back and seeing how this place progresses over time.

Fun place! Good drinks to choose from. Prices on the games are very fair.

This place has so many fun and interesting cabinet games to choose from. Mostly the big classics like Pac-Man, TMNT, Street Fighter, etc. Still, it was cool to see my friends play some Super Smash Bros. on a projector when I arrived. Thats not even to mention the pinball, or the beer. Drinkin beer and playing video games.... with solid music in the background to pull it all together.Well done, I/O, well done.

This arcade bar is very clean and the staff is friendly and courteous. Games are fun and the atmosphere is very chill.

The place is cool and is a decent location. A lot of the arcade cabinets are older ( mostly 80s, I was hoping for more 90s and early 2000s).Also, it would be cool if they had a family friendly day planned during the week so a few co-workers and I could stop in during our lunch break.

Old school arcade games, 90s pinball, and a big screen Smash Bros. = perfect

Love it in the afternoon. Can get a bit crowded at night.

Such an amazing bar with some awesome tap list! Games are cheap! Not to mention the bartenders are fantastic! :)

Loved the vibe on a Friday night! Bar kept at a reasonable capacity, you can move around and theres arcade space and table space with adequate walking room around.Great beer selection and we were served rather quickly. Layout encourages mingling outside the immediate bar area. Not much for food, a couple bars in Madison sell bagged chips, thatd be really nice here.We had coin trouble with 3 of 4 arcade games we tried. May be a given when it comes to old systems, but Id think theres some way to fix them up or use a better coin system. One game froze up after the start screen. Could be standard practice for bar-cades, my friend mentioned having a similar issue elsewhere.Between two of us we got $5, two beers for about 5.50 and played a few games. Almost all the pinball games are 75c, I believe the max arcade game price per person is 50c, + additional if you want to keep playing.Overall needs some improvements on the arcade side, its impractical to have one guy constantly unsticking machines in a busy bar. Loved the vibe so it wont deter me from going again but itd improve the experience.

My crew and I came here as it’ was our first time and wish we would of known about this place sooner. Although we did wait in line for about 10 minutes in the cold it was all worth it! They had great selection in beers and bartenders are super friendly! I couldn’t remember her name but i want to thank the bartender who had to deal with my amazing yet annoying drunk crew (Saturday night 1/19) She was a little shorter with long black hair. We couldn’t make up our mind with all the beers and she just surprised us, again we were really annoying so I just want to say thank you! We will be back!

Very nice, love the Mini counters for drinks in between games, staff is real helpful and fast

Fun idea and in practice still pretty fun. The downside is that nobody observes arcade rules. Put your money down on the cabinet to challenge or to call next game. Dont steal! Two out of five times I put my money down, it disappeared. Thats a small gripe though, really and I cant expect everyone to know arcade rules from the 80s and 90s. One real downside is that every time Ive been there, two out of the three change machines have been down, creating a lengthy line back to the bar.

Really great atmosphere and kind staff. Totally will come back soon.

Most of the classic arcade games worked but not all. Just like the ol days

Such a fun place with classic arcade games. It gets crowded fast so get there earlier in your night.

Great game. Cool atmosphere.

Updated response after finding my card was over charged. The bar manager contacted me after sending him an email and said that if you open a tab on a card it is automatically charged 25 dollars. That amount is then changed to your correct bill after a few days. If this information is not posted anywhere at the bar now it’s online for possible patrons as to avoid the hassle I was put through.

Super fun atmosphere with a perfect nostalgic touch. Great selection of classic arcade games and good drinks. Bar staff are friendly and the bar is a decent size. Definitely a great place to spend a Sunday!

Awesome new retro arcade with drinks. Its quant and the staff are friendly. Can get really packed though. Highly recommend to anyone for a great night out.