Arcade brings the fun to Sterling’s Northland Mall

STERLING – Have you heard what’s going on at Northland Mall?

“Pew pew!” “Waka waka waka waka!” “Vrooom!”

Say what?

If those noises sound familiar, then you’re probably old enough to remember when video games drew tons of teens to Blackhawk Arcade. These days, they’re the sounds of fun for the whole family at a business where pinball wizards and power-pellet munchers of all ages have found a home at the mall.

Bugsy’s Arcade and Gaming opened in July 2022, and since then it has been bringing customers through its doors to test their skills on a lineup of games old and new, from vintage video classics to virtual reality.

You can even try your luck on some gambling machines.

For longtime local residents, it’s a welcome sight to see an arcade at the mall years after Blackhawk Arcade, a former favorite haunt for high schoolers and high-scorers, closed its doors.

Arcades are making a comeback in the area almost a decade after Blackhawk shut down. Bugsy’s was the first of three stand-alone arcades in the Sauk Valley to open in the past year. Not only has it brought in customers taking a trip down memory lane to when arcades were the place to be, but it’s also bringing in kids who are discovering them for the first time.

Seeing customers tackle a challenging game is something Maggie Morrison enjoys, whether they’re playing Pac-Man or pinball, or getting in the driver’s seat of a racing game.

Maggie, the daughter of Bugsy’s owner Anna Morrison, runs the day-to-day operations. She said she sometimes gets the itch to hop back in a game seat like she did years ago on visits to the Peru Mall.

“It’s a good, classic activity to spend time on, and everyone can do it,” Maggie said. “I always liked going to arcades when I was young. I would always sneak in there before I saw a movie. It just always grabbed my attention.”

Makayla Fordyce also enjoys reliving her memories when she works her shift. She used to play the games at White Pines Skating Rink in Mount Morris while growing up, and she still finds an opportunity to play the Big Buck hunting game when she has a chance.

“I like working with entertainment and seeing the kids interact and seeing families coming in,” Fordyce said. “There’s a lot of joy and having fun, and a lot of competition sometimes.”

Named after a French bulldog/Boston terrier mix in the Morrison family, Bugsy’s has 15 arcade games and two claw machines for customers of all ages, including a couple of pinball machines that rotate out every so often. For adults, six Gold Rush gambling machines are set aside in a private room.

Morrison, Fordyce and the rest of Bugsy’s crew get a kick out of seeing people try to claw their way to a prize, whether they manage to grab it or not. It’s a game all ages enjoy, especially children who must hop up on a stool and work the claw machine’s controls. When they manage to snag a stuffed animal, there’s nothing like seeing the smile on their faces.

If all that fun works up an appetite, Bugsy’s has some “power pellets” to give you a boost: snacks to munch on including corn dogs, nachos, pizza slices and hot dogs. You can wash it down with a soda or a slushie, and Mom and Dad can grab a beer or mixed drink at the bar while the kids get in some screen time.

If you don’t want to pal around with Pac-Man, a more modern take on gaming is available where you strap on goggles and immerse yourself in a virtual reality.

“You’ll look around, and things will be different, and you get to use your hands and collect different things throughout the levels,” Morrison said. “Everybody likes to sit and watch everybody play it. Sometimes it scares them, sometimes it’s funny, sometimes they’re just sitting there – you get all kinds of different reactions.”

If you really want a challenge, playing it safe might be the way to go.

Maggie said perhaps the hardest game in the arcade is Safe Cracker.

“That’s impossible. I’ve never seen anyone win off of it but one,” she said.

Not everything is like the classic arcade days. Token and ticket cards have replaced dollar bills and tokens. “Tokens” are loaded on a small, plastic card, which is swiped at most machines (except for the claws) to start up. “Tickets” are loaded onto the same card and redeemed at a prize counter. The method can be easier to handle when activity is busy, especially during the birthday, holiday or work parties that Bugsy’s hosts.

“We do a lot of birthday parties, and we did a lot more Christmas parties than I would have expected,” Maggie said. “A lot of adults will have parties here, too. With the work parties, they’ll play the arcade games just like how the kids do, some of them may gamble, and some may just want snacks and drinks and enjoy their night.”

The arcade gives people of all ages a chance to relax, have fun or just blow off steam. It rekindles memories of a time when Blackhawk, in all its darkened and back-lit glory, was packed with players plunking in token after token, vying for victory when they could enter their initials on the high score list and earn bragging rights – until the next player came along and unseated them at the top.

Fordyce enjoys hearing stories of those times and is happy to bring them back to Bugsy’s.

“I’ve heard about it a few times but never got to experience it,” Fordyce said. “I’ve had a lot of customers say that it’s so cool to see one here, and they’ll tell me about that one. Some of the stories have been real interesting, and they’re just happy to have something like this here again.”

Bugsy’s Arcade and Gaming, 2900 E. Lincolnway inside Sterling’s Northland Mall, is open from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from noon to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Find it on Facebook, email bugsysarcade@gmail.com or call 815-677-2307 to arrange parties or for information.