An Ode to ’90s Arcade Carpets

Game room carpets: where nostalgia meets style.

In the ’90s, Aladdin invited us to take a magic carpet ride. What he didn’t know was that ’90s arcade carpets were even better—a whole funky carpet-matic universe of magic carpets.

’90s arcade carpets really hold the room together, man. One of the many perks of being on those arcade carpets is that we didn’t have to clean up after ourselves. Spill some of your ICEE? Keep walking. Cheese fries plop on the floor right after buying them? No worries, the rug gotchu. Accidentally pee on the carpet? You’re on your own with that one, kid. Now you can have your own home game room carpet—though we’d recommend cleaning up after yourself this time.

Close your eyes and think about those ’90s arcade carpets; you can practically smell them, right? (And as an adult, you may feel like you need a shower. Did they ever clean those carpets?!) Here are some throwback styles to choose from, our nicknames for them, and the feelings they evoke:

The “One Small Step for Man”

This is the carpet you stared at for hours while thinking about telling your crush that they’re out of this world. It’s the same carpet that absorbed your tears when you inevitably chickened out and they made out with the popular kid. Now you can make it your gaming room carpet and try to rewrite history—just don’t reach out to that crush again. It’s over.

The “Saved by the Smell”

Just like Saved by the Bell, this style premiered right at the border of the ’80s and ’90s. This is the carpet all those telegenic teens stood on every Friday night, drinking their sodas and looking for places to make out. While they got it on, we played Donkey Kong. If you pick this game room carpet, maybe it’ll unlock Zack Morris powers and you can call a “time out” when facing the impossible-to-beat Mike Tyson himself in Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!

The “Alien Encounter”

This carpet’s got it all: South Park-esque aliens, random neon patterns, and spaceships! No matter where you place your pinball machines and arcade games, there’s still gonna be a lot of fun designs to see. I mean, check out that glorious piece of escaped Kraft Mac & Cheese. Pure nostalgia fuel right there. We were originally going to call this rug the “Kevin Spacey,” but uh…yeahhh.

The “Home Hadouken”

Your friends were like “Hey, let’s play Dig Dug! Or The Simpsons! Or Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure!” You? Your quarters were going to Street Fighter, all day every day. While not a carpet you’d see at an actual arcade in the ’90s, this retro-inspired carpet spits hot fire—or should we say, “yoga flame.” The kids will either love it or be thoroughly confused.

The “Birthday Bash”

Used wrapping paper? Everywhere. The snacks? Too legit to quit. The music? “The Sign” by Ace of Base. It all happened on this carpet. Your friend with the cool parents reserved the entire arcade for this kind of birthday party. Now you can make your game room rugs a year-round celebration.

The “Swirlie”

No, not the toilet-related bully move (thankfully). This classic swirl pattern immediately turns any game room into a fun zone. It’s like a planetarium light show for your feet. We’d recommend this carpet for all you late-night gamers out there. The design is just timeless…*sniffs* sorry, crying nostalgia tears over here.

The “Hula Hoop” Area Rug

Let’s circle back and talk about this hula hoop look. It makes our heads spin like those crazy dunks in NBA Jam. It evokes the days of arcade cheat codes, Easter eggs, and high score names like ASS. Be the first to get this gaming room carpet and run circles around your competition.

The “Original Blue Man Group” Gaming Room Carpet

A gaming room carpet that looks like a Pac-Man screen? Yes please! If your arcade had this, the people who owned it were serious gamers. Now it’s time to get one for your own home arcade. We’ve cherry-picked it just for you. No need to explain to guests what this game room carpet references—everybody and their mother knows Pac-Man. We can’t get over this carpet. Simply a-maze-ing.

The “Two Thumbs Up”

Are your favorite games movie-related tie-ins? Missing when you’d spend hours playing the Terminator 2: Judgment Day pinball machine, the theme song forever ingrained in your head? Do we have the game room carpet for you! It’s perfect for fans of movies, games, and corn that goes “pop!” This colorful carpet will leave your friends saying, “I’ll be back.”

Thanks for walking down this carpet-covered road with us. Let us know which game room carpet you go with!