- Well, from rethinking the future to reliving the past, our next story takes us back to a time when arcades were the place to be.

The lights, the sounds, the clack of a pinball machine, for many it's pure '80's magic.

That was my decade.

And here in our region that nostalgia isn't just a memory, it's a movement with a local women's pinball league and wall to wall classic games.

The golden age of arcades is very much alive.

"Carolina Impact's" Chris Clark takes us there.

(upbeat music) - [Chris] Before smartphones.

- Absolutely love this place - [Chris] Before streaming.

- Bring back a lot of memories.

- Chris] Before scrolling.

- It's more fun than I could have ever imagined.

- Chris]There were places like this.

(game chiming) For some, the arcade was a memory.

For James, it was something he never forgot.

- I think I was like six years-old in 1980 and I spent a lot of time watching other people play 'cause I didn't have the quarters to play.

It was a treat if I got to play.

- [Chris] He remembers what it felt like to stand and stare.

Years later, after a career as a software consultant, he decided to build an arcade he once watched from the sidelines.

- I took a trip to Myrtle Beach and they had a museum type thing down there where they were offering an hour of play for $10.

That really wasn't that great of a deal.

And I thought, well I could do the same thing, charge $15 and let them play all day.

- [Chris] Oh, it was a leap.

And not just for him.

- He said, you know, would, would you be scared?

What do you think about it?

And I thought it was the best idea ever.

I said, you've gotta chase your dreams.

- [Chris] It wasn't just nostalgia, it was risk.

- It is scary and I feel like we are the type of people, we're very hardworking.

If this didn't, you know, make it, we would have, we would be hardworking.

We would find a different way - [Chris] To make, but just in case it tilts.

- And I have a full-time job as well.

- [Chris] What they built is now known as the Classic Arcade and Pinball Museum.

- All of our kind of standard standup arcades down the middle of the place.

We try to keep certain things kind of grouped together.

Like I have all my standup driving games over here and in the back we have all of our sit down driving games and flying games, games.

- [Chris] The games draw you in, but it's the energy inside these walls that keeps people playing.

Something 15-year-old Ayden already understands.

- It's fun because the mood and the vibe is just so exhilarating and fun.

- [Chris] For many, that feeling doesn't stay in the moment.

It takes them back to one.

- It brings back times when we were together, when we were younger.

I grew up in college, I played these when these when I was younger, 12 or 13.

- [Chris] The memories may open the door, but the atmosphere is what makes families feel at home.

- So people love that we're very safe, we're very family orientated.

They feel safe that they can drop off their children here.

We make sure there are not, there's nothing funny going on.

- For James, the magic is in the mechanics, the levers, the wheels, the things your hands can't forget.

- They're like things that are kind of unique and can't play on a home system.

And anything with a unique control is something we look for.

- [Chris] Keeping the past alive takes work.

Under the glass and bright artwork, there's a system of gears and wires and steel that keeps these things going.

- Luckily, the ones that I, that I purchased only had minor issues, like one thing wrong or two things wrong.

Like if it was a whole bunch of stuff wrong, like I don't know, - [Chris] Ask anyone their favorite game and the answers come fast.

- My favorite machine in here is probably "Dr.

No.".

(dramatic music) - Yes, "Dr.

No".

- Don't forget to write.

- I like the "Star Wars".

- Impressive.

- "Star Trek".

- Live long and prosper.

- [Chris] Different generations, but one game at the center of it all.

(pinball chiming) Pinball isn't fading away, it's evolving.

About 30 miles east, The Silver Ball is keeping score.

- This is an IFPA tournament, which is International Flippers Pinball Association.

So we submit our scores and then they have state championships.

Like Amy, she just came in fourth place in the women's state championships.

- [Chris] But what makes this night different isn't just the rankings, - It just feels sometimes there's something different about it.

- [Chris] This is the Concord chapter of Bells and Chimes, a women's pinball league.

- They started in Oakland, California in 2013, and then from there they have chapters across all of the us.

They have chapters worldwide - For players like Pants Haidar, pinball was never just nostalgia.

- My parents had like restaurants and malls that had arcades and the arcades had pinball machines.

So I was playing pinball like at a really young age and I've always loved it.

- [Chris] Here the goal isn't just remembering the past, it's getting better.

- You get that social vibe and the comradery and you get competitiveness and you can learn with and from each other, which is cool.

- [Chris] From a family arcade in Gastonia, to league nights in Concord, pinball is doing what it's always done, bringing people together around the game that demands patience, skill, and just a little bit of luck.

The technology may have changed, but the reason people gather around these machines hasn't.

- It's just nice to have people come together and have the camaraderie and stuff like that.

- The world may move faster now, but inside these walls the rhythm hasn't changed.

And as long as someone is willing to pull back the plunger, the game goes on.

For "Carolina Impact", I'm Chris Clark.