Seattle's airport just leveled up: Sky Gamerz, a neon-lit retro arcade lounge, is now open in the N Concourse — and it's free to play.

Why it matters: Waiting in airports can be a drag, but the new addition at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport could make layovers and delays something to look forward to: a chance to kill time playing classics like Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros. and Ms. Pac-Man.

Hospitality architect Haley Balzano has been creating the spaces and places where we meet, eat, play and travel for decades. She migrated from Carnegie Mellon Architecture School to the historic Stein Cox architectural firm in Phoenix. Her work as a hospitality architect and designer persevered through Exclaim Design and Bar Napkin Design. She emerged with the Hale Collective in 2023, a firm built on her values. The name Hale is a family name of strong women who inspire her.

Free anything is rare at an airport these days. But at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), travelers can now settle in and play retro Atari-era video games such as Ms. Pac-Man and Donkey Kong before their flights for free.

The games are available at the recently opened Sky Gamerz gaming lounge in SEA's North Satellite terminal — the departure point for many Alaska Airlines flights.

It's not time travel in the way sci-fi books and movies present jumping back and forth through generations, but the new airside lounge at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA-TAC) — an airport considered to be the best in North America — is most definitely a blast from the past. Located in the airport's North Concourse, Sky Gamerz is a vintage video game aficionado's dream come true. And yes, we are talking golden oldies, as in classic 1970s and 1980s games like Ms. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Dig Dug. Even better, the games are free to play. Atlanta-based entrepreneur H. Lamar Willis and business partner Jonathan Ford are the brains behind the retro concept. Willis, who grew up playing the games featured at Sky Gamerz, was inspired by people-watching during his frequent business travels.

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