The Arcade in Second Life is a build that would be a sight to behold were it simply a build to view and walk through. The people behind The Arcade describe it as :

Set in a seaside build that evokes the whimsical feel of the penny arcades of early 1900’s Coney Island and Brighton Pier, The Arcade strives to present a nostalgic atmosphere that welcomes an audience seeking great gacha prizes, and continues to be a favorite destination for photographers and enthusiasts of vintage architecture.

However there’s more to it than just being a spectacular build, it’s an Arcade that plans to hold events in June, September and December. As we’re now a few days into June that means there’s an event on now. We’re not talking any old events here, we’re talking Gacha, which is extremely popular in Second Life. This is demonstrated by the fact that the two regions are often full and hard to enter, but I’ll come to that later.

The Arcade has been a big part of Second Life going back to 2012, and it’s time to give some credit to those behind it :

The Arcade was founded in September of 2012 by Second Life residents, Octagons Yazimoto, Katharine McGinnis, Emery Milneaux and Umberto Giano. Currently, the quarterly gacha event features 100 of the grid’s best designers and builders, each whom offer a collection of high-quality prizes sold at random from gacha machines within The Arcade’s build.

There’s no doubting that The Arcade delivers what it claims to be. The place is atmospheric, you do like to be beside the seaside when visiting. Linden Lab are on the ball regarding this location too as it gets a mention in their latest blog post regarding Highlights From The Destination Guide. That blog post is worth a read too as there are some other extremely interesting looking venues mentioned. Linden Lab are doing a really good job with promoting The Destination Guide.

The Arcade isn’t all about shopping either, there’s a photography contest too :

The Arcade invites you to commemorate a new month of shopping, fun and exploration with our eighth photography contest! Fun, nostalgic, quirky or dramatic; alone or in couples and groups – submit any sort of photo you want, so long as it follows the guidelines.

The contest offers some great prizes in the way of store credit or gift cards from the designers involved in the event. The contest opened on June 1st and runs until June 30th. Winners will be announced in July.

Full details regarding the contest are here : http://thearcadesl.com/contest/how-to-enter/

However when it comes to actually getting into the event, prepare to be frustrated. This is a very popular event. Indeed it’s so popular that I asked Second Life on Twitter what the secret handshake is. They replied “Patience and persistence“, I said “Hmph!“.

Instead I went by other means. I swung across fiery chasms on a rope, I ran across rickety rope bridges, I ran through fields, hitched a lift on a ship, ran into a cave and was chased down darkened passages by angry Goblins.

I paused in a Dwarfin friendly tavern to catch my breath, get some refreshments and then I set off on the next leg of my treacherous journey.

Eventually I was nearly there. I found fellow adventurers on a ship moored in the sea off the coast near to The Arcade. Many were shouting “Little Pig, Little Pig, Let Me In“. The reply from the hordes on the pier was “Not by the hairs of my chinny chin chin“.

However persistence, as Linden Lab advised, did eventually pay off. Running along the pier I raised a few eyebrows, this may have had something to do with the fact that I was also waving around my crown and pausing to do a jig of delight at the entrance to The Arcade.

Alternatively you can enjoy your time on the ship, or even go and explore the lighthouse. The key really is patience and persistence, or as a very wise person once said, “Patience young Padawan, patience“.

The Arcade Gacha Events, it’s worth the wait.

SLURL To The Arcade : http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Arcade/74/132/32/

Arcade Website : http://thearcadesl.com/

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