thrillist

Tired of weird secret clubs being all about sex? Then join one whose members never have that stuff: The Made, a new, underground ode to video games, protected by a secret code and a giant metal door.

Founded by a lifelong video game journalist, this unmarked, massive, playable museum outfits a heavily guarded second-story Oakland loft with every system you've ever wanted, plus unknown relics like the Quake guy’s very first game: Catacombs 3-D (the follow up to Catacombs 2-D, which was overly easy to walk straight out of). Ready-to-play games span genres/eras from classic shooters (Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM), to epic multi-players (N64's Goldeneye), to fighting titles (Xbox's Marvel vs. Capcom II). Plus, there's not-so-classics like Red Alarm for Virtua Boy (a console that's literally just a pair of goggles), and crazy first-person shooter Marathon, which you can play on Apple’s super-glitchy Pippin -- once ranked one of the 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time, presumably until they added a track pad wheel and started charging twice as much. There's also an actual museum in back stocked with the first-ever cartridge console (a Fairchild Channel F), an original in-box Atari, limited-release controllers from Japan, a handheld Lynx, and Ryu action figures, despite Ken being the one who always looked dolled up.

For now, MADE’s hours are limited to Tuesday Fight Nights (free play, followed by a massive bracket tourney), but come next month, they'll add weekend open-play hours and game-develop-offs where you can spend an entire day writing code, though again, you'll first need the right one to get your foot in the door.

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