HARDWARE
Play with a real arcade stick
The cabinets read any controller your browser can see: an arcade stick, an Xbox or PlayStation pad, a Switch Pro controller, over USB or Bluetooth. Nothing to install, nothing to configure. Plug in, press a button, and the room answers.
Test yours
Connect a stick or pad and press any button.
Every numbered button fires, START starts a credit, SELECT pauses. That is the whole map.
This browser has no controller support. Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari all do.
How to connect
USB. Plug the stick into the computer and press any button. Browsers keep controllers hidden until a button is pressed, which is a privacy rule, not a fault, so the stick appears on the first press and not before.
Bluetooth. Pair the controller in your system's Bluetooth settings first (on a Mac, System Settings, then Bluetooth; on Windows, Settings, then Bluetooth and devices; on an iPhone or iPad, Settings, then Bluetooth). Then open the arcade and press a button.
8BitDo sticks and pads. Set the mode switch to X (XInput). That is the layout every browser maps the same way; the Switch and D-input modes work too but can shuffle which button is which.
PlayStation and Xbox controllers. They work as they are. A DualSense pairs over Bluetooth with the PS and Create buttons held together (PS and Share on a DualShock 4); an Xbox controller with its pairing button on the top edge.
What the stick does
| Where | Stick or d-pad | Buttons |
|---|---|---|
| The room | Walks. The right stick looks around. | Face a cabinet: START or any button plays it. |
| GLOWCHASE, maze chase | Steers the spark; a turn pressed early is kept until the gap. | START begins a credit. |
| HIVEFIRE, fixed shooter | Left and right move the interceptor. | Any button fires. |
| PADDLEDUEL, two-paddle tennis | Up and down move your paddle. | START begins a credit. |
| BRICKSTORM, brick-breaker | Left and right move the paddle. | Any button serves. |
| ROCKBURST, rock shooter | Left and right turn, up thrusts, down jumps to hyperspace. | Any button fires. |
| SKYSIEGE, fixed shooter | Left and right move the gun. | Any button fires. |
| SERPENTINE, snake | Steers the snake. | START begins a credit. |
| CITYSHIELD, point defense | Moves the crosshair. | Any button fires at it. |
| ROADHOP, lane crossing | Hops one lane per press. | START begins a credit. |
| MANYLEGS, vertical shooter | Moves the shooter, all four ways. | Any button fires. |
| Everywhere | SELECT pauses. BACK TO ARCADE is in the panel on screen. |
The paddle games follow whichever you moved last. Push the stick and the paddle is yours; move the mouse and it goes back to the mouse. If you want the stick only, set CONTROL to KEYS in the cabinet panel.
Sticks and pads that work
Anything with the standard layout works, including whatever came with a console you already own. If you are buying one for this, these are the ones worth the money: three sticks in three price bands, and two pads. The links go to store searches, so you see today's listings and prices.
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8BitDo Arcade Stick
Mid-price
The one to get if you want no fuss. USB, 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth, a proper lever and eight buttons, and a mode switch: leave it on X. Works with a Mac, Windows and the Switch.
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Mayflash F300
Budget
Wired, plain, and it just works. The lever and buttons are the entry-grade parts, but they are the standard size, so it takes Sanwa parts later if you catch the bug.
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Hori Fighting Stick Alpha
Premium
Tournament weight and feel, Hori's own lever and buttons, a lid that opens for swapping parts. More stick than these games need; exactly what an arcade feels like.
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8BitDo Pro 2
Pad
If you would rather hold a pad. A good d-pad, which is what these games want, Bluetooth and USB, and the same X mode switch.
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Xbox Wireless Controller
Pad
The safe pick for a phone or iPad: iOS and iPadOS pair it in Bluetooth settings and Safari sees it straight away.
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Browser notes
Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari all support controllers, on desktops, laptops, phones and tablets. A controller shows up only after a button is pressed on it, and only while the page is in front. If the stick stops answering after you switch tabs, tap a button again.
On a phone the on-screen pad stays available, so a controller is a bonus there, not a requirement. On a laptop, the keyboard works as it always has: W A S D or the arrows, Z to fire, ENTER to start, SPACE to pause.