LINGLE – There’s a new place to play in Goshen County.

Newcomb’s Arcade in Lingle officially opened to the public Wednesday, complete with foosball, air hockey, pool, ping pong and shuffleboard tables, as well as mini basketball, an electronic dart board, and thousands of modern and classic arcade games.
Jeremy and Paula Newcomb were inspired to open the arcade after closing on the building at 321 Main Street for Newcomb’s Heating and Cooling at the end of September.
“Jeremy has done HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) for 18 years,” Paula said. “When his business started to take off, we purchased the building (in part) to store his equipment.”
The former grocery store, bakeshop, clothing store and more had plenty of extra space outside of Jeremy’s storage room.
“We started talking, and with this big, open area – there’s really not a lot for kids to do around here, or even adults, so I said, ‘What about an arcade?’ and Jeremy thought that was a great idea,” Paula recalled.
After two months of gathering nearly all-new recreational equipment, the couple made the announcement Tuesday they would open to the public during the school’s Christmas break.
In addition to a “multicade” arcade machine with 2,000 two-player games, the Newcombs had a classic arcade table built out of a whiskey barrel, which features 68 different Atari hits including Pac-Man and Donkey Kong.
“When I was growing up, there was this pizzeria place in Nebraska that had one of these (tables) … I’ve also seen them in old bowling alleys, where you stand up and look down on it to play,” Paula said.
Newcomb’s Arcade also offers a vending machine for snacks, refrigerator, bathroom, stereo with iPod plug-in, and tables for parties and get-togethers in a non-smoking
environment.
“All the games play for free, so if you rent the place, you get unlimited gaming,” Paula said. “You can bring your own food, and any type of drinks.”
The arcade is $75 for four hours, or $10 per hour for individuals and $30 for a family of four.
Currently, Newcomb’s arcade is available to rent by appointment only, but the couple said they will do their best to accommodate requests to open.
“Just call or follow us on Facebook,” Paula said. “We don’t necessarily have set hours – we might just do some evenings, Saturday afternoons, Sundays – just kind of see what the public wants to do.”
In the future, the Newcombs plan to add a shooting game, another pool table, and potentially, a karaoke machine, to the premises, depending on public feedback.
“I plan to survey people as they walk through the door,” Paula said.
In all, the Newcombs said they simply wanted to offer residents another option for fun in Goshen County.
“I love Lingle and Main Street, and this town needs more things to do,” Paula said. “I feel that Lingle is really centrally located in Goshen County and having it here, whether you’re from Yoder, Fort Laramie, Torrington or even outside of Goshen County … this is a good, central spot so you don’t have to go far to have fun.”
To contact the arcade, or Newcomb’s Heating and Cooling, call (307) 241-0069.