FEC Opening Checklist: What Equipment to Buy for a New Family Entertainment Centre
Opening a family entertainment centre is a capital-heavy decision, and the machines you buy in month one determine whether the venue works financially. Most first-time operators make the same two mistakes: they spread their budget across too many machine types, and they buy the wrong mix of revenue machines versus traffic machines.
This guide walks through the actual equipment mix we see working in commercial venues, the floor space each machine type needs, and the order in which to spend your opening budget.
Start with the revenue model, not the machine list
Before choosing any model, decide how the venue makes money. There are only three mechanisms in this industry, and the mix determines your machine selection.
- Coin-operated play - the player pays per game. Highest per-head revenue, but revenue depends on the player winning or feeling skilful. Works best with simulators, sports games and skill redemption games.
- Prize redemption - the player buys tickets or tokens, wins prizes, redeems them. Revenue is driven by prize value, which you control. This is the model most FECs rely on because operators can tune the margin by adjusting prize cost and redemption rates.
- Prize machines - key or push machines that dispense a prize directly for a coin. Simple to operate, popular with families, and consistent income because a child will play them regardless of skill.
Most successful venues run all three in parallel. The trick is that each model needs a different floor position.
Recommended starting mix for a 400-500 square metre venue
For a typical mid-size FEC in a shopping mall, this is the mix that tends to work for a first opening. Scale proportionally for larger or smaller footprints.
| Machine type | Quantity | Floor space each | Why it earns |
|---|---|---|---|
| Racing / moto simulators | 4-6 | 6-8 m² | Top per-head revenue; families queue for these |
| Sports & skill games | 3-4 | 4-5 m² | Two-player play increases dwell time and food spend |
| Redemption games | 6-8 | 4-6 m² | Core ticket-economy engine, prize cost is tunable |
| Claw cranes | 4-6 | 3-4 m² | Steadies cash flow; families play them while waiting |
| Prize / key machines | 3-5 | 2-3 m² | Very high hit rate with children, no skill needed |
| Kiddie rides | 6-10 | 3-5 m² | Keeps young families on site longer |
| Change machine + token counter | 2-3 | 1-2 m² | Operational necessity, not a profit centre |
A note on the last row: operators frequently forget that change machines and token counters consume prime floor space near the entrance but are essential. A venue where players cannot get change will lose sales faster than a venue with a suboptimal machine mix.
How much floor space to actually reserve
A common budgeting error is counting only the machine footprint. You need three additional allowances.
- Clearance in front - 1.5 to 2 metres in front of every machine for the player to stand and queue. Interlocking queues between simulators are normal and profitable; blocking them is not.
- Service corridor - 0.8 to 1 metre behind or beside each bank of machines for technicians to reach coin boxes, power boards and motors. Machines that cannot be serviced will fail during peak hours.
- Wall and corner waste - rectangular rooms never tile perfectly. Reserve 12 to 15 percent of total floor area for unavoidable gaps.
So a 6 m² simulator realistically consumes 10 to 12 m² of usable floor. Plan on this basis or your opening will feel crowded within a month.
The order to spend your opening budget
If your budget cannot cover the full mix, spend in this sequence. It reflects how quickly each category starts contributing.
- Simulators first - they have the highest revenue per square metre and the strongest "wow" factor that drives first-time visits and repeat visits. Without one good motion race, a venue feels ordinary.
- Prize and key machines second - lowest capital cost per unit, highest hit rate with children, and they start earning immediately with no tuning required. They are also the easiest machines to relocate if space becomes tight.
- Redemption games third - the backbone of the ticket economy, but they need the surrounding infrastructure (crane games, prize counter, ticket printer) to make sense. Deploy them once the flow is established.
- Claw cranes fourth - attractive and reliable, but they need a steady stream of children. In a venue without kiddie rides, cranes underperform.
- Kiddie rides last - they extend dwell time, which matters most for venues with food and drink revenue. If your venue has no food service, the payback on kiddie rides is much longer.
- Certification for your destination market - CE marking is mandatory for the European Economic Area. For the UK, the UKCA or CE route applies. Other markets have their own requirements, and a supplier who cannot tell you which certificate your shipment needs is guessing.
- Spare parts availability - ask specifically which parts are stocked, how fast they ship, and the unit cost for the most common failure items: motors, coin acceptors, touchscreens, power supplies and harnesses. A machine that cannot be repaired in your market is a write-off.
- Electrical specification and plug type - confirm voltage, frequency and whether the machines arrive with the correct plug fitted for your country, or whether you will need to source and fit adapters locally.
- Shipping method and dimensions - container loading calculations (how many units fit into a 20ft or 40ft high-cube container) directly determine your landed cost per unit. Ask for loaded container dimensions, not just machine dimensions.
- Payment terms and lead time - for first orders, a deposit plus balance against shipping documents is standard. If a supplier offers unusual terms on a first order, that is worth investigating rather than celebrating.
What to check before issuing a purchase order
These are the questions that separate a supplier who will support your venue for years from one who will disappear after the first shipment.
Mistakes that blow up opening budgets
Buying too many varieties. A venue with 40 different machine types looks impressive in a photograph but performs badly. Players cannot build familiarity with a game, and your staff cannot service 40 different configurations. Depth beats variety at this scale.
Underestimating power supply. Simulators and kiddie rides have significant startup draw. Have your electrician confirm the venue's total connected load and add headroom before the machines arrive, not after.
Ignoring the entrance sightline. The first thing a visitor sees from the entrance determines whether they walk in. Put your strongest visual machine - usually a full-size simulator or a lit-up crane - where it is visible from the door.
Skipping the prize counter design. If prizes are visible but unreachable, the redemption economy stalls. A clearly lit, staffed prize counter with an easy-to-read price board converts more wins into sales than any additional machine.
Talking to a supplier
The most productive way to start is a short specification of your venue: floor area, target audience, budget band, destination port and country. From that, a good supplier will propose a machine mix and tell you honestly if the budget is realistic.
We have been manufacturing arcade and amusement equipment for over 21 years and export to more than 150 countries. Whether you are opening a 200 square metre corner unit in a mall or a 2,000 square metre standalone FEC, tell us the venue details and our export team will match models to the space and confirm pricing, MOQ and delivery timing in the quotation. Standard production lead time is 5-25 days for all models.
Start a conversation about your venue or browse the full product range.
Tell us your venue type, floor area, target market and quantity, and our export team will propose a machine mix with confirmed pricing, MOQ and delivery timing.