| FunWerks (1111 West Loop North) | |
| |
| Years active | 199? - 2005 |
| Number of games | 80-100+ |
| Located | U. S. A. |
| Status | Closed |
Background
Malibu Grand Prix was a chain of entertainment facilities situated in the United States where a typical business would have a race track for go-carts and an arcade. Some facilities also had batting cages, water carts and/or miniature golf courses, depending on the location. The company peaked in popularity during the 1970s-1980s; as of late 2014, however, only, only two locations are still known to be open for business, as most have either converted to other businesses or shut down.
The Malibu Grand Prix at 1111 West Loop North in Houston, Texas, had water carts, batting cages, a miniature golf course and the usual race track and two arcades full of games, one of which was commonly known as the "Castle" (as it looked like a miniature one, which many of the Malibu centers nationwide had one), whereas the other game room was smaller and closer to the race track. Combined, the two game rooms had several dozen, if not 100 or more games that ran on tokens.
FunWerks was an entertainment company that ran facilities very similar to Malibu Grand Prix, with locations across the United States that housed arcades, race tracks, miniature golf courses, etc.
At some point the 1111 West Loop North location of the Malibu Grand Prix in Houston, Texas, was bought out by FunWerks (see Trivia section below). Its games and other attractions ran on tokens.
Castle known games, video
- Gauntlet Dark Legacy
- Starblade
- Others
(pinball)
- Various/unknown
Grand Prix known games, video
- Various/unknown
(pinball)
- Various/unknown
(others)
These games were also on the FunWerks grounds, although it is currently unknown if they were in the Castle or Grand Prix buildings.
- Dinoscore arcade game
- Tekken 3
Trivia
Due to photos being published of the abandoned Houston location of the Malibu Grand Prix at 1111 West Loop South at abnf.co, FunWerks banners (along with defunct web site address) can be seen in several of the photos, indicating at some point FunWerks bought out that Malibu location. FunWerks would file for bankruptcy in January, 2004[1], with this location in particular being closed the next year.
Links
Story of FunWerks filing for bankruptcy in January, 2004 can be seen at bizfournals.com