Arcade

"Come on in and show us those snappy snappies." - Peach Wilkins This article could use some more pictures. Would you kindly help BioShock Wiki by adding some? Pictures needed: Renders: "Colored & Irish Washroom" sign; "Mind your manners amongst your betters" sign; "Whites" sign; "Marvel! History comes alive! Motorized patriot" sign; "Games" sign; "Special Directive" folder; "Get the girl" dispatch.

The Entrance to the Arcade.

“Come on, folks, show your allegiance to flag and to the nation!”

― Barker

The Arcade is a section of Battleship Bay in Columbia, designed for indoctrinating young children with the Founders' ideology under a thinly veiled guise of entertainment, amusements, and stories. The primary attractions are the Edwardian Era penny arcade games: cabinets featuring mechanical puppet shows of the Dimwit & Duke series, which can be activated by a switch for viewing. The first Motorized Patriot is encountered here, though it is locked inside a glass booth for photographing and is non-hostile.

BioShock Infinite

The Police checkpoint at the entrance.

Main article: BioShock Infinite

Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth find themselves in Battleship Bay following their escape from Monument Island. The young woman relishes her newfound freedom, but her rescuer is more apprehensive about their environment. The two proceed in through the Arcade in their quest to journey to and board The First Lady.

Entrance

The drunk man outside the entrance.

“Make sure you have a piece of photographic identification ready for presentation.”

― Policeman

The entrance is where tickets can be purchased to enter the Arcade. Outside the entrance, on the Upper Boardwalk, the populace is shell-shocked to see the ruined Monument Tower. Inside, police agents are on high alert after the incident at Raffle Square. A large police checkpoint is there when Booker and Elizabeth arrive. The constables are frisking everyone who comes in and Booker is sure to be exposed. Here, Elizabeth's talent for lock picking is first revealed, as she and Booker evade the checkpoint. Pete, a local drunk, can be found with a Flask of Unknown Booze next to the locked door.

Colored & Irish Washrooms

The very dirty bathrooms with demotivational propaganda in the background.

“This ain't no place for you, sir. You best be on your way, or there's gonna be trouble for us both.”

― Bathroom Attendant

After unlocking the door and crossing through a ticketing office, the duo find themselves in a small storage room with broken machine parts and tools, and where an African-American man can be found scrubbing the floor. They pass through the storage room/workshop into a hallway containing a Dollar Bill machine, and a closet with a Gear piece and Voxophone inside. To the left is an adjacent hallway with ostracizing propaganda posted at its entrance. Down this hallway are the segregated bathrooms for use by non-white and Irish citizens of Columbia, who are unwelcome in the nicer, cleaner facilities reserved for "proper folk". Signs discouraging back talk toward said folk can also be found. If Booker had chosen to throw the ball at Jeremiah Fink at the Raffle earlier in the day, then the Interracial Couple can be found in this hallway. They gratefully offer Booker a Gear piece.

The Arcade

Elizabeth at the Arcade.

“Hey! Flawless Flintlock! It's the newest one in the series. I read it was delayed THREE TIMES.”

― Elizabeth

In the Arcade proper, dozens of Dimwit & Duke arcade cabinets can be found around the room offering Founder propaganda to the youth of Columbia. In the back of the room, a George Washington Motorized Patriot is set up behind a glass display allowing photo opportunities for children. A Cotton Candy vendor can be found near the souvenir desk. While the children frolic, their parents discuss less lighthearted subjects. Several adults can be heard conversing about the activities of the Vox Populi, others gossip, and a woman flirts with Booker if he approaches her. Provided that Booker chose to throw the ball at the Interracial Couple, Mr. Flambeau can be found here with a Gear piece, "compliments of Mr. Fink."

White Bathrooms

The Whites-Only bathrooms.

“Why is one bathroom for colors and the other for whites? Seems like an unnecessary complication.”

― Elizabeth

The cleanliness of the White-only bathrooms compared to that of the Colored is immediately apparent. The bathrooms themselves are very well-kept and the men's restroom contains the game's most well-known appearance of Absinthe. A Salts phial and two purses can be found in the women's restroom. Outside the bathrooms, a Kinetoscope can be found to add to the "Sightseer" Achievement/Trophy. To the right of this, a bigoted woman is heard scolding her son for fraternizing with Irish girls.

Gondola Station

The Founder squad outside the ticket booth.

Upon going up the stairs across from the Motorized Patriot display, Booker and Elizabeth will encounter Esther Mailer outside the exit to Soldier's Field. She will initiate a brief, awkward conversation with Elizabeth, asking if she is "Annabelle" and acting as if they know each other. Taking the bait, Elizabeth corrects her and reveals her name. Esther comments "Isn't that a lovely name", before walking through the turnstile.

Past Esther and on down the hallway is the very large and ornate ticket room. On the inside of the room, there are several Citizens who watch you enter. One of them is playing the violin and will cease once you get close enough. Upon your heading to the ticketing booth, an attendant is talking on the phone to someone and suggests they "Send in the Bird." Booker has the option to draw his weapon on the attendant or demand tickets, with both leading to similar outcomes. The attendant will then slam the cover shut on his booth, and Esther will lead several men ambushing the duo.

Booker dispatches the undercover force with quick brutal action, sending Elizabeth running away in shock. Before he can pursue her, the place will lock up, and a squadron of combat police agents will show up and attack. After defeating the reinforcements, Booker can search the office to the right of the adjoining hallway, pick up the Infusion in the ticket booth, and go after Elizabeth. Once reunited, Elizabeth and the player ascend in a gondola and enter Soldier's Field after having a tense conversation.

New Discoveries

Voxophones

1. Daisy Fitzroy - Heaven - In the laundry basket of the storage room inside the Arcade's employee entrance.
2. Esther Mailer - Take Her Alive - On a desk in the Columbia Authority office, near the ticket booths in the Gondola Station.
3. Zachary Hale Comstock - A Dog's Loyalty - In the men's "whites only" bathroom.
4. Zachary Hale Comstock - The Golden Path to Heaven - In the basement storage area adjacent to the ticket master's office in the Gondola Station.

Gallery

Models

A sign informing visitors about a search at the entrance.

The wanted poster for The False Shephard, held by police at the entrance.

The directions to the bathrooms.

"Do not speak to to the patrons unless spoken to first!"

"Always address patrons as 'Sir' and 'Madame."

"Keep this area clean; it is your job."

"Have your portrait taken with George Washington."

The "Take her Alive!" Elizabeth photo, seen on Esther Mailer's desk.

In-Game Images

A worker scrubbing the floors.

"Mind your manners amongst your betters."

The couple at the Battleship Bay arcade.

"Compliments of Mr. Fink."

Elizabeth tries out some cotton candy.

A photo opportunity with George Washington.

The Flawless Flintlock cabinet.

The Skulking Stranger Cabinet.

The Patriot's Proud Pose cabinet.

Their looks tell you that something's not right here.

The ticket booth.

The attendant behind the booth.

The ticket booth attendant raises his hands after being threatened by Booker.

Failure to draw a weapon will make the attendant get the drop on Booker.

Fighting in Battleship Bay's ticketing station.

The gondola to Soldier's Field.

A view of the stab wound.

Booker's wound is bandaged.

Seagulls hunted for sport.

A view from Battleship Falls.

Behind the Scenes

The unused sign.

• The game files features an additional Arcade sign which was not used. The sign feature "The Arcade" banner that is seen in-game, but with an additional green backdrop, advertising the Arcade's amenities.
• The music that plays in the Whites-Only bathrooms is Chopin's Nocturne No. 2, which is also the same music that plays at Finkton Docks.
• Esther Mailer hums a song while walking up the stairs while the man with the violin accompanies her. The song's name is unknown.
• Whilst following Esther through the turnstile to the waiting room, Booker will see some anachronistic (and watchful) citizens who contribute to the general sense of unease. The shoeshiner and his customer make awkward small talk about the weather, whilst a man in an badly-fitting suit sports an unusually tall top hat; an ill-tempered white man sweeps the same patch of floor nearby. The sauerkraut vendor takes a few seconds to remember the price of his product as a busker breaks the uneasy silence by torturing his violin.
• If the player doesn't draw a weapon on the attendant, he will pull a knife and ram it through the back of Booker's right hand. Later on in the Gondola, Elizabeth will bandage the wound and Booker will sport the bandage for the rest of the game.