# Babycastles

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**Babycastles** is an [indie game](/source/Indie_game) development collective, arcade, and art space in [New York City](/source/New_York_City).

## Programming

The Babycastles arcade was designed to give independent game developers a public place to show their projects, and to establish such games as a social culture for New York City.[1] The arcade was originally co-located with the music venue [Silent Barn](/source/Silent_Barn) in Queens. On most nights each week, the Babycastles basement arcade of indie and amateur video games opened during music shows upstairs. The space was open for those who paid for entrance to the upstairs show. The arcade's several games and their curators rotated on a monthly basis and were set in scavenged, [do-it-yourself](/source/Do-it-yourself) arcade cabinets. *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)* likened it to "a 1970s [rec room](/source/Rec_room) reimagined by hackers".[2] In its last Manhattan space, it remained closer in configuration to a DIY punk space than an art gallery.[3]

The venue has hosted a recurring video game tournament called Hot Ronny's Rumble.[3] Other events and exhibitions include the 2014 book release for [Julian Assange](/source/Julian_Assange)'s *When Google Met WikiLeaks*[4] and the 2016 "Yo Fight My Mans", curated by [Ashok Kondabolu](/source/Ashok_Kondabolu) and including five weeks of art installations, live DJs, panel discussions, and a custom [fighting video game](/source/Fighting_video_game).[5]

## History

Kunal Gupta and Syed Salahuddin started the Babycastles collective in 2009[6] in the basement of Silent Barn, a Ridgewood, Queens, cooperative performance space where Gupta lived. Following a robbery in mid-2011 and closure by zoning violations, a search began for a new space, which they opened in May 2013 in [Bushwick, Brooklyn](/source/Bushwick,_Brooklyn).[7] Babycastles opened in [Chelsea, Manhattan](/source/Chelsea,_Manhattan), on [14th Street](/source/14th_Street_(Manhattan)) in 2014.[8] The owner of its building specifically sought to rent it to artists. Babycastles chose the location based on its equal proximity to New York's five boroughs.[3]

## References

1. Heater, Brian (2011-06-03). ["Babycastles brings its indie arcade action to The Engadget Show (video)"](https://www.engadget.com/2011-06-03-babycastles-brings-its-indie-arcade-action-to-the-engadget-show.html). *[Engadget](/source/Engadget)*. Retrieved 2020-07-13.

1. Ryan, Hugh (2011-02-10). ["An Arcade to Make Gamers Cry"](https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/nyregion/13joint.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*

1. Biery, Thomas (2016-10-21). ["New York City's strangest video game tournament"](https://www.polygon.com/2016/10/21/13337764/super-hot-ronnys-rumble). *[Polygon](/source/Polygon_(website))*. Retrieved 2020-07-12.

1. Camp, James (2014-09-25). ["Julian Assange: 'When you post to Facebook, you're being a rat'"](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/25/julian-assange-eric-schmidt-google-wikileaks). *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*

1. Chiaverina, John (2016-02-12). ["Gentrifying Fishtanks, Indian Television, and 'Dead' Rappers: Ashok 'Dapwell' Kondabolu Presents 'Yo Fight My Mans' At Babycastles"](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/gentrifying-fishtanks-indian-television-and-dead-rappers-ashok-dapwell-kondabolu-presents-yo-fight-my-mans-at-babycastles-5833/). *[ARTnews.com](/source/ARTnews.com)*. Retrieved 2020-07-12.

1. Pasternack, Alex (2011-05-19). ["Invading Babycastles: New York's Underground Gaming Hub"](https://www.vice.com/en/article/invading-babycastles-new-yorks-underground-gaming-hub/). *[Vice](/source/Vice_(magazine))*. Retrieved 2020-07-12.

1. Feuer, Alan (2013-05-25). ["Joyful Noise in Silent Barn, an Alt-Arts Mecca"](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/nyregion/joyful-noise-in-silent-barn-an-alt-arts-mecca-in-brooklyn.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*

1. Fishbein, Rebecca (2014-10-30). ["The 11 Best Small Music Venues In NYC"](https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/the-11-best-small-music-venues-in-nyc). *[Gothamist](/source/Gothamist)*. Retrieved 2020-07-12.

## Further reading

- Albrecht, Matt (2014-02-27). ["Babycastles and the hunt for new arcade spaces"](https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/indiecade-east-2014s-hidden-theme-babycastles-and-new-arcade-movement/). *[Kill Screen](/source/Kill_Screen)*. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
- Alexander, Leigh (2010-08-15). ["In a Queens neighborhood, the birth of indie video games"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-aug-15-la-ca-babycastles-20100815-story.html). *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
- Priestman, Chris (2015-10-21). ["Babycastles Living celebrates furniture with videogames and wacky exhibits"](https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/babycastles-living-celebrates-furniture-videogames-wacky-exhibits/). *[Kill Screen](/source/Kill_Screen)*. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
- Rose, Janus (2011-02-07). ["Sweat, Chiptunes & Robot Bears: Anamanaguchi & Friends At Silent Barn (Photos)"](https://www.vice.com/en/article/anamanaguchi-friends-bring-babycastles-back-to-silent-barn/). *Vice*. Retrieved 2020-07-13.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Babycastles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babycastles) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babycastles?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.