Character select.

The heart of the arcade

Chunk

Chunk was the original star of the arcade. When the doors shut, he stayed. Cheerful, stubborn, and impossible to keep away from a joystick, he believes a place is only finished when everyone gives up on it.

He knows the patterns behind impossible scores, starts more prank wars than he can finish, and insists pizza tastes better after midnight. The crew is his family; the arcade is their home.

Connections: The Don sees territory where Chunk sees a home.

The silent one

Bobo

Bobo rarely speaks. A stare, a head tilt, or one quiet step forward usually does the job. He watches the room while everyone else is distracted by the flashing lights.

His loyalty is unmistakable, even when his methods are a mystery. Broken cabinets somehow work after he visits. Trouble tends to leave before he has to ask twice.

Connections: Socks makes all the noise. Bobo is the reason he sometimes stops.

The cool big dawg

Big Munny

Big Munny brings the strength and the easy grin. Once a stage favorite, he is now the crew’s peacekeeper: the one who can move a cabinet, settle an argument, and land a joke without losing his rhythm.

The dance machine is his territory. He takes timing seriously, takes himself a little less seriously, and has never found a convincing reason to turn down late-night pizza.

Connections: He can get along with almost anyone—even a rival, briefly. Keeping his own friends out of trouble is the harder job.

The warrior

Henja

Henja treats the arcade like sacred ground. Every match deserves focus, every opponent deserves a fair contest, and every joystick deserves a little respect.

Training might mean a fighting cabinet, a broken pinball machine, or defending the crew from another Syndicate scheme. The approach stays the same: observe, practice, and win honestly. Pranks are a different matter. Those can get personal.

Connections: Socks would rather break a machine than lose on it. Henja would rather beat him fairly.

The kitchen genius

Chef P

Chef P stayed behind to clean the kitchen and never really left. He believes in good pizza, working equipment, and explaining—at considerable volume—when somebody has ruined either.

Behind the temper is an inventor. Spare wires, oven parts, and an unreasonable amount of determination become the crew’s next animatronic project. His best slices can end an argument faster than his shouting can start one.

Connections: Turk sees a business opportunity in every invention. Chef P sees somebody touching his equipment.

The boss

Slim Kitty the Don

The Don never needs to shout. He prefers a quiet demand, a carefully placed associate, and the assumption that everything already belongs to him.

To him, the arcade is rare parts, valuable tokens, and prime territory. Chunk’s stubborn loyalty is an obstacle he cannot simply put a price on. Taking the top score would be more than a win—it would be a claim.

Connections: Pauly turns his ambitions into plans. Chunk gives him a reason to keep revising them.

The consigliere

Pauly 4 Paws

Pauly is the Don’s right-hand man: calm, observant, and usually three steps into a plan before anyone else notices there is one. He settles the Syndicate’s arguments and makes a bad idea sound surprisingly reasonable.

He prefers leverage to noise. Where Socks sees a cabinet to smash, Pauly sees a score to manipulate—and a much quieter way to get what the Don wants.

Connections: The Don trusts his judgment. Ole Saint Nip is the part no plan can account for.

The businessman

Turk

Turk has a proposal, a permit, and some very small print. He runs the Syndicate’s respectable-looking ventures, from suspicious pizza businesses to entertainment deals that sound better before you read them.

The abandoned arcade bothers him because it refuses to behave like a failed business. The crew keeps repairing it, playing in it, and having fun without asking his permission.

Connections: Chef P builds things out of enthusiasm. Turk would like to invoice somebody for them.

The muscle

Socks

Socks likes a simple solution: make enough noise, push hard enough, and insist the broken cabinet was already like that. He is the Syndicate’s muscle and the arcade’s least welcome maintenance visitor.

Socks would rather scare an opponent than put in the practice. Henja frustrates him because discipline beats his bluster. Bobo unnerves him because he never reacts to the threats. For someone with so much to say, Socks gets remarkably quiet when Bobo enters the room.

Connections: Bobo is his least favorite audience. Henja is his least favorite fair match.

The wildcard

Ole Saint Nip

Ole Saint Nip brings holiday energy to places and occasions that absolutely did not request it. Loud, unpredictable, and delighted by the wrong things, he can turn a carefully planned scheme into a completely different problem.

The Don keeps him around because chaos can be useful. Pauly would appreciate knowing when. Nip is usually too busy pressing the one button nobody else would touch.

Connections: Pauly writes the plan. Nip provides the unexpected ending.

The international socialite

Nina

Her name opens doors in cities the Syndicate has never visited. Impeccable manners. Expensive taste. A contact for almost any occasion—and an exit arranged before she arrives.

The Slim Kitties call her an associate. Nina prefers not to put a permanent label on a temporary arrangement. For the right price, she would betray anyone. Even them.

“I promised an introduction. You assumed an alliance.”

Connections: The Don thinks he has her loyalty. Pauly would like that in writing. Nina has another call to take.