Here is some help for you when researching a purchase for an arcade basketball game for your home use. First, we will look at manufacturers of these types of games. Lifetime Products, Spalding, and Escalade Sports are the largest manufacturers of these types of systems – there are many other smaller makers as well. Of these 3 main players in this market, Spalding and Escalade Sports offer a more than 1 system. Each of these manufacturers offer very similar products in quality and play. However, certain minor differences between their product offerings may sway you one way or the other. We will look at each unique portion of their systems next.

Lifetime Products Indoor Basketball Game

Lifetime Products makes only 1 system, model 90056. This system is a double shot game – meaning 1 or two players can play at the same time. This system has a couple of unique parts to it. First, the 90056 Double Shot uses infrared sensors to track scores. Traditional designs use plastic clickers to track scores. No one system is 100 percent accurate; but, infrared sensors tend to be more accurate tracking scores than plastic clickers. Plastic clickers will regularly get stuck in the down position when the ball goes through the net causing the unit to double or even triple count a score. Infrared sensors do not have that problem, essentially eliminating double and triple counting scores. Next difference for the 90056 is the frame of the unit. The poles used in the game frame are thicker diameter and heavier than other comparable poles from other manufacturers. The larger poles make the game more stable and more durable. Next difference, the frame at the base where the players shoot the balls is wider than other double shot game, sometimes by as much as a foot. This added space provides players more space to shoot and less bumping into one other. Lastly, the 90056 is one of the only Double Shot games to come with 7 basketballs. Other Double Shot games come with 5 or 6. This lower quantity of balls regularly interferes with game play when two players are playing as players fight one another to get the basketballs as they roll down the net. 7 basketballs tends to provide smoother game play, and less fighting between players.

Spalding Pop a Shot Arcade Basketball Game

Spalding currently offers two indoor basketball games, a single shot and a double shot. This immediately differentiates them from Lifetime Products as sometimes you should do not want, or do not have enough space, for a double pop a shot shot game. The single shot game provides the same game play as the double shot game, only with a smaller frame and one basketball hoop to shoot at. Their basketball games use traditional plastic clickers. Their Double Shot game tends to be less exensive than Lifetime Products.

Escalade Sports Arcade Basketball Hoops

Escalade Sports has one of the most diverse product offerings for arcade basketball games. They have single shot and double shot games. Of their double shot games they have several product qualities to choose from. Their lowest end systems would be comparable to Spalding’s Double Shot Game. Their mid-range system would be most like Lifetime’s 90056. They also have a high-end goal with a bulky, sturdy frame in what is called their RhinoPlay series. Their mid-range arcade basketball hoops and high-end goals will typically use infrared sensors to track scoring. Their low-end systems will typically use the plastic clickers to track scores.

Choosing the best system for you

These options for your indoor basketball game provide enough variety that most anyone can find a great system for their needs. Budget conscious purchases will probably want to take a look at Spalding and Escalade games. Quality conscious will want to look at Lifetime and Escalade Rhino Play offerings. Feel free to contact us with any questions not addressed in this post so that we can better assist you in your purchase.

After about 6 months of ownership, I figured I should give an update of this system and how it has worked out for my family. First off, my new high score on this system 170. From speaking with a couple of people who work at Lifetime Products, they know of one of their employees that claims to have scored higher than 200. I am skeptical of that; though, I must say that the time I scored 170 I still had room for improvement. Back to the topic at hand, I wanted to share some observations of this system. I figured I would talk about the basketballs, the frame of the Double Shot, and the playability.

Double Shot Basketballs Inflate Time

To be honest, I am not sure how far I should inflate the basketballs used with the Double Shot. When we were first inflating them, one of the guys that was helping me to set up the arcade game said that he thought they were not supposed to be inflated all the way. I cannot vouch for that, though I think I can understand why he might think that. For instance, the more inflated the balls are, the harder the impact they are going to have with the backboard of the Double Shot. So, if you want to wear out your backboard quicker, I would expect that over inflating the basketballs will help you do just that. Therefore, the first time we inflated the balls, we left them somewhat under inflated. I must say that this caused us some grief getting use to the feel of the ball, but that uncomfortableness did not last long. The other observation with the balls is they appeared to maintain close the that original inflated status for about 2 months. While they are still usable now, after 6 months, I would not suggest waiting as long as we have to reinflate the basketballs; they are quite mushy now. While the basketballs need a little work, the frame of the Double Shot Basketball Game appears to be in great shape.

Double Shot Arcade Basketball Game Steel Frame

The frame on this system is very rugged. To date, the frame is in great shape, with no signs of wear and tear. The only thing we noticed was that one of the bolts on the support legs came loose after about 3 months of use. We simply tighthened it up again and have not had an issue since. I trust this frame should give us plenty of use for this arcade game. Which brings me to my last point, playability.

Lifetime Products Basketball Arcade Game Playability

In the 6 months of owenership thus far, we have had many different players use this system. While most of them have been an adult age, we have had plenty of people of different shapes and sizes. The point of me telling you this is that everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves each time they played. Unlike previous versions of the Double Shot arcade game, the 90056 has plenty of room for everyone to play. While taller players will have an advantage over shorter players, we have had adults ranging in size from 5 ft. to 6 1/2 ft. tall play and do well on this game.

What are the main differences between these 2 systems?
As mentioned above, the game play is pretty much the same. Where you really see the differences between these two systems is in the construction of the units.

Arcade Basketball Rim Comparison:
In these games, a score is made when the ball goes through the hoop; the difference comes in how the score is tracked. On the Spalding Pop-A-Shot game, the score is tracked by a plastic unit that moves down when the ball lands on it, making a “clicking noise”. This type of tracking mechanism would be considered a traditional design. Where problems come with this type of mechanism is the likelihood of breakage of the plastic clicker due to repeated use. Lifetime Products tried to improve on this design by removing the clicker all together and using a sensor to detect the motion of the ball through the hoop. This design to not only remove the worries of breaking the plastic tracking piece, but also track scores more accurately. As the Spalding Pop-A-Shot grows older the system tends to have more shakiness; thus, when a ball hits the rim without going in, the movement of the system will sometimes track a score inadvertently. The sensor on the Lifetime unit effectively eliminates this problem.

Construction Comparison:
Both of these systems can be pretty hard to fit into most homes. This problem is typically caused by lower ceilings. At standard height, the tops of these units reach as tall as 90″. If your ceiling is the typical 8 ft. (96″), that does not leave you with a lot of room to shoot the ball. Lifetime Products tried to improve on this design by creating a height adjustment mechanism that can lower the overall height of the system down to 82″. This ads a lot more space to shoot the ball.

Why purchase one over the other?
Both of the units are excellent units, despite the differences mentioned above. Both units are warrantied through the first 90 days of use. Lifetime Products Double Shot games are typically priced $80 to $100 more than the Spalding Pop-A-Shot games. If the differences are worth the extra price, then you are certainly going to be happy with the Double Shot game. If the differences above are not worth the extra cash, then the Pop-A-Shot is the way to go. Another added benefit of the Spalding Pop-A-Shot is that they also come in a Single-Shot arcade game. This unit is no only priced cheaper than both the Double Shot and the Pop-A-Shot games, but also decreases the overall width of the system considerably since the unit only has one basket instead of two.

Have fun shopping!