PELHAM — It was more than three decades ago when the owner of an arcade company told Sarah St. John that if she could fix a broken-down pinball machine — Xenon — within an hour, she had a job.

An electrical engineer by trade with a degree from Northeastern University, the repair task was as easy as level one in Pac-Man for the Pelham resident.

“I had it up and running in 10 minutes,” St. John said.

From there, the passion for pinball grew and, shortly after, so did a collection of pinball machines and arcade games that she started.

Today she owns more than 750 such machines and a few hundred of them — 357, to be exact — have been inside the Pinball Wizard Arcade in Pelham, which she has owned and operated for six and a half years. Named after the nickname St. John earned years ago, the gamer’s paradise is among the largest arcades in the world.

However, at 8 p.m. Sunday, the final pinball plunger was pulled and the final high score was approached, as the arcade closed its doors for good.

“I’ve had a great run for six and a half years and it’s a lot of work,” St. John said from inside the packed arcade on its final night. “It’s very expensive to run an arcade between employee costs, electricity, maintenance and of course the rental.”

St. John added that she operates another company, called My Arcade Repair, also based in Pelham, that keeps her busy repairing various arcade games. The business allows her to hone her joy in troubleshooting electronics.

“I service over 800 customers in the New England area,” St. John said. “I go to their homes, I go to businesses. Some are man caves, some have one pinball or one video game, others have 40 or 50 machines.”

The sentiment of those who took the time to reflect on the Pinball Wizard Arcade’s history on Sunday — as the hours left to play dwindled — all agreed that the closure is a tremendous loss to the area’s gaming community.

“I was hoping I would be able to have a little more time to say my good-byes,” Chris Shabsin said.

Shabsin and Dana Scott pointed out that they trek to Pelham from their home in Boston every few months to indulge in the arcade gaming entertainment. Shabsin celebrated his 40th birthday party at the arcade.

“I don’t know anyplace like it that has such a wide variety of games that are so well maintained,” he said. “There’s some real classics in here that you don’t see anywhere else. Sarah really cares about her collection.”

“And there are so many that it makes it worth the drive,” Scott added.

The pair pointed out that there’s another massive arcade in Laconia, New Hampshire, called Funspot Family Fun Center. According to the website aurcade.com, a website for arcade enthusiasts, Funspot is the largest arcade in the world as recognized by Guinness World Record in 2008.

“Funspot is flashier and farther away,” Scott said.

“And actually not as good,” Shabsin added.

Brett Marden drove an hour from his home in Stratham, New Hampshire, to have one last shot of playing the 1982 arcade game Burgertime at the Pinball Wizard Arcade on Sunday.

“It’s a bummer,” he said about the closure. “I don’t think that anything is going to be able to replace this.”

St. John expected to shed a tear when the doors closed for good.

“I’ve had a lot of customers hug me, I’ve had a lot of cards, I’ve had flowers and a lot of thank-yous,” she said.

As for the extensive collection, St. John pointed out that there are others who are planning to open multiple arcades in and around the area in the near future.

“They’ve purchased quite a few machines, so I’ve given them a great deal on the machines to keep the legacy going,” she said.

St. John has her own personal collection of more than 100 machines that she plans to hold onto. What remains is still for sale by calling 603-635-1677.

Follow Aaron Curtis on Twitter @aselahcurtis