I think you just described Chuck e. Cheese.
Given the four hours of entertainment plus the plush toy and car launcher my son got, I'd say we got our money's worth.
Also their food is good now.
Earning tickets is pretty priceless. Took my daughter to Great America and they had an arcade with ticket dispensing games. She loved it. She’s 3 and not very good but the staffer great sports. They’d put in a coin to show her how it was played and earned a huge strip of tickets (they were pros at all the games) and then give her the tickets.
The prices are still sky high but yeah, it's actually edible as an adult, tasty even. At least the one in Cupertino.
It'll probably take you $40 to get a $10 trinket, but you can get something back.
In a broader sense you're paying to play the games and when you're done you leave; in FTP the game is free, and they have to addict you, and will spam you with notifications to keep your attention.