Summer is winding down and the new school season is just around the corner, it was time. Time to hit the road and squeeze in one last weekend of arcade fun before fall arrived and I ran out of free time. I would be traveling with my friend Jeff Rothe of rotheblog and this years annual arcade pilgrimage would find us winding our way through Ohio to meet a few noted collectors and scope out their game rooms. I was really looking forward to the trip as it was a chance to wind down and talk shop! A weekend full of arcade nirvana.

While a few arcades still exist in the wild, they are typically filled with redemption machines and kiddie rides. You might get lucky and find a random pinball machine or arcade game, but who knows if it will be working properly. Today’s arcades are nothing like what I remember from back in the day.* These days, the very best classic 80′s arcade collections are in the hands of private enthusiasts. This trip would prove just how true that really was. (more…)

It’s true when you hear someone say, “You snooze you lose”. I was reminded of that when I returned to a local operators warehouse to check on some inventory I was interested in. Last time I was there I had found an Atari “Touch Me” game. An older, medium sized Atari, similar to the portable electronic game, Simon. An odd find for sure. I tipped off a local collector and he picked up the game for a reasonable price. While talking with the shop technician, we asked if he had any other games. He promptly led us through the back to check out the warehouse. What we found was a small treasure trove of old electro-mechanical games. Unfortunately I only took a couple of pictures.

This one is a pretty cool looking Sega Combat EM game. According to Marvin’s site, you control a tank and blast away at targets with only 12 shots. I really wanted to grab this one as it was in great shape, just didn’t have the extra money or space at the time. My friend was interested in these…

A pair of 1974 Midway Chopper’s according to Marvin’s site. Amazing to find one, but two was unbelievable. Even stacked on top of each other, they still looked to be in great shape. A fun variation of the typical helicopter themed EM game such as Whirly Bird.

While trying to climb over stuff to see what was there I saw a few Davy Crockett’s, a Midway Dog Fight, Fun Land (or Play Land?) and a couple western themed EM shooter’s. There was also a Pitch and Bat or two and a handful of older pins. Unfortunately for us we waited too long to follow up. A collector off the RGP forums (Mark the fireman in Hoffman Estates ~ I don’t like you!) swooped in and picked up 8 or 9 of the best games in the warehouse. Lesson learned for me. If you find something good you’d better make the deal and haul it away, don’t wait or hesitate, you’ll be sorry later. Oh well, I won’t make the same mistake again. Mark, if you’re reading this, I’d like an invite to play Combat once you get it working

If you’re an arcade collector or just a fan of the classic game, you already know about the much anticipated Tron Legacy, sequel to the Disney film Tron. The hype has been building for some time, but as opening day gets closer the viral marketing campaign continues to grow. Take a look at this…

This was the reward for completing the Arcade Aid challenge and guessing all 56 video games hidden throughout the city. I managed to get about 47 without help, not too bad. The ENCOM employee badge arrived in about a week and has an employee ID number, scan code and cool holographic sticker. For a give away item, this thing is fantastic. Yes, I’m a Tron fan and will wear this proudly. (more…)

Thanks to Jason V (meatloaf) for loaning me his Q*bert upright to use during our last Halloween party, it was a big hit. Not only did he drop it off, but he even let me keep it for a little while longer, just to enjoy. Since my Q*bert cabinet is currently in lots of pieces waiting for a restoration effort, it was nice to actually play this unique game.

My kids love the game and it looks great next to Mad Planets, so I’m going to have to get a jump on my project this Spring. (more…)

Fellow collector “Steve23″ has been cleaning out his warehouse full of arcade stuff and trimming down his collection. He generously offered to send another batch of arcade paper work and some miscellaneous parts. (Missed the first donation? Check it out here.) Luckily for me he has a customer in the area and was able to piggy back a couple pallets worth of stuff along with a part shipment. I just had to head out to the facility to pick it up. I grabbed an enclosed trailer from Uhaul, which has to be the roughest riding trailer I’ve ever pulled, and headed out. I couldn’t take any pictures at the business, but here is a shot of all the stuff unloaded in my garage.

I haven’t had a chance to go through every thing, but skimming through the piles there were a couple interesting items. (more…)

I recently made the road trip from Chicago to McLean IL, to meet up with my good friend Jeff at the Arcade Museum. What is the Arcade Museum? Just a little piece of arcade nirvana located right off I55 on your way south to St. Louis. If you don’t find what you’re looking for at the next St. Louis Super Auction, you can at least pop on over to the Arcade Museum and get your fill of classic gaming at its best.

John Yates, the avid collector responsible for the museum, has created a cozy little place to play a bunch of true classics. When we arrived there were a handful of customers playing games and a few volunteers working hard moving new games into place and keeping the ones on the floor working 100%. (more…)

Anyone familiar with my little game room will also be familiar with the constant battle I’ve had with water. Water from the window wells, water from the drive way, water from ice, water ruining carpet, etc. Well this time I have something new, a leak in the ceiling, yeah! (more…)

Victim: Exidy Clay Pigeon upright no. 17970

This rare piece of arcade history came my way thanks to Jon Jamashid, or evil exidy on the forums. He was moving cross country and had to unload some games. I ended up with Clay Pigeon and Hit N Miss. I shipped them all the way from Florida to the Midwest because Exidy cabs are somewhat scarce in these parts. I’m a huge fan of the Exidy 440 series of games and was looking forward to installing my multi-Exidy kit into a cabinet. (more…)

Victim: Midway’s Galaxian upright video game

At approximately 26 years of age, this poor Galaxian met a brutal end in a cold warehouse, on Chicago’s southwest side. Born in 1979 to NAMCO, but adopted for the United States by Midway, Galaxian soon proved his earning power on the streets. With its two way joystick and single fire button, this game tore up the space shooter genre and earned its operator big bucks. Unfortunately, as new games were added and interest faded, Galaxian earned less and less until it was finally stored away. There it sat until 2005 when the operator performed the final conversion, turning Galaxian into dumpster lining, via sledge hammer.

This sad collector was several months late to the scene, or the game would have been saved. All that was left from the horrid destruction of such a classic video game was the name tag. To view the scene of the crime, check out my warehouse raid post. Save those classics!

I went to the arcade auction held by the Michael Angelo Auction Co, in Franklin Park IL, on November 14, 2009. I had never been to an event by this company and the online photos weren’t that promising for a classic arcade game collector. Since Franklin Park is a whole lot closer to me than the Milwaukee Super Auction, I thought I’d give it a shot. (more…)