The manuals have a wealth of detailed, game specific information about how to keep the machines working and earning for the operator. They were printed in an odd, over sized format, with color covers, color pages and plastic spiral binding. Trouble shooting “video” games was a new concept for operators in the 1970′s as electro-mechanical games and pinball machines were still in service. Good technical information about this new type of game was important, so the manuals were likely well used. Perhaps that’s why it’s so difficult to find a full set in good shape.

I had seen a few of the manuals and some basic background information on the old Wiretap (or spies) archive, if you remember that from the RGVAC days! While spies is long gone, much of the content is mirrored on the cityofberwyn website and can still be accessed. The site lists a number of publications I had never heard of before, but hoped could be tracked down. As luck would have it, local collector “p1001″, came across a handful of the manuals during a warehouse raid and was interested in getting them scanned and archived. While this increased the number of manuals available, there are still quite a few missing and lots of gaps in the information surrounding their production. Fellow enthusiast Jeff Rothe of rotheblog took on the task of trying to locate William Arkush so that the lost documentation could be recovered. To revel in his search-foo, check out the story William Arkush Video Game Manuals.

I learned about the existence of Kurz-Kasch arcade game test fixtures from Jeff’s post, something I knew nothing about. A little research on that name sparked an idea, and I shot off a few emails to people that have been in the business for a long time. Bingo! I got a number of responses and a suggestion to contact Randy Fromm, owner of the well known Arcade School in Orlando. A response from Randy didn’t provide any contact info for Bill Arkush, but it did answer the question about the odd sizing of the manuals. Apparently during a conversation with Bill back in late 1970′s, Randy asked about the odd size. “When I asked Bill about the format of the books (big and printed with colored ink on colored paper) he replied that it was meant to discourage Xeroxing and free distribution.” Well Mr. Arkush, you were successful in making them tough to duplicate. Scanning those manuals with any quality was a huge pain. I have a lot more information to work through as the history behind the manuals from the actual content writers starts to take shape. The ultimate goal is to have the full set available so we can continue to keep our games running and to preserve this interesting piece of arcade game history. For now, check out the Resources page where you’ll find the William Arkush Library. Enjoy!

I had never heard of Enviro-graphics, or known about artwork packages that operators could use to decorate their arcade. I was too busy finding my next quarter for that new game, or waiting for the 6 tokens for $1 special at Aladdin’s Castle. Who paid attention to the décor? I vaguely recall the way my local arcade looked back in the day, with a simple neon exterior, lots of games inside and a pseudo space theme. The atmosphere did contribute to the overall memory, though my strongest memory seems to be of dark and smokey spaces, with lots of flashing lights and sounds! Even so, perhaps Willis had a good idea. Token signs, out of order signs, score boards, event schedules, specials, rules…all things the operator needed to communicate with his customers. The random space scene posters remind me more of the black light posters you’d find at Spencer’s gifts in the mall, along side the edible underwear. The brochure states that the posters were directly screened onto 1/8″ thick foam board, which made them more durable and easier to hang, but is also probably why so few (if any) survive today. Once they came off the wall if you couldn’t store them, they got tossed.

One thing I noticed is the apparent change in relationship between Willis and Wico around the time this stuff was being produced. If you recall my post about the partnership they shared, apparently it didn’t last or just wasn’t working out. Whatever the reasons, the brochure above is a lot different from the unopened one you see below. Dated September 10, 1982 it has the Wico name and distributor information prominently displayed. A few additional pieces of artwork can also be seen on the back. The almost identical brochure above has all traces of the Wico name removed and “Now operators can buy direct from Willis”. Interesting move and even before the industry crash really took hold. If you can shed any light on this relationship or if you have a Willis Enviro-Graphics poster you’d like to sell, let me know.

This marquee is reverse screened on glass and in great shape overall, with none of the typical flaking frequently seen when artwork is printed on glass. It was a little difficult to photo graph and even harder to scan. The reflective quality of the glass was creating some weird shadows during the scanning process making the scans worthless. Anyway, a nice marquee for a great game.

The artwork and color scheme on that game exude 70′s funk and I love it. The cp artwork was originally screened right onto the metal panels, just like on Asteroids and Missile Command. Unfortunately that means when it wears off, its gone forever. So besides being a replacement overlay and not a metal panel, the Willis piece just doesn’t fit well with the Atari cabinet artwork. Sure, the big “football” and a bunch of football players make it obvious what game its for, but so boring. Still has all the earmarks of a quality Willis piece and makes a nice addition.

Besides lacking all of the usual clues that identify a Willis overlay (can you name them all yet?), it is one flimsy piece of art. Cheaply made and probably one of the thinnest overlays I have in the archive. It is really just a stiff piece of paper with adhesive on the back. This overlay is also excessively large and while I’m OK with the simple geometric pattern, something more creative than a mirror image could have been done. Doing a quick test fit on the control panel of a similar Atari cabinet reveals that much of the artwork would be lost under the bottom of the panel, or trimmed away for proper fit. Perhaps it was made this large to accommodate a variety of cabinets. Regardless, it’s a bootleg whose origins will probably never be known. If you have any pictures of this installed on a cabinet or if you know any additional history, drop me a line!

Now I’m not saying that it’s super fantastic or anything, it just works well and looks better than the original in this case. Quality materials, die-cut button holes, part numbers and copyright info all in place. Another piece for the archive.

The original control panel overlay was reverse printed on a thick piece of plexi which made it quite durable but prone to scratching or graffiti. The reproduction was made in the same way Willis made all their products, reverse printed on lexan material with 3M adhesive. Quality production, with part number and copyright info, but too far removed from the feel of the original cpo. Another problem is the nose picking girl. I can’t imagine that when this piece of artwork was reviewed before production, no one caught that slight little problem? I mean it looks like she’s about to dig for gold. Add the hokey overall appearance of all the artwork combined and you get one dog of an overlay. Unfortunately this was a popular game and the reproduction overlay was likely made in mass quantity, spreading the horror over the greater collecting community. It will be added to the artwork archive, preserving the history one piece at a time.

I’m not sure why so much effort was put into this bootleg, perhaps it was for one of the foreign made knock-off pcb kits that were so popular with some operators. Maybe it was just for a local group of operators that had a half dozen or more Williams Moon Patrols needing fresh overlays. Whatever the reason, it is no excuse for such shoddy art work. Lots of color is nice and the font is pretty good, but that’s about it. I would like to see a picture of this overlay on a cab in your collection or in the wild. Drop me a line if you have any pictures or more information about this particular overlay.

The control panel overlay is for Champion Boxing by Video Ware, Inc., licensed by Sega. This game was released in 1983 by Sega, likely in kit form only for conversions. I don’t recall seeing the game on location and considering that Nintendo’s Punch Out was released less than a year later, I imagine Champion Boxing did poorly.

The artwork and color scheme leave a lot to be desired on this piece, but at least it was made with reverse screening on Lexan and backed with 3M adhesive. No die cuts on the overlay which strengthens the “kit only” idea. Let the operator convert some poorly earning game into Champion Boxing. The artwork was pulled right from the flyer but unfortunately they didn’t keep all the color which might have helped. Another piece for the archive.

If you’ve seen this game or have any more information, leave a comment please. Special thanks to arcadeflyers.com for the flyer image.

How do I know? There are lots of reasons, the first one is that Willis never copied existing work. I can only assume that because of licensing agreements they were forced to create new art for each piece they reproduced. Take a look at my artwork page if you want more proof. Similarities exist in some cases, but not direct copies. Another reason is the quality. This cpo is printed on some cheaply backed material, not the industry standard 3M stuff. It is also missing the manufacturers text, copyright info and die cuts which were standard on Willis reproductions.

While I was disappointed that this wasn’t a Willis overlay, it is still a unique piece. The one thing that struck me in particular are the odd, ragged black borders. Now the original Elevator Action cpo had rough borders, as you can see in the last image, however they weren’t as bad as this. It almost looks as if an original cpo was pulled from a control panel, ripping it on the edges. Then a photo was taken with one of those giant bellow cameras. Cutting edge back in the 80′s, this piece of equipment would allow a silk screen company to make screens directly from a giant photograph. A little touch up and removal of the Taito logo and bingo, you’ve got an unauthorized copy! Seems like a lot of work just to make an overlay. This one gets added to the archive. (Taito control panel image courtesy of KLOV)