10 arcades, 4 pinballs, artwork & boards

Collecting arcade games will indirectly lead you to many different ancillary opportunities. Picking up games throughout Indiana has really introduced me to a state that was largely unfamiliar (born and raised in MI). Unfortunately, as much planning as I do to make arrangements to pick up huge hulking arcade games, I never seem to make the time to do much else.

Monticello is partially known for Indiana Beach. I’ve seen it advertised a million times, and after loading up over 14 games I could have used a quick shoot down a water slide. But like many of these circumstances, and especially this one, it was not meant to be.

A sudden passing in the family

I got a note that there was a passing in a family, a father in law who used to run an arcade route had recently passed away and left a garage full of arcade games. On a Wed. evening Travis and I headed up to meet the gentleman with an easy to remember name – Jeff, and find out what would be the best next steps.

When we got to know Jeff, we really understood how great of a guy this former operator was in his community. Jeff talked about opening up his garage perpetually for a small local community gathering area, stocked with drinks and food. The op would always be helping those around him, fixing cars, mowing others lawns, whatever was needed, he was there even into his later years. Well revered and respected the passing had come suddenly and the family was sorting out what to do with his possessions.

Here is what we saw when we arrived (Thanks Travis for the photos).

Plus there were about 4 jukeboxes, a dart machine, and parts scattered all over the place – boards, monitors, some artwork, all of the typically stuff you’d see if you had an arcade route.

The son in law, Jeff, let us know that the father used to have his route up in the Gary IN area, and moved down to Monticello – inferred retirement. Unfortunately, we could only look in at the games from the perimeter, and given the story, assumed most of them had been taken off route because they no longer worked. We could see some games popping out, but it was a significant risk to purchase as we really could see condition of anything, or if the few games we saw popping out were original or converted to something else.

Travis and I spoke for a brief moment and made a really nice offer for what we knew was there. We really wanted to honor the passing, and knew that we could restore some of these games to their original condition. At the very least, those arcade cabinets that were too far gone, we could source new owners and let them see some use again.

Fortunately, it was a good deal for Jeff and he accepted.

The sizeable arcade pickup would be on Sunday

Like most arcade plans and dealing with logistics and weather, if I had planned a trip to Indiana Beach, I probably would have had to cancel. I had a vehicle lined up with Chris, but then he had to have a major repair and was out of commission.

Then Sunday rolled around, and it was pouring rain in Indy. The timing was important for Jeff, as he was in town for a short period of time, and was trying to get many loose ends wrapped before he left.

The weather ‘should’ break for about 4-5 hours, just long enough for us to do the pickup and head back. So we made the 2 hour trip up in pouring rain, with a hope and a prayer.

Not every cabinet made the trip

We took my van, to supplement Travis, he truck, and an open bed trailer. This was the largest load I’ve ever purchased, beating out the 10 or so games I picked up in my very first arcade experience in Nashville in 2006.

As we dug into the garage, it was apparent we wouldn’t have enough space. There were actually 16 cabinets. Loading up, it was apparent that two of the cabinets would not be salvageable – a generic that looked like it had been a gambling machine and the Endura Racer you see in photo 2 above. We also had to trash several monitor that had severe screen burn.

Everything got packed in, including two pinballs in my van! (who knew) and two pinballs in the back of the truck. For a ton more photos, visit my Monticello arcade game album on Google+. Here is a full list of the games:

• Ms. Pac-man
• Captain America & Avengers
• Stargate Conversion – Street Fighter II
• Sega Turbo
• POW – Prisoner of War
• Taito Conversion – X-Men
• Dig Dig Conversion – Time Killers
• Centipede Conversion – Street Fighter II
• Fire! Pinball
• Special Force Pinball
• Cyclone Pinball
• Firepower II Pinball
• Capcom Bowling
• Q*Bert Conversion – Arkanoid
• Generic Cab (trashed)
• Endura Racer (parted and trashed)

Plus we had other arcade parts:

• 4 boxes of miscellaneous stuff
• 6 monitors
• 30-40 pcbs

Monticello arcade purchase postlude

We were fortunate, the rain held off completely for the ride home. No problems at all, well, mostly. Bizarrely enough, we didn’t strap down the Ms. Pac-man enough as the glass bezel was gone when we arrived. Just gone, not broken, no remnants, nothing – it must have just completely lifted and blown off. Fortunately it didn’t hit anyone.

The gentleman might have operated his route in his local market, because nearly half of the machines worked when we got home. It’s not unreasonable to see him placing some games in Logansport, Peru, Lafayette and even Kokomo.

My plans longterm? Well, I was really excited about a couple of things.

First – To add a mid 80′s pin to my gameroom, so I have chosen to focus my efforts on the Cyclone. My mom has really been wanting for me to add a pinball, I think this will be a perfect edition for the gameroom in our new place. I thought at first it was missing the main board, but I believe I’ve found 2 in the loose pcbs.

Also, a huge thing for me being a Mr. Do! fanatic – NOS back bezel / plexi artwork for original Universal cabinets. Three of them actually. Check out this photo.

Really unique find, so pumped to add this to my collection of arcade artwork.

If there is something we picked up that is of particular interest to you, would love to get a machine into the hands of a collector who has been looking for a piece. Drop me a line. I also heard a number of arcade / jukebox collectors contacted Jeff from the Chicago area. There was one vintage Juke (my photos didn’t turn out) that was particularly beautiful – thought about taking it myself. If you ended up picking up the Jukeboxes out of Monticello, drop me a note. I’d love to tie up that thread.

Thanks again to Jeff. We are really pumped to restore, or get the games into the hands of someone who will restore these games back to their original state. The best way to honor the past.

You're reading Former operators have the best NOS artwork is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

Two unloved arcade games, left in a closet

It seems that I wasn’t the only one that was on the fence about owning a Food Fight. I got an email from a couple who moved into a home in Mason OH, and they were greeted with two arcade games, left in the house by the previous owner. One of them happened to be a Food Fight, serial number UR00480. I have wacked out dreams like this after a night of Blue Moon, a supreme pizza and Cinnamon Toast Crunch – Where I walk into my new house and there are arcade games bursting from every room and every closet. Check out the photos.

The Food Fight was missing the knob off of the joystick, but other than that appeared to be complete and working. The other game was a non-working Q*Bert, with no sideart and a Willis cpanel overlay.

A real possibility of picking up two fun games near Indianapolis

Two fun games, neither of which were in my possession at the time. The couple was looking to sell both games and approached me first to see if I was interested. Some research online turned up a wide range of prices for a Food Fight, including the typical ‘retailers’ looking to gouge home owners in that $2,000-$4,000 range. The Q*Bert would have been an easy restoration, and I knew I could track down a knob so I decided to make an offer to purchase both.

There were several phone calls an emails that spanned nearly 5 months, but in the end the sellers decided to try listing the games on eBay.

I wish every offer I made panned out – but then again, I’d have to build a bigger house to hold what is now an 18 game collection. I monitored the auctions, my offer was higher than the final prices for the two games.

Doing the math – 119 miles to Mason OH vs. 800 miles to Folkston GA. Sigh.

But hey, now I own a Food Fight. Plus, I got to see some things on the trip to Folkston. Including this cab fail around Atlanta GA. Enjoy.

If you ended up purchasing this Q*Bert and / or the Food Fight out of Cincinnati, drop a line, give an update on how they are working today.

You're reading The Food Fight that got away is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

A visual history of 2 HUO games from Bally / Midway

For the last two weeks I’ve been hard on myself. How do I tell such a neat story in a different way, that is more engaging than the typical play by play with all the sorted details. Inspired by the flash in the pan ‘what my friends think I do’ meme, I thought I’d tell the story how I envisioned it happening back in the 1980′s. Don’t like fun? Just jump down to unveiling which HUO titles were found.

One day, a blue collar worker at Bally / Midway…

…decided, “I build these games, but I bet I’d be the golly gee coolest guy on the block if I owned a couple – IN MY HOME”.

Freddie (As we’ll refer to him now) walked into the front office and announced:

Freddie: Bill, I want to buy me some of those entertainment boxes.

Bill: What an excellent decision, and sound investment. These will be around forever, just you watch. And you can use your awesome employee benefit to get them at 10% over cost.

Freddie: Swell!

Freddie headed back out to the Bally / Midway plant floor. Celebratory high fives all around:

Freddie felt real neat, he had two arcade games, life was grand.

With the two games strapped in back, he pulled up his perfect truck into his perfect neighborhood. He was home.

Freddie pictured how life would be now that he had these grand, colorful arcade cases in his house:

But sadly the neighbors in the yellow, green, pink and blue houses didn’t view it in quite the romatic light. They thought – There is something not quite right with Freddie…

Soon, Freddie was all alone, frowny face.

25 years later, forgotten and unloved, it was time to sell the two arcade games. But would anyone want them?

Two arcade games I couldn’t pass up

All kidding aside, the history behind these games made this a truly neat story. It is not often that you find two arcade games that had rolled off the line from Bally / Midway and had never seen another owner. I was so thrilled the son contacted me about making the purchase. Once I saw the initial photos I wanted to make sure I made a fair and generous offer (for two games I had not seen in person) to honor his initial reach out.

The offer was accepted – Excitement – for you see the two HUO arcade games were a…

Root Beer Tapper

…and a Zwackery

The Zwackery (Chris tells me) was formerly a Bank Panic in some form. If you are interested to see a few more photos, and a constantly expanding library of photos of the Zwackery and Root Beer Tapper – view the album on Coinopspace.

Astounding to find two great arcade games that have never seen the light of day outside of this one former Bally / Midway employee.

Special Thanks

Again go out to both Chris Moore and Tom. Tom, if you read this, the above story is just fun – certainly don’t intend it to be mean spirited in anyway. Thank you for selling us the games. Chris – Thank you again for swooping in and being my local go to guy to pick up these games. Thank you to both of you for hauling them outside at risk of bad backs and splintered hands.

What are your memories from 1986?

In 1986 I was 7, and I lived in a tiny town. I played a lot of baseball, and collected baseball cards. But I never sat foot in a full arcade. I’d be interested to hear the first time you played these games, and what you may have been doing around 1986 when these games were being hauled up to Green Oaks, IL.

Additionally, if you are interested to know more about the Root Beer Tapper or Zwackery story, please leave me a comment below or contact me privately.

You're reading The secret time capsule of Bally Midway is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

Arcade Warehouse – Southern Georgia

Collecting arcade games can be a solitary hobby. I was sitting at the reception of a close friend’s wedding in September having a drink. We were making conversation and someone asked what was going on with me. Just a few days prior I had got a list of the games in the warehouse and knew that there were a couple of pieces I’d like to add to my collection. The conversation:

Them: What is new?
Me: (Hesitation) Well, someone down south contacted me about some arcade games they have for sale. I may end up taking a roadtrip in a month or so.
Them: Oh yeah?
…. (Silence, not a lot of interest. The conversational follow up….)
Them: What will you get?
Me: There are too many to remember
Them: Why, how many are there?
Me: 47
Them: (Silence – Eyes widen, a couple of blinks)
Them: Oh. (My wife rolls her eyes)

I don’t expect anyone outside of this hobby to understand the opportunity for time away, and the opportunity to pick up a few items of interest. Any buy like this will guarantee that I will meet a few new people.

The list – Mostly classic arcade games

Why tell when I can show. Here are a couple of photos that the son graciously took for me to help with our negotiations. The full list of games is after the photos.

• Ms. Pacman x4
• Ms. Pacman (Cocktail)
• Galaga
• Star Gate
• Space Duel
• Centipede
• Cloak and Dagger
• Safari
• Kangaroo
• Berzerk
• Asteroids
• Tac Scan
• Missile Command
• Donkey Kong Jr.
• Donkey Kong x3
• Shoot the Bull
• My Hero
• Vanguard
• Qix
• Tempest (Cabaret)
• Food Fight
• Joust
• Popeye x2
• Frogger x2
• Zaxxon
• Phoenix
• Pinball Action (Gorf Conv.)
• Jr. Pac-man (Super Pacman)
• Jr. Pac-man (Factory Dedicated)
• Galaga (Cocktail)
• Moon Patrol
• Motorcycle (Chicago Coin)
• Midnight Maruaders
• Operation Wolf x2
• Black Knight x2
• Dolly Parton
• Fire
• Strikes and Spares
• High Speed
• Future Spa
• Vector
• El Toro
• Solar Fire

I worked quickly out of respect for the owners since they were so gracious to supply plenty of photos. I figured out what I could reasonably offer, sight unseen with some assumptions (beyond the photos) and we continued negotiations.

Asking for help

Given the interest of time, the distance was not an ideal factor. So I called in a friend to help, an expert that has done this a ton of times in that area – Steve Smith in Folkston GA.

Steve headed over to get introduced to the owners in early October. By the end of that first visit he had worked out a deal and loaded up a trailer of games. It wasn’t the full lot of 47, we couldn’t come to a reasonable agreement on that. Some of the games Steve hauled back, and he’ll correct me in the comments of anything I’m missing:

• Safari
• Vector
• Future Spa
• Kangaroo
• Tac Scan
• Tempest (Cabaret)
• Food Fight

The Gremlin Safari was a pretty unique piece. Here is a photo of that cabinet.

I got a single game

The whole deal started out at 47, but I only ended up with one game out of what Steve hauled back. 47 would have been an amazing story, but a true challenge in logistics. Things worked out just fine. Steve ended up making a second trip and picked up a few more games, but by that time many other games had been sold, some of them auctions on eBay. The hope was that he was going to be able to pick me up that factory Jr. Pac-man, but that had been sold. Please, if you bought the Jr. Pac, drop me a line or leave a comment below.

But back to the story. I won’t leave you hanging in suspense on which game I picked up.

Food Fight!

Pretty stellar condition. The top is crisp, there is no swelling, very few scratches, the control panel has no cracking, the game just feels like it was in a capsule.

Steve got to talking with the owners and they said that the brother had been an operator at Fort Stewart. The Food Fight was in excellent condition, and the Kangaroo was nearly perfect as well. We can only guess that when the games broke down, the operator brought them back and started using them for parts. My Food Fight is missing the lighting fixture from behind the marquee, as well as the power brick. I also don’t have the marquee, but that must have gotten lost in the shuffle.

Meeting other regional collectors

This operator warehouse and collection of 47 games spurred plans for Chris and I to pickup that Food Fight and bring it back. Steve was interested to make a trade with Chris that he couldn’t refuse, his working Tron for a working Black Hole. Only problem, that changed our plans from a one way flight, to one hell of a drive.

Over the span of 4 days we drove over 1600 miles. We made a number of stops along the way. We stopped in Louisville, KY to meet Ed Lutz and see his tremendous collection. I had a geek out moment as I got to see a Dark Planet in person. Ed had a number of items of interest for me personally, like a Bazooka, and a DECO mini.

We also got to briefly meet some of the other local collectors like Antz and Jason Bradley. Antz was extremely hospitable, I’d highly recommend Zanzabar in Louisville if you are looking for an arcade or pinball fix.

Great food, solid collection of working games, and pinball tournaments. Not to mention one of the select NIB Robotron mini’s that came out of the John Jukes warehouse. Look him up.

On the way out of town we experienced one other interested site. From a distance we also got to witness a house being used only for arcade game storage, with 6 freestanding structures on the lot packed with games.

Very little luck on our return

We tried to coordinate with a number of other arcade collectors on the way down, but didn’t have as much luck as we would have liked. We did get to stop into GameGalaxy in Nashville, but did not get to hook up with Jason.

We also stopped and picked up a Rip Off cabinet for another collector in Chicago from Tony. Tony has an awesome list of games, but alas, we also could not time it right to make an introduction. Next time, there is always next time.

It was a tremendous trip, and extremely therapeutic, but Chris and I have agreed to never drive that distance again.

Share your bulk arcade buy stories

I’m curious to hear, or rehash, the stories of bulk arcade buys that you’ve had. In particular, if you have ever made a deal for games sight unseen, how many games did you buy and what did you keep? Or share anything else you like.

You're reading Georgia Roadtrip – An operator’s time capsule is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

Arcade game auction in Louisville

Got an email today from Bid Assets that they are auctioning off a Jillian’s warehouse of coin operated equipment, fixtures and memorabilia on Oct. 18th (close of 6pm) in Louisville Kentucky. If you are interested in which modern games are going to be in the auction, here is a scrape of their listings page.

1. Sega Harley-Davidson & L.A. Riders Riding Arcade Game
2. Midway Hydro Thunder H.T.R.A. Unlimited Jet Racing Arcade Game
3. Sega Water Ski Standing Water Skiing Arcade Game
4. Bromley Wheel ‘M In Ticket Game Damaged
5. Wamco River Raft Arcade Game Damaged
6. Sega Airlines Pilots Virtual Flight Simulation Seated Station Arcade Game
7. Sega Yamaha Wave Runner Jet Trim Package Arcade Game
8. Alpine Racer Standing Ski Arcade Game
9. Basketball Video Game pieces missing
10. Sega Bass Fishing Free Rod Action Arcade Game
11. Sega Marine Fishing Free Casting Arcade Game
12. Damaged Cobra Gem Arcade Game
13. Gaeleco Rolling ex.tre.me Street Luge Seated Arcade Game
14. The Original Screamer Seat of Terror by Nova Productions Arcade Game
15. Pop A Ball II Arcade Game
16. Namco Panic Park Arcade Game
17. Fire Rescue Arcade Game
18. Star Wars Trilogy Arcade Game Sega Copyright 1998
19. Dynamo LTD Arcade Monitor
20. Arcade Token Machine by American Changer
21. Pin Ball Machine Top Damaged and Damaged Baseball Game

Not my type of games, but at opening bids of $5.00 for this stuff, it might make for some good deals, especially if you are auction starved in Kentucky. The Star Wars Trilogy and some of the Dynamo cabinets (for the monitors) caught my eye if they can be had for cheap.

There is a preview the day before, but everything is online, so don’t show up to Lytle Street unless you plan to do some people watchin’, beer in hand.

For me, its just deeply satisfying to see that these broken down games will be released back out into the wild. One watersoaked pinball machine, ahht ahht ahht ahht.

Jillian’s Pinballs – Right before they went on location

For more information visit Bid Assets.

You're reading Jillian’s Billards Warehouse Auction in Louisville Kentucky is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

But yet other collectors have no such qualms, and they may have even built a conversion or two themselves. As for me, I have a unique fascination with converted cabinets and I’ve documented all that I’ve encountered for over 20 years. Here’s the story of “My Conversion Education”.

Detractors vs. Proponents

Detractors say that conversions caused the destruction of many classic arcade games. They lament all the Jousts, Tempests, and Q*Berts that ended up converted into “hot new” kit titles, many of which are viewed as having inferior gameplay when compared to the very games they replaced.

Proponents point out that conversion kits actually extended the life of these same cabinets. Instead of sending that old Qix machine to the dump after it ran its course, an arcade operator could convert it into Ikari Warriors, for example, and it would continue to delight players for many years to come, albeit in a different guise.

Detractors groan about all the classic game marquees, bezels, control panels, monitors, and PCBs that were scrapped by some operators in order to prepare the older cabinet for the newer kit game. Proponents mention stories of collectors who found stockpiles of those very same classic game parts, ready to be used in restoration or repair projects, which were stashed away decades ago when the operators originally converted the machines.

I understand and respect both of those points of view. However, my unique fascination with conversions goes beyond that of most collectors and dates back almost 30 years, to when the first widely distributed conversion kits started appearing.

Arcade Cabinet Studies 101

When I was growing up, I didn’t just play the arcade classics, I studied them. While my folks grocery shopped or waited for the pizza to be delivered to our table, (and after I played any quarters burning a hole in my pocket), I spent my remaining time studying the cabinet artwork, the control panel layouts, the style of the coin doors, and the marvelous logos on the marquees. I even made mental notes of the shape and contours of the cabinets themselves.

When I returned home, I would quickly retreat to my room, crank up some top 40, and proceed to sketch the game cabinets, along with my best approximation of the appropriate artwork.

So imagine my surprise when my grandmother took me to an arcade in ’82 that featured an original Pac-Man cabinet sporting a Ms. Pac-Man marquee! I did a double take, as clearly my eyes were playing tricks on me. Then I looked on the screen and discovered it was actually PLAYING MS.PAC-MAN! I was completely captivated. Even though that arcade also had a few dedicated Pacs and Ms. Pacs, I just had to play this oddball machine. It was a truly surreal experience to be guiding Pac-Man’s wife through her bright peach colored maze, as the scowling blue ghost and smirking “Shmoo-like” Pac-Man looked on from the upper corners of the original Pac-Man bezel art. It’s just wasn’t RIGHT!

I rationalized that Midway probably had some excess Pac-Man cabinets sitting around the factory that they shipped out as Ms. Pac-Man, in order to use the older cabinets up. That explanation sufficed for about a year until I saw the next step in my education.

I visited a shopping mall that had an ice cream parlor. The parlor had a row of five or six games, backed up to the front windows. The cabinets were positioned in such a way that as you approached the parlor’s entrance, you would only see a row of back doors with the exception of the game sitting on the end of the row, on which you could see the complete right side panel. I immediately recognized the shape of a Defender, however, instead of the familiar artwork on the side, there was a single lightning bolt decal.

I was curious. As I entered the ice cream shop, and faced this cabinet I saw… TRACK & FIELD?!?!? Yep, this was unmistakably a Defender cabinet. It still had the Defender bezel, and that cool silver coin door, but it was playing Track & Field, and sported a T&F marquee and control panel overlay. This one really perplexed me. Centuri released Track & Field, not Williams, so how did this machine come to be?

Eventually I assumed that Centuri purchased some surplus Defender cabinets to install some of their Track & Field machines into. But even as a kid, I realized that this was much less likely than Midway using up old Pac-Man cabinets by releasing them as Ms. Pac. Finally, in 1985, all my questions were answered.

The fateful day at Time Out

My grandfather took me to the Time Out arcade in Forest Village Park Mall. This was a regular haunt, visited almost every weekend that I would spend with my grandparents. I headed toward the Dig Dug machine, located in the back where the older “past their prime” games were located. Only on this visit, the game was pulled out from the wall at an odd angle, and a technician was poking around in the back of the cabinet.

I approached this person, and asked if the game was broken. The technician leaned back out of the game and I was momentarily surprised to see a woman. Nearly every arcade employee I had ever noticed up until that point was a guy, so seeing a gal working on a game was an interesting change.

She was very amicable, and explained that she was installing a new game in the Dig Dug cabinet. She let me look in the back of the machine, and she pointed out the Dig Dug motherboard and the PCB for the new game, along with the power supply, and the back of the monitor. She talked to my grandfather and me for about 5 minutes until I went off to play some Spy Hunter.

When I returned the following weekend, I saw the new game… Konami’s Super Basketball. I tried it a few times, but it didn’t interest me as much as over-inflating Pookas and Fygars. Still, I was fascinated that an older game could be turned into a newer title. Those mysterious Ms. Pac and Track & Field machines I had seen several years prior suddenly made sense now. Once I understood conversions, I started noticing them everywhere. Mr. Do’s Castle in a Phoenix cabinet, Legend of Kage in a former Jungle King cab, Mania Challenge in a Zaxxon, Ghosts N Goblins in a Missile Command, Rush ‘N Attack in a Dragon’s Lair, and of course, all the Vs. Unisystem titles in earlier Nintendo cabs like Donkey Kong, and Popeye.

The list is born

Eventually, I began to compile an informal list of all the conversions I encountered. It began in a small black spiral notebook in 11th grade study hall, which would have been my 1989-1990 school year. Initially the list served only as a curious time waster, but I soon found that I simply couldn’t stop adding entries! The list soon outgrew the confines of the notebook, so I transferred the data into a spreadsheet program on an old NEC business computer that my uncle gave me.

Initially, I maintained two separate lists. The first was alphabetized according to the original game’s title, and the second was arranged by the title of the conversion kit installed. That way, I could either look up Centipede on the first list to find all the kits I’d seen installed in old Centipede cabinets, or I could visit the second list, and look up Ataxx to see all the earlier cabinets that had been converted into Leland’s 1990 strategy title. By the mid 90s, it became too labor intensive to maintain both lists, so I abandoned the kit variant, and continued on with the original cabinet game list only.

At first, I only noted conversions that I had personally encountered, but as street locations and arcades dwindled, I began to add machines I viewed online, typically on Ebay, other collector’s web pages, or in recent years, Craig’s List. Each unique conversion was only noted once. For instance, I’ve seen multiple Punch Out cabs converted into PlayChoice-10 machines, but it only appears as one entry in my list.

The list is broken into four overall sections, Uprights, Sit-Downs (Cockpits), Minis (Cabarets), and Cocktails & Countertops. Each section is arranged alphabetically by the name of the original machine, followed by the kit title several columns over. That way, I can go to the Sit-Downs section, scroll down to the “S”s for Star Rider, then look at “H” to find the entry for the Hydra machine I used to play at an arcade in Camp Springs, MD.

I also created a system of codes to note if the converted machine retained any artwork from the original game. For instance, “SA” designates “side art”, and “SH” stands for “screen shield art”, which was what I called bezels before I learned the proper term. Hey, the habit stuck.

To this day, I find that I can add several conversions a week to my list on the average. The oldest listed cabinets are a pair of Computer Space machines, one converted into a Pong clone, the other into a bootleg Pac-Man, and the newest converted cabinet is Global VR’s 2006 release Alien Extermination which I’ve seen converted into Paradise Lost, a later release from the same company. It’s hard to believe I’ve been keeping track of these things for over two decades, but if I didn’t do it, who would? Twenty-one years, seven moving days, eleven jobs, and countless computer upgrades later, and my conversion list, now in an Excel spreadsheet, currently features 16,645 individual entries.

Reflections…

I suppose I have a certain nameless female tech at Time Out to thank for all this. Had she not graciously taken a moment out of her day to explain the task at hand, and show me the inside of that Dig Dug cabinet, then perhaps I never would have cared about conversions.

I would’ve figured it all out by the late 80s anyway (at the latest), as I was collecting arcade flyers and old RePlay magazines by that time, many of which mentioned games being available in dedicated and kit form. But it’s true that the first impression really matters. So thank you, “Miss Time Out tech”, for answering the questions of an inquisitive 11-year old boy, who eventually used that knowledge to create a list that has made him smile well into his late 30s, and I’m sure will continue to do so as the years roll on.

You're reading My Conversion Education is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

Blue Donkey Kong Jr. Board

I poked around RGVAC, and there were quite a few mentions of this blue Donkey Kong Junior PCB, and they all call it a ‘bootleg’. However, would bootlegs really go to the length of silkscreening the little DK character? Seems unlikely. ‘MacMan’ theorizes that this is a ‘Junior King’ boardset;

Just a guess but there was a blue solder mask Donkey Kong Junior that was called Junior King (JK)… I had it a while back. I don’t remember the big K on donkey kongs chest… but it could be something. Try and burn a set of bootleg DK Jnr’s and see….

Maybe Jason can pop the pcb into a game and check the attract screen, see if it actually a ‘Junior King‘. There aren’t any pictures of the board on the CrazyKong website. Here are the photos of the pcb;

Here are the topics on RGVAC referencing the PCB;

• Bootleg Donkey Kong JR
• Picked up 2 new games Arabin and Donkey Kong JR
• ID: somekind of wierd d-kong board (Junior King Reference)
• FT: Donkey Kong Jr board, SF Bay Area
• HELP: PCB Identification – DK Jr. CT (Junior King Reference)
• Help! PCB ID
• Donkey Kong Jr bootleg – colour problem (Junior King Reference)

The pots may be evidence enough that this was a mass run bootleg PCB. If you can provide some other referenceable evidence that this definitely is or isn’t a bootleg DK Jr. PCB (Or have links to other old topics), drop a link / comment below. Thanks to Jason S. for letting me post about this boardset.

You're reading “Donkie Buddy”, the fancy bootleg? is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

Cutting edge 1985 Graphics

I won’t rehash all of the great information and content that Chris at turbosub.com has compiled. From storyboards to photos of the original prototype with the creators, the site is rich in information about Entertainment Sciences and catalogs his work to track down the creators of the two ES games.

Admittedly, the timing of this Turbo Sub gameplay is interesting for me. Tomorrow I get to play this ES game in person, and I couldn’t be more excited now. Turbo Sub looks like it will be off the charts fun.

So Damon joins the ranks of Jason S., a guy in TX, Todd Bordelon and Kirby Gowland who own Turbo Subs. Jason says that Chris of www.turbosub.com doesn’t own one. Who else?

If you own a Turbo Sub and want to share your acquisition story I’d love to spotlight it here. The IONPool page really has the best information collecting memories of folks who encountered ES games. Congrats to you Damon, thanks for sharing the photo and the video!

You're reading Another Turbo Sub Surfaces is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

Live Pac-man – PelletFail?

Deadline.com reported on Thursday last week that we may see an unscripted live Pac-man themed TV show. Currently in development, here is an interesting quote from TV Roy Bank’s myopic visionary Merv Griffith. Senor Merv sees the show as a “big, crazy Wipeout-type event with a lot of energy”.

Here’s my input Merv, because you asked for it.

Think Wipeout, but don’t do wipeout. Make it a blend of something like Double Dare, Gladiators, Jeopardy and most importantly – Dodgeball! Add in some other eastern gameshow influences and you’ve got a winner.

I would tune in to watch ‘Aw snap, ball in the face‘ before I’d watch a premise around Pac-man. Probably. They HAVE to dress up in the costumes though, definitely.

Just remember, “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball” and “I’m on a boat”.

Nonsense – out. Nod to Becky P. for tipping me off to this story.

For fun, Fox News shared this video of Pac-man as it is meant to be on live TV, short and hilarious. Wish I’d been on campus for this.

You're reading As long as Pac-man has less scalding than Kid Nation, it’ll be great! is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

Play an original Tron arcade game at the Indiana State Museum

Tron is one of the few arcade games that continues to hold its value. If you tried to purchase a working Tron arcade game right now, you’d find a price tag of over $1,000. A collecting friend in Minnesota sold a pristine Tron on eBay in early December for $2,200! Why not get your fix while you can for just a quarter downtown at the Indy State Museum.

Once you walk in the doors, head downstairs and to the back side of the stairs. The Tron cabinet is just outside the entrance to the IMAX theater, and you can walk up and enjoy a game or two without having to pay for admission to another exhibit.

Other Tron Arcade Games in Indianapolis / Other Cities?

Who else went to see Tron Legacy and there was an original arcade game to play? What other special promotions or memorabilia were brought in to celebrate the release of the movie in your town? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear.

You're reading Catch Tron Legacy IMAX & play some original Tron is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.