so happy

[shateredsoul]

I found a local donut shop that has free wi-fi and a neo geo cab. Now I can study, game, check my e-mail, and gain a few pounds at the same time!

[spoot]

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Enjoy that little slice of heaven, cause if I can guarantee you anything, its that it wont last... Carpe Diem!

[ChadTower]

Enjoy that little slice of heaven, cause if I can guarantee you anything, its that it wont last... Carpe Diem!

Carpe Donuts!

[shateredsoul]

Ha ha yeah, the free wi-fi will probably be the first thing to go. You want to draw students, provide free wi-fi. You wan't them gone? Then cover up the outlets and start charging for wi-fi.

It's all about the cheese and ham croissants!

[Thenasty]

drill a hole on the quarter and attach a string to it to get TONS of credit (his coin counter won't match whats inside the cash box)   

[shateredsoul]

ha ha, my friend used to say if you pounded a nickle flat you could get credits if you tossed it in just right. My parents caught on right away and instead I got a lecture =/

man superglue, lol

[ChadTower]

Never tried to roll one down a coin slot but we used to put them on train tracks and they came out a lot like a quarter.  Pennies, too, at least in size/shape.

[ChadTower]

Yeah, Chad, those really look like quarters to me.

 

Can't see the pic.  The shape would vary, of course, but you could get a few that were with a whole lot less effort than sitting in the driveway with a hammer.

[shmokes]

When I was a kid I tried drilling holes in quarters.  It didn't work.  Once the machine registered a credit the quarter was stuck . . . I couldn't pull it back.  On the other hand, in junior high school I would put packing tape on both sides of the back 1/3 of a dollar bill and trailing off for about six inches so the hole thing was about 10-12 inches long.  I'd put that in the Coke machine, keeping hold of the tape handle and then I'd yank it out.  Hit a button and a Coke + 2 quarters would drop out.  I'd do it about six times per day.  It more than a year before they replaced it with a machine that couldn't be fooled so easily.

[Thenasty]

String on a quarter works.
I got 99 credits on a Pacman machine on a Quarter. I played and played then I'm out of time and lots of credits left.
I had to turn Machine off and on to get the credit to dissapear.

Also, the flicking of a penny on the corner of the coin entry works too (only works with Coin Doors like Pacman, Ms.Pacman etc... (midway))

[AtomSmasher]

I once saw a guy take a curved wire, stick it in the coin return (possibly the coin slot, but I think it was the return) and trigger the machine so it thought quarters were dropping in.

[ChadTower]

As a kid I used to call the operator from payphones, tell her I needed to call home for a ride, but the phone wasn't accepting my dime.  She would tell me to put it in, check something on her end, and then connect me manually to the number I was calling.  I was actually putting in a penny.   Nine cents saved!   


You used to be able to use static discharges to coin up games.  The Tank II I worked on had a loose antenna wire attached to the credit circuit and I couldn't figure out why.  Eventually I found this in a third party service manual:

[Zakk]

You can also "bottle" the pre-slam-switch Midway coindoors. 

That involves taking a wine bottle and hitting the coin door as hard as you can. 

I met a guy with a PacMan cabinet... he didn't have the keys... that's how they gave it credits for 20 years.

 

Who knew that the ability to christen a ship would come in so handy in everyday life.  I'm going to try and hotwire a car with this method!

[shateredsoul]

I'm ready to go back now!

I have my wine bottle, train flattened pennies, wire, and a coin on a string.

 

[hypernova]

You're all a bunch of dirty thieves!

Oh...wait.  I stole some baseball cards when I was a kid.    Got caught by someone who didn't work there, and lied my way out of it.  I felt like a giant pile of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- after that, and never did it again.

[OverRide]

We had a hole punch in shop class and could punch out slugs and use them on our lunch at the bowling alley.

When I was 12ish we would walk through the mall and go up to strangers and ask for 1/4's to call our parents to pick us up. It always worked, and in no time we were back in the arcade playing more vids. 

At the 7/11 I would tell the store owner that my 1/4 I put in did no register and they would take a 1/4 from the till, mark it with a magic marker and give it to me. I played many rounds of Golden Axe on 7/11's dime.

[Thenasty]

I'm ready to go back now!

I have my wine bottle, train flattened pennies, wire, and a coin on a string.

 

you forgot your crazy glue. Thats how you wanna end it when you leave 

[ark_ader]

When I was a kid I tried drilling holes in quarters.  It didn't work.  Once the machine registered a credit the quarter was stuck . . . I couldn't pull it back.  On the other hand, in junior high school I would put packing tape on both sides of the back 1/3 of a dollar bill and trailing off for about six inches so the hole thing was about 10-12 inches long.  I'd put that in the Coke machine, keeping hold of the tape handle and then I'd yank it out.  Hit a button and a Coke + 2 quarters would drop out.  I'd do it about six times per day.  It more than a year before they replaced it with a machine that couldn't be fooled so easily.

I can see now when you were on the slippery sliding slope of dishonesty.

Yep the entire ethics thing isn't one of your best suits is it? 

[shmokes]

I love how you cry about me attacking you.  Anyway, ethics is one of my favorite suits.  But who wants to wear the same suit all the time?  Where's your sense of fashion.  Not to mention that it at least needs to be laundered once in a while.

[shateredsoul]

take a chll pill , it's people talking about things they did as kids that used to work on old arcades.

I'm not really going to try these things on the cabinet.   

[RandyT]

As a broke kid in the late 70's, I had a few ways of fueling the arcade habit.  The obvious was to check every coin return.  It's amazing how often this would yield free quarters, and there was nothing quite as satisfying as sticking your finger in there and finding that it wasn't empty.  Then there was looking for (or actually witnessing) coin jams.  When a coin mech was jammed up, people didn't know it and kept stuffing quarters in until they piled up far enough to become visible at the slot.  If the guy wasn't standing right there when it happened, they often took the loss and moved on.  Alerting the change guy to this usually resulted in free games and a couple of the recovered quarters.  And then there was the old stand by; being a little kid and looking as pathetic as possible while watching an adult play the game.  This one usually worked best on pinball machines where free games are the result of a good run.  If they just spent a half hour rocking a machine, they didn't care about those free games.  All in all, though, getting a job was easier.  

[ark_ader]

As a broke kid in the late 70's, I had a fews ways of fueling the arcade habit.  The obvious was to check every coin return.  It's amazing how often this would yield free quarters, and there was nothing quite as satisfying as sticking your finger in there and finding that it wasn't empty.  Then there was looking for (or actually witnessing) coin jams.  When a coin mech was jammed up, people didn't know it and kept stuffing quarters in until they piled up far enough to become visible at the slot.  If the guy wasn't standing right there when it happened, they often took the loss and moved on.  Alerting the change guy to this usually resulted in free games and a couple of the recovered quarters.  And then there was the old stand by; being a little kid and looking as pathetic as possible while watching an adult play the game.  This one usually worked best on pinball machines where free games are the result of a good run.  If they just spent a half hour rocking a machine, they didn't care about those free games.  All in all, though, getting a job was easier. 

I got $20 a week lunch money, and $20 pocket money.

I would hit the arcades that would give you 60 tokens for $10 on a Saturday, then give them to my friends at school who could not afford to play.

The Mom and Pop arcades had these specials. It was a great way to meet new friends.  Always nice to have someone to match up against.

[RandyT]

I got $20 a week lunch money, and $20 pocket money.

I would hit the arcades that would give you 60 tokens for $10 on a Saturday, then give them to my friends at school who could not afford to play.

I could have used a friend like you back then. 

[shmokes]

I would hit the arcades that would give you 60 tokens for $10 on a Saturday, then give them to my friends at school who could not afford to play.

That's awesome.  Almost as charitable as how you donate blood once a month (even though they wouldn't let you if you wanted to) and how you magically will it to be used in Haiti as opposed to any less deserving people in the world.  You're amazing.   

[ChadTower]

Heh, Randy's story reminded me of something.  When my kids and I are at Funspot we're always trolling around looking for free credits.  Happens all the time, too.  Despite the fact that we get 150 tokens for $20, and nearly every classic there is one token, we're still cruising for free credits.  Since they are so cheap we find them all the time.  Old habits die hard and are even passed on to your kids.   I'll have enough tokens in my pocket to last 3 hours and I'm still peering at the credits in every game I pass.   

[shmokes]

This is a bad habit I can't shake, but I hoard all the tokens I find in games that I buy and then take them into arcades to play for free.     I'm sure we've all had the experience of finding substantial amounts of them rolling around the bottom of a conversion, too.



To make up for it, nowadays I'll usually buy $10-20 in tokens and just not spend them all.  Trust me, has absolutely nothing to do with running out of time.  I take them home to be altruistic to the arcade.  Seriously. 


 

That's funny.  It sounds like something ark_ader would say, except believable.

[Mikezilla]

This is a bad habit I can't shake, but I hoard all the tokens I find in games that I buy and then take them into arcades to play for free.     I'm sure we've all had the experience of finding substantial amounts of them rolling around the bottom of a conversion, too.



To make up for it, nowadays I'll usually buy $10-20 in tokens and just not spend them all.  Trust me, has absolutely nothing to do with running out of time.  I take them home to be altruistic to the arcade.  Seriously. 


 

That's funny.  It sounds like something ark_ader would say, except believable.

You said it Shmokes... That guy man... 

[ark_ader]

I would hit the arcades that would give you 60 tokens for $10 on a Saturday, then give them to my friends at school who could not afford to play.

That's awesome.  Almost as charitable as how you donate blood once a month (even though they wouldn't let you if you wanted to) and how you magically will it to be used in Haiti as opposed to any less deserving people in the world.  You're amazing.   

Thanks Shmokes.  I'm giving blood this Friday, and I'm going to mentally teleport it Haiti, just for you!

Well I was being honest back in the day, and working full time when you were in diapers. 

And I'm still working full time, and being charitable while you are lounging around on your friends sofa, wasting your days on the computer. 

You said it Shmokes... That guy man... 

Is that English?

[Dervacumen]

We had a hole punch in shop class and could punch out slugs and use them on our lunch at the bowling alley.

When I was 12ish we would walk through the mall and go up to strangers and ask for 1/4's to call our parents to pick us up. It always worked, and in no time we were back in the arcade playing more vids.  

At the 7/11 I would tell the store owner that my 1/4 I put in did no register and they would take a 1/4 from the till, mark it with a magic marker and give it to me. I played many rounds of Golden Axe on 7/11's dime.

I did not do this.
What I did do was check out store promotion.  A 5 gallon jug mostly full of water with a shot glass at the bottom.  If a client was able to drop a dime in to the shot glass at the bottom of the 5 gallon jug, they were awarded a free fountain soda.  I recreated the apparatus at home and practiced until I could win most of the time.  I even tried drilling a dime to reduce resistance, but the clerks at the store disallowed that.  I then racked up a tab of free drinks at the store in a matter of about 3 days.  I think it was about 25 or so.  Then around the neighborhood I asked the parents of my friends if they wanted me to buy them a Coke, and said I would get it for them.  They gave me the full purchase price and I went to the store, cashed in the $$, I think it was about $1.25 at the time.  Then I used my banked tab and got a free drink.  I took the drink back, then went back to the store to spend my $$ on Joust, Mr. Do!, Satan's Hollow, Ms. Pacman, Etc....

[RayB]

Thanks Shmokes.  I'm giving blood this Friday, and I'm going to mentally teleport it Haiti, just for you!

Well I was being honest back in the day, and working full time when you were in diapers. 

And I'm still working full time, and being charitable while you are lounging around on your friends sofa, wasting your days on the computer. 

You're that old? That might explain a lot! 

[ark_ader]

Thanks Shmokes.  I'm giving blood this Friday, and I'm going to mentally teleport it Haiti, just for you!

Well I was being honest back in the day, and working full time when you were in diapers. 

And I'm still working full time, and being charitable while you are lounging around on your friends sofa, wasting your days on the computer. 

You're that old? That might explain a lot! 

Well I'm sure Shmokes was wearing diapers in his 20's, heck he most likely still is.  

[shateredsoul]

My allowance was $5 bucks a week in the 90s... $40 bucks in the 80s or 70s, that must have been a good amount of dough. As a kid I had to save for ever for a new game or wait for a bday.

My dad did used to get us a used NES game every time he went to the flea market / swap meet. It was pretty nice since he'd go about every other week. There were places where you could get NES games used at $15/10 . Then once he brought home Donkey Kong Jr and i whined "This game? I didn't want this one!" and he never bought us a game again on his trips to the swap meet (only new games for bdays and xmas). My brother still remembers that and tells me that I messed it up for both of us.

As far as getting quarters as a kid, the time my friends and I would love getting quarters was when street fighter II came out. Everyone was playing that game. I would get so happy when people would leave and give me their credit. I played mostly fighting games and snk games growing up. My brother and I loved playing Snow Bros Jr and Bubble Bobble. Come to think of it, I'd get my free credits by taking my brothers turn after finishing my quarters =/ (at least on snow bros).

[ark_ader]

My allowance was $5 bucks a week in the 90s... $40 bucks in the 80s or 70s, that must have been a good amount of dough. As a kid I had to save for ever for a new game or wait for a bday.

My dad did used to get us a used NES game every time he went to the flea market / swap meet. It was pretty nice since he'd go about every other week. There were places where you could get NES games used at $15/10 . Then once he brought home Donkey Kong Jr and i whined "This game? I didn't want this one!" and he never bought us a game again on his trips to the swap meet (only new games for bdays and xmas). My brother still remembers that and tells me that I messed it up for both of us.

As far as getting quarters as a kid, the time my friends and I would love getting quarters was when street fighter II came out. Everyone was playing that game. I would get so happy when people would leave and give me their credit. I played mostly fighting games and snk games growing up. My brother and I loved playing Snow Bros Jr and Bubble Bobble. Come to think of it, I'd get my free credits by taking my brothers turn after finishing my quarters =/ (at least on snow bros).

My dad liked taking me to amusement parks on his day off (Sunday), in the early 80's so we would hit Disneyland at 9am, get on all the top rides, and spend the rest of the day in Starcade or the Penny Arcade on Main Street.  Knotts Berry Farm was quieter and after all the top rides, spent all day in the Roaring 20's Arcade.  On hot afternoons the arcades were all air conditioned, and got to play all my favourite games.  When I got older and was able to drive I would get my hand stamped and go back at night.  Those times were really the best for arcade gaming, warm evenings and lots of girls.  Rainy days was either Movieland Wax Museum (they had the best arcade), Westminster, Old Towne or Cerritos Mall for a movie and getting my Sega Center card stamped.  Let us not forget The Federated Group's console department. 

[Gray_Area]

My allowance was $5 bucks a week in the 90s... $40 bucks in the 80s or 70s, that must have been a good amount of dough.

Indeed it was. Even in a big city.