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What Was The Name Of Your Arcade Growing Up? Describe it.

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MrMojoZ:
I recall Tilts and Alladin's Castle in the malls, Chuck E Cheese (first saw Dragons Lair here) when it first opened had great arcades, and later the best arcades were in bowling alleys like Showplace Lanes and mini-golf places like Putt-Putt.

Ginsu Victim:
Chuck E Cheese was the only place I ever got to play Baby Pac-Man, and I've wanted one ever since.

garnerb350:
Goldston's Beach, White Lake, North Carolina.

Goldston's Beach was your typical tourist trap where the beach was actually a lake and the resort was built back in the 40's. I used to go there during the summers because it was close to home and plus there was the arcade and amusement rides, and plus the chance of hooking up with white trash girls...
(imagine Caddyshack, Dirty Dancing, and American Graffiti rolled up into one...)

When I was a kid I remember I was scared to death of Super Pac-Man, because we would run into this sandwich shop that had the cab; us kids would be slopping wet from swimming and one of the carriage bolts on the joystick wasn't grounded or something and I would get the *&^% shocked out of me...but we still played the game despite being shocked...Across from the sandwich shop was the arcade/ice cream shop/bingo area...Goldston's Arcade ( so it was called) had a Dairy Queen where the high school jocks would work at because they could easily pick up chicks and look cool serving ice cream...The Bingo area was where the grandparents and single mothers who smoked 3 packs a day would go and congregate, while the young kids would play in the arcade. Skeeball would be on one end, the quarter pusher games on another, shooting gallery and every arcade you can think of...

When I hit 15, my dad told me to get a summer job and I went there to work. We would work from May till August. Some of the games would give out tickets and families would trade them in for cheap souvenirs. I used to sit at a table and hand out change and basically junk.

Sometime the games would screw up because kids would place trash or whatever they could find in the quarter slots...we would have sets of keys and screwdrivers and I remember cleaning out plenty of coin mechs in my day...

As I got older I spent more time helping this old guy from the local arcade supplier  and work on crap in the shooting gallery and other games...or spent time counting quarters...
I used to always play bubble bobble...( time killer) oh and also Time Killers (lol)
I beat Revolution X...used to bet money on Mortal Kombat 3...
Saw a drunk turn his right fist into shreds of meat, by punching a hole into a Killer Instinct 2 monitor out because he got his ass kicked by Fulgore.

Most memorable moment I do remember was one of my co-workers told me that he could play street fighter 2 one handed. and well. We played and what he would do is that he would place the joystick between his pinky and ring finger on his left hand, and push the buttons with his other fingers. He would always play Chun-Li....He would also only used the medium kick button also...Somehow we figured out that there was a glitch where no body could block that shot...
So much that he also would play with his eyes closed. I remember he was playing this gang of African Americans and the player was so pissed, that he screamed that he was coming back to shoot him...Our manager called the police and they stayed there till closing... Never will forget that...   

Flake:
Aladdins Castle in the local mall.  I remember having to beg my mom to take us up there and drop us off for awhile while she went elsewhere and shopped.  

The Mecca of good times were the 2-3 trips to Showbiz Pizza we had a year.  These nights were very much looked forward to.  Tron and Spyhunter were my games of choice there - sucked at both and still do.  

Other places that had games were the local pizza hut (always had a Galaga or Mrs. Pacman it seemed) and a local Pantera's Pizza (had a Mario Bros. - not super and a couple other games that dont ring a bell right now).  

Mauzy:
My first main arcade was the local skating rink in Marshalltown, Iowa that I went to every Friday night for about 3 years. I also played in their youth roller hockey league. They had a couple classics. The only two classics that ever worked were the Ms Pac and Joust, but they had a centipede that would come up garbage and a missile command that was dead in the water. They switched out their games every couple months but it was more of a rotation. Joust would often replace my all time favorite from my early days, Sunset Riders. They had a two player version for some reason.

Now a days the only place I get to play anything worth playing is during my yearly trip to Indiana Beach. They have a whole bunch of pins in decent shape for a quarter a play. Last summer my dad and I went and played for three days. I played 103 games on $17.50 over the three days we were there. Dad played two less on the same amount, but he got a couple high scores. Obviously, their replays were set relatively low. Between the main park and campground across the street, they have two of the following: Fun House, Addams Family (I "broke" one on my last trip... ;D), and Twilight Zone. They also have a No Fear, Jokerz!, Getaway, Cyclone, Bride of Pinbot, Star Trek: Next Generation (dead last two summers...) Simpsons Pinball Party, South Park, Theatre of Magic and a couple other pins. As for their video selection, its pretty low classic wise. I think they have a cockpit Pole Position and a Track and Field. Most notable is two AWESOME condition bootleg DDR Extreme machines at the park.

My next trip should be coming up here soon.

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