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

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Dazz:

--- Quote from: drventure on June 12, 2009, 12:29:10 pm ---@Dazz and Zeppo

Forum 303?  ;D I used to work in that mall. The arcade there was a big hangout for me (I used to play Targ and Spectar way in the back),. Good times. What was that? Late 80's?

Yeah, last time I drove through there, it was a big empty concrete farm :(

--- End quote ---
Yeah, ye old Forum 303.  It was completely demolished and a new industrial park jumped up.  Just a bunch of warehouses now.


--- Quote from: drventure on June 12, 2009, 12:32:03 pm ---As for my arcade growing up. I used to hang out at Wizards (Bowen and Division).

A total dive, but definitely an old school arcade (I don't believe they even had a skeeball). Dark, purple carpet, tinted windows. I think it's now a biker bar :)

--- End quote ---
I do recall Wizards!  That was a pretty cool place, but a definitely a dive.

Ummon:

--- Quote from: billpa on June 15, 2009, 11:39:20 am ---Playland - Penn State University


--- End quote ---

HM. Not often you find a dude that old that into vids. Funny when said Pac-Man didn't do that well there.

chiLLbiLLy:
Ahhhhh, the arcades of Arlington, Texas....really good times, if you were going during the late 70's to late 80's.

I don't really remember the arcade at the Forum mall being called "Yesterday's", but it could have changed to that in the mid to late 80's.  When I went there, it was called "Forum Fair" and had quite the great selection of games in the really early 80's, along with a really nice pinball section across from the skeeball area.  Lunar Lander, Amidar, Robotron, The End...I can't believe I can still remember specific games from there, yet I can't remember what I did last Tuesday.  Unfortunately, that whole mall and area went downhill somewhat in the later 80's, which probably explains why I quit going out there.

And then Wizards (or the Wizard, as I remember it) was definitely one of my favorite hangouts in the earliest days of arcades.  Yeah, I guess it was a bit of a dive, but in the early 80's, as a young lad, I wouldn't really know what that meant.  First saw Pac-Man, Gorf, Astro Blaster, Bosconian, Sinistar, 007, Hyperball, Caveman...so many more.  Right around the corner was a 7-Eleven, which is where I fell in love with Crazy Climber.  You're right, though, the Wizard is now a country bar or biker bar.

Then, there was another short-lived arcade just down Division Street a little ways towards the east, right under the shadow of the Fielder overpass, across from Lisa's Fried Chicken.  It was called Challengers and it too, had a nice selection of games, like Turbo, Q-Bert, Venture and eventually the first Galaga I ever saw and played.  Just another building in a strip shopping center, I don't remember this place lasting more than a couple of years.  It's now like a medical clinic or something.

But, if you knew Arlington, you had to go to the original Putt-Putt, also on Division, just much further down.  That place always had an awesome selection of games, from the early 80's to the 90's.  First time I ever saw Donkey Kong and man, did that game always have a long backup of people, ready to play.  Too many other great games (& pinball) to mention, but it was the only place I ever found an I-Robot...love that game.  Sadly, they just closed this Putt-Putt and auctioned off all of their inventory, primarily thanks to Jerry Jones and the new Cowboy stadium.

Then, during my high school years, the place to hang out during off campus lunch was The Electric Horseman, on Cooper Street.  Lots of good stuff there, including the first Dragon's Lair I ever saw, which had the extra monitor mounted up top, to allow the crowds to watch you play.  Last time I drove by here, it was a Middle Eastern restaurant or something.

And in the really, really early days, Six Flags actually had some cool arcades, which I think were over in the Boomtown area.  This was back in the Night Driver, Stunt Cycle, Sprint 2 days, but I think they carried over with stuff like Asteroids, Bezerk, etc.   I think they are still "arcades", in the same locations, today, but I'm very hesitant to actually call them arcades, with the sorry state of coin-op offerings these days.

By now, it's pretty obvious I spent a lot of time in arcades back in the day...a LOT of time.  I'm not even mentioning the other Putt-Putt location in Arlington, that came along in the mid 80's, plus all the fringe places I frequented, like the arcade at North East Mall in Fort Worth, the Putt-Putt in Fort Worth on 820 and the dozens of small, 1-3 machine locations, scattered throughout Arlington.

Holy crap!  Sorry, I just went into full-on, melt-down, retro-nostalgia mode there for a few minutes, as I ooze just a bit of drool out of the side of my mouth. :P

emerica:
The arcade machines were all over town at various locals but the bowling alleys and laundromats always had the good games. When we were older, my friends and I used to play at an arcade called "Electric Avenue" at a Green Acres Mall in valley stream NY. It was dark, loud, and the attendant seemed high all the time. We used to spend all day playing 720 and Star Wars.

I was always in awe of the arcade in Penn Station (can't remember the name). I remember it being huge with just about any game you wanted to play. They also had some game that would rotate 360 while you were playing. A day in the city always required a stop at the arcade.

rEd86:
There was an Aladdin’s Castle next to where I worked at Citadel Mall in Charleston, SC.  Pretty standard mall arcade - A horseshoe layout with machines down each side with a row down the middle. I got to be pretty good friends with the guy that worked there most of the time and we'd play games for free well after closing time.  I made the mistake of dropping in one time to play a quick game before going to work and got busted by the truancy officer.   :angry:

There was also a Chuckie Cheese in the area that we'd hit every so often, and a Godfather's Pizza a few doors down that had some games when they first came out.  (Journey, etc.)

Student Union @ Clemson took a lot of money over my college the years.

--Ed

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