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I'm a member of the Video Arcade Preservation Society (VAPS). Feel free to check out my membership page by clicking HERE.

Right now, I have Pac-Man Full Size Upright with the hardware speed-up chip and a 16-in-1 Dip Switch Upgrade (which plays Ms. Pac-Man as well as many other variations), a Donkey Kong Cocktail Table with a High Score Save/Diagnostics chip installed, a Strike Force (aka Defender III) Full Size JAMMA Upright, three Double Dragon JAMMA PCBs (one working, one untested, one not working), an Atari Tetris JAMMA PCB, a Tetris Plus 2 JAMMA PCB, a Combatribes JAMMA PCB & Marquee, and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles JAMMA PCB & Marquee with original manual. Pac-Man truly is the classic of all classics. I'll post pictures of all of them soon and my high score lists. If anyone wants to send me your high score, I'll post it (Pac-Man scores must be from a HARDWARE speed up Pac-Man and you must include a snapshot - such as with a digital camera - I'll make a separate list for other scores).

Pac-Man

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Why I wanted it:

First of all, my wife wanted a Ms. Pac-Man. Unfortunately, we had a hard time finding an affordable Ms. Pac-Man (especially after shipping charges). So after some diligent searching and a little negotiation, we found a Pac-Man full upright in Milford, CT and drove to pick it up. All in all, it was only a two and half hour event and getting it in the apartment wasn't too difficult with a cart and an elevator (with the help of our door man). It was a great purchase since the monitor was in terrific condition, the controls were in fair to good condition and the coin mechs worked.

Secondly, I wanted it because it was really the beginning of arcade fame as we know it today. Sure, other great games were out prior to Pac-Man, such as Space Invaders, Asteroids and Galaxian, but this broke all the barriers. Simple, colorful, and both boys and girls (and today men and women) loved it. No home arcade is complete without this classic (or Ms. Pac-Man).

BTW, a little trivia: Pac-Man was originally Puck-Man, but this was too easily defaced (use your imagination). Pac-Man was first offered to Atari, but was turned down because it was "too simple." And yes, Pac-Man was inspired from a pizza with a missing slice. A cartoon show based on this game ran for two years (which I do remember watching, and managed to track down one of the original animation cels for). One strange debate regarding Pac-Man was whether Pac-Man Jr. and Baby Pac-Man were one in the same. Baby Pac-Man was the strange video game/pinball hybrid and Pac-Man Jr. was a post Ms. Pac-Man scrolling maze video game. There was only one "kid" Pac in the cartoon. But, the new Pac-Man game out for computer shows Pac-Man Jr. AND Baby Pac-Man together in the intro. So the "great" mystery has been solved, they are not the same.

Our Pac-Man has a hardware speedup installed. It makes the game A LOT more fun.

I recently acquired a Multi-Pac 16-in-1 Dip Switch Upgrade. This will allow us to play Ms. Pac-Man as well as other variations of these classic in the same cabinet. (see more below)

16-in-1 Multi Pac Dip Switch Upgrade

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Why I wanted it:

Well this was a real no-brainer. We really wanted Ms. Pac-Man and really didn't have space for another cabinet. So here's the solution, pop this puppy on your original Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-Man PCB and change the dip switches to anything you want. It really takes no more than removing the chips from 6E, 6F, 6H, 6J, 5E and 5F then adding a new chip to 5E and inserting a board on the edge connector. It would have taken 5 minutes, but unfortunately I forgot that the white switch in the back of the Pac Man machine needs to be pushed in to power up, so it took me awhile longer. :(

My 16-in-1 Multi Pac has the following games selectable by a dip switch box mountable inside the coin door:

Pac-Man (Normal, Speed Up & Cheat) - The Original

Ms. Pac-Man (Normal, Speed Up & Cheat) - The Popular Sequel

Pac-Man After Dark - Pac-Man with vector-ish graphics, invisible mazes & higher value fruit

Ms. Pac-Man After Dark - Ms. Pac-Man with vector-ish graphics, invisible mazes & higher value fruit

Ms. Pac Attack (Normal and Speed Up) - Ms. Pac-Man with four new mazes

Ultra Pac-Man - Pac-Man with different mazes and graphics, higher scoring and new "fruits"

Pac-Man 3D - Pac-Man with a 3D look

Bezerk Pac - Pac-Man with Bezerk graphics

Ms. Indy Pac - Ms. Pac-Man with race cars

PengoMan - Pac-Man with Pengo graphics

Vertical Tunnel Pac-Man - Pac-Man with two new tunnels on the top and bottom

Crush Roller - Another classic early '80s maze arcade game

Really, only three of the above games were ever released in the arcades (Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, & Crush Roller) but the variety that all the different mods give is well worth it. Basically, if it doesn't take anymore room, why not add them? The only problem is the lack of Speed-Up variants for the different mods. Clay Cowgill has a 24-in-1 MultiPac which has different games and is selectable from a menu upon resetting your game. This variation was originally $189, but after it was discontinued, it started going for $250 and up. Two-Bit Score has a 16-in-1 Super ABC Kit which also has different games and is selectable from the screen after coining up. This variation originally ran for $299 and after being discontinued can still be acquired for $300. But the dip-switch variation I bought was a measly $161.50, so price wise, it was the real bargain.

Donkey Kong

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Why I wanted it:

Well, Mario has got to be one of the most recognizable video game characters in the world. Who knew this would be the case back when he was merely known as Jump Man the carpenter!! Not until later was he Mario the plumber. So the game that started it all, Donkey Kong, was definitely on the list. I was running a little short on room and still needed a JAMMA cabinet, so I opted for a cocktail table. I found one in South Brunswick, NJ and went to pick it up.

Unfortunately, this wasn't such a good deal. The lines on the screen should have told me otherwise, but I went ahead with it anyway. And boy did I pay the price. Two weeks later, the screen began to curl and flip. Thus, it looked like I needed a cap kit (replace the capacitors). So I had to buy the parts, and being pretty bad with a soldering iron, I needed to have a television repair shop fix it. Sigh. There went another $100, but at least now it's crystal clear.

Our Donkey Kong has a Hi-Score/Diagnostic kit installed so parameters can be changed on screen and high scores are saved when the machine is off. I someday hope to add Donkey Kong Jr., but am unsure how to do this right now (since the Double Donkey Kong only works on the Donkey Kong Jr. PCB).

A little trivia: Pauline (Mario's, or then Jump Man's, Girlfriend) never shows up in another game and originally was merely referred to as "Lady." Donkey Kong was suppose to be Monkey Kong, but after a mix up at the printers (due to a hard to read fax), Nintendo decided to go ahead with Donkey Kong to avoid delay. There was cartoon based on this game where each week Donkey Kong tried to escape Mario and Pauline to avoid being brought back to the zoo. Why Mario, a carpenter or plumber, was chasing a Gorilla that escaped from a zoo is anyone's guess. And of course, who could forget, as much as one would want to forget, the Super Mario Brothers movie. Yikes.

Strike Force (a.k.a. Defender III)

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Why I wanted it:

This one was interesting. I certainly was a fan of Defender back in the day, but definitely didn't have any more room for a Defender cabinet. In addition, I also needed a JAMMA compatible cabinet with at least two joysticks with three buttons each for all the great JAMMA PCBs I wanted. So what did I come up with? Strike Force!! Strike who, do you ask?

Well, in the 1990's, arcade companies began to realize they could catch a whole other generation with old game classics. The only problem is that the youngsters of the '90s no longer wanted simple RGB graphics anymore. And vector? Forget about it! So it was time to take the classic and beef it up. In 1991, Midway came out with a super update to one of its long standing classics, Defender. However, the like Defender's sequel, Stargate, they gave it a name other than Defender III. It was called Strike Force. Basically, it was defender with incredible colorful and detailed background graphics along with all the same game play with a few extras. Gone was the thrust button, now you just point in the direction you wanted and off you go. And in came multiple weapons and power ups to pick up and switch among. And when those pesky aliens kidnaped the humans, they're not automatically doomed to mutantville like Defender, you can grab them and save them!!! Also added was a definite mission with an ending (clear several planets then attack the main base), unlike Defender's endless waves of aliens. You could even pick which planets to clear first and in what order!

The game play was great, but the popularity was low. The arcades were filled with Street Fighter II and other fighting games, and no one was really interested in space shooters. Thus, Strike Force (aka Defender III) became one of the most rare games ever and no home version was ever made. So the only way to actually play it is on the arcade machine (or through MAME).

This posed a serious problem for me. How was I to attain such a rare cabinet? Well, I lucked out and found one pretty cheap in great condition in East Brunswick, NJ. The rest, as they say, is history. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the PCB was accessible through the control panel, which flips down. This makes it extremely convenient for switching games. On a side note, no home version was ever made of Strike Force.

A little trivia: Defender (Strike Force's grandfather so to speak) was deemed "too hard" and confusing for gamers by critics when it was first introduced. I wonder what they think about Quake. ;-)

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Space Invaders DX

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Why I wanted it:

Many years ago, back when I lived in Mundelein, IL, there was a theatre by the name of Mundelein Cinemas. This particular theatre was not particularly notable except for two things: (1) Cheap movies and (2) you didn't need a car to get there. Why do I bring this up do you ask? Well, its because there were two other things which would make the trip to Mundelein Cinemas worth it, Scramble and Space Invaders. I can't even remember how much money I spent on those two games either before or after movies, and sometimes instead of movies! The 10 cent Space Invader's machine was tops, because who could argue with a dime per play?

At anyrate, that little nostalgic flashback pretty much answers the question of why I wanted this game. Aside from the nostalgia, Space Invaders was one of the elite few that started it all. Back in 1978, the game was revolutionary. It spawned many similar games which are also considered classics, such as Galaxian, Galaga and Pheonix. Dare I say, it started what maybe known today as the vertical scrolling space shooter video game genre. Of course, there is another reason for wanting this particular board. It's JAMMA and it plays in a horizontal cabinet. That's great news for those of us (like myself) who don't have too much room (since I live in Manhattan) and already have three arcade machines (it's tough, trust me). Bringing in a hulking Space Invader's machine is absolutely out of the question. Even another cocktail machine, or caberet style machine is a little too much. Thus, Space Invader's DX was my only option. The only problem was that this game is pretty rare and was only released in Japanese arcades. Luckily I found one on eBay and bid away to a price I dare say more than doubles anything I've paid for any other board in my collection. Yeah, nostalgia can be an evil thing. ;)

This particular entry in the classic series was released in 1993. It contains multiple versions of Space Invaders, which makes it even cooler:

1) Space Invaders (Upright Cabinet - black & white invaders with color moon background)

2) Space Invaders (Cocktail Table - black & white invaders with no background)

3) Space Invaders II (Cocktail Table - black & white invaders with simulated color overlay)

4) Space Invaders Deluxe (color invaders)

5) Two Player Split Screen Space Invaders (Only available on this version - black & white invaders with color backgrounds)

6) Space Invaders DX (Only available on this version - includes full color characters from other Taito games with backgrounds from other Taito games, e.g., Bubble Bobble. Changes with each stage.)

It's a very nice collection of Space Invader games which thankfully plays great on my horizontal JAMMA cabinet. Plus, the "dip switch" settings are all done by menu via the test switch and are all in English. So it makes it very simple to change the number of bases you get, the difficulty level or the sound level, etc. Bottom line, classic arcade games was why I began collecting in the first place. I'm pretty happy about this one. Now if there was only a version of JAMMA compatible Centipede that played on a horizontal screen, life would be complete... ;)

A little trivia: Space Invaders was so popular in Japan when it was first released that it caused a coin shortage until the country quadrupled its Yen supply. Apparently, entire arcades were opened in Japan just for Space Invaders. Space Invaders was also the first Arcade game adapted for ahome console (the infamous Atari 2600).

Double Dragon

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Why I wanted it:

I still remember the day that I went to the arcade and saw Double Dragon. I was floored. That's really all I can say. There was no turning back, I was completely hooked. I avidly awaited the release of Double Dragon for the Nintendo and immediately went out to buy it the day it was released. It was sold out everywhere, but I lucked out and found a returned copy at Babbages in Hawthorn Mall, Vernon Hills, IL. I should have thought about it. Why was it returned so soon? Well, I gobbled it up for $40 and ran home to try it, my friends in tow. I was then shocked to find that it should have been called "Single Dragon" since there was no two player cooperative mode!!!! Yikes! Well, the game was still good, but it just wasn't the same. Double Dragon II came out for the Nintendo and that had two player coop mode, but it just wasn't the same. So how could I pass up the opportunity the pick up this original arcade classic? I didn't. With this JAMMA PCB, all I needed was a JAMMA cabinet with two joysticks with three buttons each.

Unfortunately, after getting my Strike Force cabinet, I tried this board and found out it had a "63701 Error." If anyone has any information on how to fix this, please let me know. I also attained two more Double Dragon boards, one working with no sound and the other also with a 63701 Error.

A little trivia: There was a cartoon series (of which I bought the first VHS tape in the series) and a movie with Alyssa Milano based on this game. Both weren't too good. Double Dragon III was a bust, Double Dragon V was a fighting game based on the cartoon, and there was never a Double Dragon IV (for some reason), but Combatribes might have been it.

Tetris

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Why I wanted it:

Well this one was because of my wife. This was the only other game she wanted besides Ms. Pac-Man (Pac-Man) and Centipede. So what more do I have to say? I paid twice as much for this board compared to every other board I have. Its also a JAMMA PCB, so I plug it into my Strike Force cabinet.

In addition, I'm also a Tetris addict. Who can knock the worlds best and most copied puzzle game? Atari definitely had the best version (the Sega version was bland). Love that Russian background music! I also have the original Marquee for this.

And for those who are interested, Tetris was the object of some the largest legal battles over a video game ever. Basically, Nintendo came out on top, Atari lost big time, and Alexi P. (the creator of Tetris from Russia) got practically no royalties until he put together the Tetris corporation in the late 90's. So basically, he's only gotten royalties for Tetris PLUS 2 so far.

Tetris PLUS 2

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Why I wanted it:

I actually got this for my wife as well. It was a compromise because I couldn't get my hands on a real Tetris (the Atari version). Of course, now I have both. This is actually OK since Tetris PLUS 2 has so many extra variations on Tetris classic. I played the heck out of Tetris PLUS on the Playstation, so I thought this could only be better. In addition, no home version of this was ever made.

Turns out that this game is awesome. It has two player competitive mode in classic and new versions. It also adds the aspect of uncovering pictures in classic mode by clearing lines, a very nice touch. In addition, you also choose a character for the new mode (unlike Tetris PLUS in which you could only be the guy archeologist). In short, this was well worth the money.

The Combatribes

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Why I wanted it:

Well, quite frankly, the number one reason I wanted it is because it was really cheap and my Double Dragon board didn't work. The second reason I wanted it was because it was really Technos' last "big" game so to speak before going under. Who's Technos you ask? Technos was the developer of the well known Double Dragon series. By the early '90s, Technos was running out of ideas and decided to get back to what worked. They tried a Double Dragon III, which was terrible. At that point, innovation was required.

Combatribes basically is a three player simultaneous Double Dragon, similar to Final Fight. It has some new moves which gave it a small edge. These included grabbing the enemy by the feet and spinning him around to throw him on his buddies, knocking two heads together to knock out gang members, and smashing heads into the ground to finish the baddies off. The sound effects were basically recycled from Double Dragon with couple extra laughs and grunts. It also had selectable characters with different attributes (i.e. average, powerful or fast). The music was terrific, and probably the best part of the game. The one problem with the game was the absence of the Jump button. What's with that? Who came up with that stupid idea?

Anyway, it was worth it for the price and I also got the original Marquee in the deal.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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Why I wanted it:

I actually remember this machine from several places, like Hawthorn Lanes in Vernon Hills, IL and the late Sluggers from the same town. In 1989, Double Dragon II was still the riegning king of scrolling beat 'em ups. But also in 1989, the world had undergone Turtle Craze. The movies were coming out, the cartoon was in full swing and everyone was yelling "Turtle Power!" Well, the video game industry would not be left out, and I neither would I!

Thus, many quarters were spent on this four player game and many hours spent playing this game both in the arcade and on my NES. So with the opportunity to pick up this game, well, let's just say I miss those "heroes in a half shell." ;)

I also picked up the original Marquee and Manual for this game.

Side Arms

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Why I wanted it:

What can I say about Side Arms? Well, that's easy. It was my FAVORITE game when I was in grade school. I remember quite vividly the numerous times I visited Fair Haven Lanes to play this game and completely blew my allowance on this game. Only Bubble Bobble and Tiger Heli came close during this time period.