Hello all,

  I had an interesting day yesterday and I thought, why not, I will post about it.

Yesterday was a very busy day for me, as I had to leave home in Saint-Lazare and head to Sherbrooke for business, come back to work in Montreal, then go home, and then head for Toronto to meet up with Cantstandya for a pin trade, then head back home... yeah, that is a shitload of driving... but oddly enough, it was kind of nice, since I got to do a lot of thinking, and a lot of reminiscing.

On my way back from Sherbrooke, I stopped in Bromont and headed for a little campground just close to the exit. It was here, 28 years ago, where I first discovered arcade games and pinballs. In 1980, my father bought a trailer and just about every weekend and summers for over 6 years, I spent my time there. It wa sopen all year round so in the summer we saw a lot of travellers come and go. we would play softball on the ball lot in front of the campground, play in the woods and build small wood cabins here and there... And in the winter, the skiers would come every weekend and we all hit the slopes, or go cross-country skiing for the whole day, and we would also go ice skating on the lake with always some hot chocolate in hand.

But all year round, there were the machines... ahh yes... I played them all, and I even remember them all... a minty-fresh brand-new Wizard of Wor cocktail, a Ms.Pacman cocktail, a Defender getting pounded on by frustrated players, and the pins... Flash Gordon, Silverball Mania, Lectronamo, Big Game, Rolling Stones, Jungle Lord, Firepower... I could go on and on. They had most of them in the main lobby, and always a couple of upright vids in the basement along with the ping-pong tables and pool table.

Good times were spent there.

I drove around the campground a bit yesterday. The land on which the baseball field lays on is for sale, the batting cage rusted and slanted. The campground lays mostly empty, a part from a few campers here and there, the heyday of camping trailers long gone since the campground is now closed in winter. I even found where our trailer used to be... that little tree on which my dad hung Christmas lights on (which stayed on that tree for years), now a large maple tree. The lot where we had a firepit where we roasted marshmallows on cold fall evenings looks so tiny today...

Inside the main building, the old owner is no longer at the cash register to sell you those 5-cent packs of gum... now replaced by the new owner, looking at me eagerly, hoping I am in for the weekend. Gone are all the pins and vids, replaced by an internet station, and 2 consoles that kids can rent by the hour... the decor has changed entirely, but a small tribute to the past remains in the form of pictures of past events... and believe it or not, a picture of me and my cousin skating on the lake in the winter of 1981.

The basement though still remains the same after all these years... unbelievable. Gone are the vids, but the ping-pong tables and pool table are still there, holding the fort. Even some posters from my childhood are still on the paneled walls. Wow, what a trip.

I walked out of there, headed to my rental car, and headed for the highway slowly, looking at the roads I used to bike on on those nice summer weekends. The drive-in located beside the campground is still there in spirit, having being converted permanently into a flea market. I can still remember my cousin and I sneaking in with lawnchairs, sitting in the far end of the lot, watching Poltergeist, nearly scared to death...

All those empty fields in front of the grounds now hold Burger Kings, Pizza Huts and pretty much any outlet mall chain you can think of. Gone is the rural country feel of the whole place. Oh well... you can't stop ''progress'' ...  

So I got home at 4:30pm and got ready to head for Toronto and I started going through the whole lot of memories again though my head. I was picking up a Big Game after all... a game I played so many years ago at that campground. That 4-hour trip felt like 30 minutes. I could have spent hours more just recollecting those old memories.

So here I get to TO and had the pleasure of meeting Cantstandya and Rockinganger. And then I saw it... the Big Game. A rush of memories just poured into my head again. It really was one of the most beautiful pins I had ever seen. It has some minor wear and tear from 28 years of use, but I didn't care... at that point, it was just an awesome sight. I would have traded a MM in a heartbeat for it. I was in heaven. And what was making the whole thing even better was chatting to new friends, even if briefly, about our common passion.

Then it hit me... have arcades really dissappeared, or simply morphed into something else for us collectors? The thing I used to love about games was rounding up some buddies and just have some fun together, play, and talk about the games. Only this time, the arcade wasn't in a campground... it was in a parking lot of a gas station by the 401... and it is in my office right now... and it is on this website.

The whole experience I had yesterday may be corny (it's ok...) but it just gave me that ''recharge'' that I needed. I may not be able to go play at that campground anymore... and the same goes to all you guys in Toronto who will miss the Funland arcade... but at least I got myself a part of that memory through the games I have, and a part of it through the friendships I make on a constant basis. I relive those Saturday nights at the campground every time I walk into my gameroom and see my Silverball Mania and Big Game, as well as every meeting we have, and every chance I get to chat with any other collector. We all get to relive those childhood days over and over....

I love this hobby.


Sparky

Cantstandya and Rockinganger, you just missed a MM !  


Good reading, thanks Sparky!

glad to see that you like it hopefully i get as much fun out if the playboy. enjoy the big game

dave

Quoted from Sparky

Then it hit me... have arcades really dissappeared, or simply morphed into something else for us collectors?

I think a few of us collect more pins than we personally need for personal play just to have that atmosphere again.

Probably in reality I would personally be able to sustain my interest alone with 3 or 4 pins and rotating them on occasion, but it just doesn't give the feel of walking into a place chock-a-block full of interesting games.

To me it's recreating that environment. I just wish I had clearer space for them all to be more accessible and of course.... room for more.

Quoted from necro_nemesis

I think a few of us collect more pins than we personally need for personal play just to have that atmosphere again.

Probably in reality I would personally be able to sustain my interest alone with 3 or 4 pins and rotating them on occasion, but it just doesn't give the feel of walking into a place chock-a-block full of interesting games.

To me it's recreating that environment. I just wish I had clearer space for them all to be more accessible and of course.... room for more.

You hit the nail right on the head.  I've been thinking a lot about the number of games in my collection, and the reason behind why I'm still looking to add more (cuz I have way more than I actually need), and I think the main reason is re-creating the atmosphere from days gone by....

D

Absolutely. I have all my machines on a single switch in one area and often I will turn everything on, even when it is just me playing.

I see a lot of guys that turn on a single machine, play it, turn it off and then turn the next one on.

Yes, it's good for the environment, your hydro bill plus a few 555's and 44's life, but it takes something away from the illusion.

I really liked the picture the other day of the guy that lined up all the marquee's and back lit them. It was a great effect. To me with limited space for video games this was a nice way to pay homage to those games and then I would say back it up with a MAME that you could play them all on.

C'est un tr�s bon t�moingnage. Je vis les meme �motions par rapport au lieu ou j'ai v�cu ces moments intenses. C'est pour moi de la nostalgie et lorsque j'�tais dans ces lieux fantastiques, qu'�taient les arcades, je me disais que je pourrais toujours y vivre, parole d'ados a l'�poque mais qui se r�alisent aujourd'hui.

De voir tout ces videos et pinballs etre disponible aujourd'hui et en plus de tout les gens impliqu�s dans la restoration, la r�paration, toutes les informations disponibles, ca m'embarque encore plus et je saute avec tr�s grand enthousiasme dans cette passion. La premi�re fois que j'ai crois� ebay au d�but 2000 et que j'ai vu les jeux video et pinball de l'�poque, le battement de mon coeur s'est gravement acc�l�r� !!  

Personnellement mes grosses ann�es sont 79-83 car les th�mes des jeux video et pinball correspondent a ce qui me fait tripper et m'allume le plus, soit les themes de sc-fiction et fantaisie et les sons �lectroniques de synth�tiseurs. En 84 arrivent les jeux video avec des themes de combat et ils ne m'ont jamais interess� et malheureusement ceci ne s'est jamais termin�. J'ai commenc� a connaitre les vids et pins au d�but 80 dans les d�panneurs, restaurants et bars divers mais je suis vraiment rentrer dedans en d�couvrant le centre-ville de Montreal vers la fin 83 avec leur grandes arcades bond�s de gens et heureusement il y avaient encore beaucoup de games du d�but 80' que je d�couvrait pour la premi�re fois a ce moment-l�.

J'ai peu jou� aux pins a cette �poque car les moyens financier �tait bas mais les qques game que j'y ai jouer m'ont donner des souvenirs imp�rissable. Les pins qui m'ont le plus allum� font maintenant partie de ma collection et je trouve que j'ai une chance incroyable de pouvoir revivre ses �motions et trippe de l'�poque.

Je pourrais �crire tr�s longtemps sur le sujet et je suis amoureux fou de ce hobby aussi !!!  

I was reminded yesterday that not all of the pinball owners out there are attached to online forums like these.  I was called on to repair an indented ball trough (among other things) in a Shaq Attaq.  The very nice owner services furnaces and seems to run into great pinball and arcade deals by just being in the right place at the right time.  And through his experience I realize that there are lots of non-collector owners out there.  Pinball machines are difficult to own, but apparently just as difficult to put  in the trash.  So, as we all know, the arcades have moved into our basements - which unfortunately means that people's general exposure is very limited and getting more limited all the time.

I keep expanding my collection for the Toronto Pinball League.

Nothing is more fun then having the league come over for a good night of pinball, I don't know if I'd have as many machines as I have now without the league.  I remember when I joined the league I only had 3 at that point, TAF, WH20, T2.  Then once I joined the league having 4 was the minimum to host so I knew it was important for me to get a 4th machines so I could host the league as I thrive on the competition.  The rest is history, I'm up to 11 machines now and as soon as I find another spare inch of space I'll be up to 12   Mabye I could squeeze all the machines so the heads are touching that might get me one last space  

I've been registered on this board for a month, and have lurked till now.

My story is very similar to Sparky's. The town I grew up in had a really decent arcade but it was a rarity that i'd get to go as that usually required me conning one of my folks to take me there. But on summer holidays at the cottage (on a campground similar to what Sparky had described) I'd hit the lodge with a bucket of quarters daily for my fill of arcade goodness. In doing this, I got hooked on Puzzle Bobble (Bust A Move), Baseball Stars, Fatal Fury, Marble Madness, Battle Zone, Gorf and many other games...  My sister and I would play round after round of Puzzle Bobble, people would be shooting pool, playing ping pong or playing one of the various other arcade games also in the lodge. The atmosphere was amazing. We'd only stop if we A) ran out of quarters or B) got sore from the constant hip cheques we threw at each other while playing. Arcade games were a contact sport for us.

This started my love for the MVS and arcade games in general.

Working at / running an arcade has always been something that I wanted to do as a youngin'. As years passed, I realized that that would probably not happen So I did the next best thing.. A few months back I found a Neo Geo cabinet locally. Needless to say, I bought it and now I have a few games in the basement. At first, it was going to be just a one machine show. But then I decided I wanted a few more and grow more of a collection. So, I got my first pin. Then, I heard through the grapevine about someone wanting to unload another cabinet and I jumped at the chance to add another to my collection. At first my "collecting" was more for the playing of the games. But then I had some friends over for an "arcade night" a few weeks back and while I was playing pinball, looked back over my shoulder and saw people playing on the other two machines and a rush of nostalgia that took me back to my childhood washed over me. While I can't say its a feeling better than sex, it ranks right up there. It was like being in my youth all over again going down to the arcade with all my friends trying to set the high score on that machine that would constantly eat your quarters, minus the quarters.


Anywho, I don't know where I'm going with this, and I could probably ramble on for quite a while. But as Sparky said, and I couldn't have said it any better myself, I love this hobby.

Quoted from 839

Anywho, I don't know where I'm going with this,

Most of us already do. See that stuff down there that takes up valuable space you can fill with games? It's on it's way out.

I am kind of the same way,

I didn't get a chance to go to many of the arcades when i was a kid, as my parent's didn't think it was a safe environment for me, but every chance i got
i would go to Sportsworld which had a big arcade but was more of a family fun centre then your typical arcade as there were way more redemption machines
then video games, and at it's hayday only had about 3 pinball machines.

Fast forward to college, i was a student at Sheridan college, and i was a production assistant for a show, which meant i drove around every day and got stuff for people, thats when i discovered The Pinball Exchange Club in Oakville, and got to know Dallas and her Husband and Late Father, they were so nice, and always had a long line of about 20 machines setup in the back of the warehouse.

I stopped in once, got to know them, told them how much i loved pinball, but how as a student i'd never be able to afford one, well, i would stop by more and more often till it got to a point i was there almost every day walking down the rows with an extension cord, trying all the games, thats when Dallas realized how into these games i was, and offered me a solution,

She said, i know you dont have the money to buy a machine, but how would you like to work for one? i was interested and it turned out every saturday she would pick me up from my apartment, and i would go to the shop, break down and strip old cabinets, help them move stuff around, as well as help her husband do deliveries of games, moving machines around as well as helping with some basic repairs.

All you classic vids guys would have loved their wearhouse, go behind a huge tarp, and there was like 300 upright classic vids, i used to spend so many hours back there plugging stuff in, it was so much fun!

A couple months later, Dallas presented me with my first machine, a Cyclone, i was so excited, all my college buddies loved coming to my apartment playing it,

fast forward about 7 years, my wife decided to get me a pinball machine as a wedding gift (Rollercoaster Tycoon) my 2nd machine, man it's so nice having a wife who appreciates your hobby and actually lets you do it

Thats when i caught the bug, since my wedding on Feb 07 i went from one machine, to 6 pinball machines, 2 cruis'n usa's a juke box, slot machine, megatouch, and a atari hoop it up

I like the rest of you guys get so much satisfaction watching peoples faces light up when they walk down the stairs for the first time and say "holy mess" when they see the row of pins, and say "OH MY GOD" when they go around the corner and see the Cruis'n Usa's just like yesterday, i had 18 people over for my father's birthday, and the arcade was kicking and packed all day long, lots of smiles, lots of yells and screams, it was great, i love to watch people playing down there as much as i like to play them myself

Long live our Arcades, it's all we have left.

Eric

Ian, your story was touching, I too went down "Nastalgia" road once too. It's partly true when they say "you can't go home again"...

When I started ( buying pinball machines ), I had basically re-created pin for pin, the local arcade near my family summer cottage. It was a small breezeway between two stores that could fit only 4 or 5 pins. It was here that I first saw Capt. Fantastic, Evel Knievel, Playboy, Mata Hari, Bobby Orr Powerplay, Paragon, Silverball Mania, Eight Ball, Lost World, Monte Carlo, Hi-Deal, Funland ( rifle game ), and various pitch and bat games. As children, I can remember my mother and father lifting us up to stand on a milk crate so we could see and play the games. When we were in our teens, the video game fever had caught on. In this small arcade I also saw Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Defender and Asteroids for the first time. Lots of memories for sure.

A few years ago I went back to that small arcade, it's actually part of the store display now, although it's actually the same crappy indoor outdoor carpet and wood wall panel ( so 70's! ) as back in the day. It even friggin' smelled the same! I couldn't believe that. The games are long gone but the memories are still there for sure.

Here's my point. I still have that line-up of pins in my basement that I remember back in 1979! Until recently they were even lined up in the same order that I remember.

All I have to do is go down my basement, it's a time machine that takes me back to 1979, and to me - that's what it's REALLY all about. Prehaps you can go home again....  

Dan

Growing up in Regina , we had about 12 or 13 different places we could go to , most of the buildings still tand , but a lot are gone now. I have been living in Calgary about 15 years now , and when I go back home to visit I will often drive by the old arcade sites . my main terroizing grounds we ALWAYS stopped at after school for a few games until we had to get home for supper ( Buffalo Bills Normanview mall) is a doctors office , the golden mile center mall I think is a smittys now, Buffalo Bills south , Just off Gordon road , I am not sure what that is now. family Leisure Center, now is a fitness warehouse and Lan and online gaming center. The old Prarie lanes bowling alley on Albert ST is long gone and is home to a Canadian Tire. Then there was the pool hall on east Victoria Ave , which for the life of me I cannot remember the name of , I think is razed and long gone.

now I have my own arcade, thos in the garage , can still take me back to those times , Hell I even play games with a few buddies that live in Calgary now that I played with in high school. The surroundings and many of the games are different but the spirit is there

If there is anyone on the board here that has any pics or video of the old arcades around Regina , PM me I wouldnt mind on a getting a few copies to enlarge and hang in my garcade .

Just thought I would add a little tidbit to the story. I am remodeling the gameroom downstairs and finished the sheetrock. I then took 30 minutes to assemble Big Game.


I just played my first game of Big Game in 26 years.

I played it, then just stood there staring at it for a good couple of minutes, just soaking it in.

This is exactly what I try to convey to the kids at the school who are wiring up a cabinet...that they're saving a piece of history, that what they're doing has value.

In some ways, it's not much different that restoring a classic automobile, or a piece of wooden furniture.  But they really "get" the fact that this was part of a whole generation's shared history, and every day these cabinets are being destroyed.  If we don't step in to do something, it's all going to disappear someday.

It allows me a unique opportunity to introduce these games to a new generation.  It was a thrill when a student asked if he could buy the parts to build his own machine this semester.  He proudly took his working game home at the end of June.

What Sparky described is exactly why I collect and restore these games.  The arcade I went to in my youth is gone...the games were sold off in the mid-80's.  I can't go back...but I can try to recreate that feel at home.

Thanks for a great stroll down memory lane, Sparky.