You Always Remember Your First

Written by: Blaine Locklair, Editor, High Scores Arcade

For those of you that own arcade and pinball games as a hobby and a passion, I believe that you will always remember the first game that you ever bought. It defines the moment that you entered the hobby - the first time that you thought to yourself, "Wouldn't it be cool to own a game at the house? Just one game, something to show off to my friends and to give me a little taste of that old childhood magic again." For some, that childhood memory might have been a car, a toy, a favorite action figure, or a favorite TV show. But for you, like many others, the childhood magic was found in the arcades - Wizard World, Fun Spot, Putt-Putt, Aladdin's Castle, Barrel of Fun, or maybe Time Out Tunnel.

So off you went on your search, checking venues such as eBay, newspapers, maybe even local arcades. You promised the Mrs. (and maybe even yourself) that you would "only buy this one, and that would be all." You finally found the right game, and it probably was an inexpensive game, something like the late 80's Atari games or maybe a 70's pin. "Wouldn't want to sink too much into this... after all, it's just one game to have for kicks", you thought. So you bought your game and took it home, probably played it for a bit and thought, "Boy, this was a great idea. I'll never need another one of these to be happy again..."

That is, until you realized that if you had TWO of these things, you could double your fun and nostalgia. You get that crooked-eyed look from the Mrs., but she relents. So in came the second game. Great. Then the third game, and the fourth, and suddenly, you could practically charge admission to your garage (or living room, dining room, etc).

Then you get the idea that you can just consolidate your games into a game room in the house. Thus begins the transformation of your garage, basement, extra bedroom, or some other seldom used room into an arcade.

Once you've built the game room and stocked it with your games, you learn that your collection of "just one game" will always be as big as the space in the house in which it will fit. If your game room hold 10 game, then you collection will be 10 games. If it holds 50, then 50 games it is.

My first game was Xybots by Atari, a $200 purchase from eBay that I picked up in Tennessee. Xybots was "the only game I'd ever buy." In retrospect, the Mrs. assures me that as soon as I bought it, she knew I would buy more soon after. She was right. Three weeks after, to be precise. I bought a Mario Bros. game, this time a short 15 mile drive from home, again an eBay purchase. Two months later, Race Drivin'. Then came the idea to clean out the back room in the garage, a 104 square foot spare room, and turn it into a game room. Done. Then came Cyberball, After Burner, Tron, Super Strike, Pacmania, Ms. Pac-Man, Future Spa, Xenon, and the list goes on and on.

Soon came months of begging the Mrs. to convert the entire garage into a game room. Finally one day, she relented. Two months and 350 square foot later, the Syzygy Arcade was born. It now stands at 17 games, that number dictated only by the available space.

Xybots was my first, and it was a great game. Once I realized that I would own a lot of these things, Xybots gave way to a flood of incoming arcade and pinball games and was eventually sold to someone in California through eBay. It was then that I learned that you will always remember your first, but games are like Lays© Potato Chips - "Betcha can't eat (have) just one!"

"Arcade and Pinball Anthology"