Pronunciation: 'si-z&-jE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -gies
Etymology: Late Latin syzygia
conjunction, from Greek, from syzygos
yoked together, from syn- + zygon yoke
-- more at YOKE
: the nearly straight-line configuration
of three celestial bodies (as the sun,
moon, and earth during a solar or lunar
eclipse) in a gravitational system
Welcome to the Syzygy Arcade web section
of the High Scores Arcade. The purpose
of this part of the High Scores Arcade
site is to document the current state of
my home game room, explain the history
of the game room, list the games
currently in the game room, and provide
a photo album of the game room.
In 1972, Nolan Bushnell, Atari's
founding father, originally named the
company Syzygy (the sun, moon and earth
in total eclipse). He renamed it Atari
because another company already owned
the name Syzygy. The Syzygy Arcade was
named in tribute to the company that
became Atari.
The game room currently has the
following 20 games:
-
California Speed
-
Daiichi 3-One Pachinko
-
F-15 Strike Eagle Sit Down
-
Frogger
-
Galaga '88
-
Lethal Enforcers
-
Midway Home Use Arcade Machine
-
Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man Pinball
-
Nishijin Super Deluxe Pachinko
-
Off the Wall (Atari)
- Pac-Man
-
Pacmania
-
S.T.U.N. Runner
-
Star Wars Racer Arcade
-
Star Wars Trilogy Arcade DX
-
Super Pac-Man
-
Super Strike
-
Tales from the Crypt
-
The Machine: Bride of Pin*Bot
-
Tron
The Syzygy Arcade was my initiative to
convert my home two-car
garage into an arcade. The arcade was
originally in the
back of the
garage in a separate 13x8, 104 sf room.
Eight games in the room was much too tight,
and to play the games, you had to lean on
the front of one while you played the other!
So the Syzygy Arcade project started out of
my need for more space.
My
original idea was to make it a starfield
wall set. For the floor, a 6" black and
white floor tile that would look much like a
lot of ice cream shops would look. The
concept idea evolved because many of the
current arcades I had been to in malls,
amusement parks, movie theatres, and so
forth had either all or at least one purple
walls, and neon carpet. So the current game
room concept was born, and I began
construction.
The dropped ceiling accomodates the garage
door, which opens into
the
ceiling bay and allows for a 20' x 3'
(60sf) storage area at the front of the
garage. The electrical system consists of
outlets on each wall, and five breakers to accomodate the four walls and a dedicated
breaker for the 10,000 BTU a/c system (the
room is also centrally heated and cooled).
The carpet came from GCO Carpet
Outlet, which was the only local store that
sold neon carpet. It worked out well that it
was a confetti carpet, as it was appropriate
for the game room. All construction was
built with 2x4 lumber and is fully insulated
with R-13 value insulation. The insulation
also helps with soundproofing. The
Syzygy Arcade is 20' x 17.5' (350sf).
Click here to see
pictures on the "more photos"
page, including the concept photos of the
game room and construction photos.
