Welcome to my Arcade! Journal Date: 7/13/2007 Last Updated on: 4/24/2011
 
Welcome!
Date 7/13/2007
Welcome to my Arcade. I think it falls more under the category of "Arcade" rather then "Gameroom" simply because of the number of games in there, and the fact that, that's pretty much all I have in there :-)

I would like to thank Dan Coogan for taking all the pictures you'll see on this page (unless otherwise noted). If you don't know who Dan is, you need to check out his page, especially his Gravitar page. Dan is a great guy and the current World Record holder on Gravitar and will probably keep the title for a very long time.

Currently there are 25 games in the game room (several are not pictured). Two of them have what I would classify as major problems (Sinistar, and Millipede).

Such is the life of an Arcade Collector. Other games have minor things such as coin door light issues, marquee light issues, etc..., those seem like a never ending battle..but that's part of the fun!

I still have 16 (plus or minus 10 games) more games that are all in the process of being fixed or restored that will make it in or near the gameroom. I figure I can squeeze another 6 in there and still have it very comfortable for people to play.

And to think this all started with just a lonely old Defender cabinet....

The Layout
Date 7/13/2007
This is the current layout of what is in the Arcade (Updated 2/6/2021). This will probably change more as I add more games and have to regroup the games by manufacturer. I think it looks better when you have all the same style cabs next to each other.

3D Layout

I added a 3D Layout in Google SketchUp. You can download the model and use it for your own needs. (Updated 2/6/2021)

3D Layout

Arcade Sign!
Date 7/13/2007
This is the sign at the entrance to my arcade. It's a cool sign that I had made by the guys at SIgn Merchant. The sign was $250 (which is about 1/3 of what the local sign shops were asking for!). I sent them the design and they built me the sign.

The first one arrived broken (due to shipping). I emailed them and they built me a new one and paid to have the broken one shipped back, no questions asked. The new one arrived and was perfect. If you're looking for a neon sign, I highly recommend these guys.

The Rules!
Date 7/13/2007
If you can't follow the rules, I'm going to have to ask you to leave :-)

This is a closeup of the Reproduction Sign that Brian Jones did. Awesome sign!

The Entrance
Date 7/13/2007
UPDATE (2/27/2008): Updated picture of the entrance to my gameroom since I picked up the two pins.

This is the entrance to my Arcade. Unfortuantely, my Neon sign arrived broken so I didn't have it above the Archway before Dan took the pictures. Once that arrives I'll probably take a replacement photo and put it up here.

The two games that I don't have pictured are Gorf and my Vertical JAMMA cabinet. They are directly behind the Tempest and the Marble Madness. The games are back-to-back.

 
The old photo:
On the left...
Date 7/13/2007
Just to the left of the entrance you'll see the sliding glass doors that lead to the New Patio. Make Trax is as far as I want to put games towards the door, as that still leaves me 3' of space between the game and the door.

I have room to put 4 more games behind Make Trax, Pengo and Tapper. 3 will go back-to-back with those games and the 4th will go in the far left corner.

Hanging from the ceiling is the awesome reproduction of the "Time Out Tunnel" sign that Brian Jones did. You'll also see the "Game Tokens" sign that Brian did. He has a lot of other cool stuff on his site, you should check it out. The stickers that you see on the walls are also from him (Pac Man and the Blue Ghost).

More Left
Date 7/13/2007

As you turn the corner, going left, you'll see Donkey Kong Jr. and Donkey Kong.

I have room for one more game next to Donkey Kong Jr.

To the Right...
Date 7/13/2007
To the right you can see the games as they head into the second half of the gameroom. You can also see the Marquees that I started to hang on the walls, including my "eBay Quality RARE!!!!! L@@K NOS"(tm) Donkey Kong Jr Marquee.

If you look behind those games you should be able to see the Air Conditioner that I had put in just for this room. It helps A LOT! All the games plus all the people playing generate a lot of heat.

More Right...
Date 7/13/2007
As you go more right, you'll see the "Williams Row". Yes, I know Make Trax should be over there, but I have to rebuild the monitor on it, so it's in an easy to get at spot. Games will be re-arranged once they are working (as close to 100% as I can keep them).

The games on the right where moved out and angled a bit so they would show up in the picture better. Normally they are further away. I like to keep 2 feet in front of each game for the player and to allow for someone to get past without screwing up your game. So between Defender and Ms Pac man is actually about 4 feet.

Down the Center...
Date 7/13/2007

This should give a little bit better perspective of how it should normally look.

From Donkey Kong to Defender...
Date 7/13/2007
Standing next to Donkey Kong looking down to the Far End of the Arcade. Ten games in the row on the left.

Staring from the far end (on the left)... Defender, Stargate, Robotron, Sinistar, Metrocross, Gyruss, Tempest, Marble Madness, Rootbeer Tapper, Pengo and Make Trax.

On the right side (harder to see): Ms. Pac Man, Jr. Pac Man, Centipede, Millipede, Donkey Kong Jr, and Donkey Kong.

Marquees along the wall
Date 7/13/2007
Here you can see the marquees that I bought and lined the top of the walls with. No Marquees were harmed, they are all being held in place with Clear Mirror Clips that were painted black. 1/8" Style that you can pick up at any Home Depot.

You can also see the glow of the Neon Sign just outside the entrance.

Lights out!
Date 7/13/2007

Now we take a look at some shots in the dark!

These are the games at the entrance to the Arcade.

Room to add more games!
Date 7/13/2007
On the back side of the main row, there is room to add 3 more games. Currently there is a Gorf and a JAMMA cabinet here. The Gorf normally sits closer to the wall, but it was away from the wall so I could get to the back of Tempest.

I will also be able to add one more game where Dan was standing when he took the picture.

More Lights Out!
Date 7/13/2007

Here you get to see the picture of the lights out from Gyruss on.

Need to work on fixing the coin door lights on some of these games :-)

Black Lights!
Date 7/13/2007

Here you can see the Black Light Effect.

The carpet really glows! This carpet is awesome! I first saw pictures of it on Peter Hirschberg's awesome site. I wanted the TRON pattern, but none was available, so this was my second choice.

I'm very happy with this selection.

More Black Light
Date 7/13/2007
Here you can see the opposite direction for the Black Light Effect. I currently have 3 black lights up (two 24" and one 48"). The two 24" lights seem to do a really good job and they were a lot cheaper (from Walmart).

I should be able to squeeze 2 more games next to the Centipede and still have enough room to get into the bathroom. If not, I'll settle for one. It will probably be Pac Man and maybe one other game.

From Defender to Make Trax
Date 7/13/2007

Here is the reverse shot showing the "Williams Row" and the rest of the other games.

Centipede to Donkey Kong
Date 7/13/2007
A little better perspective to show the Centipede and Millipede. Millipede actually sits a bit further back then it is in the picture, but we wanted to make it show up in the picture better so we pulled it forward a bit.

Well, that's it for now. I now have more room to put games and I have incentive to get back to work on the games in my Garage. Just need to start working on them!

Thanks for looking!


Date Posted: 9/21/2017 6:56 AM
Posted By: Arnie
Comment: Very nice collection. I am in the arcade business here in South Africa. We operate many hundreds of those " Old Time" cabinets. We are getting rid of them now because they are heavy, and parts are not so plentiful. Must have chucked away about 100+ in the last year. We are building lighter cabinets with flat screens and Raspberry pie's. Maybe we should advertise those old machines somewhere. I am trying to get a "Happy Jackie" to work on a R-Pie, but are struggling to get the rite roms and Emulators. Just maybe you can help, and point me in the right direction. Enjoy your toys. Arnie.
Date Posted: 4/1/2017 6:07 PM
Posted By: Emmanuel
Comment: What a beautiful game room !
Date Posted: 6/3/2016 5:28 PM
Posted By: John Butler
Comment: Hazel and I were just talking about you tonight. Hope all is well with you, and hope we can come out and visit sometime soon.
Date Posted: 12/22/2015 12:53 PM
Posted By: Lee Wilson
Comment: AWESOME SET-UP, ONE DAY I`LL GET THERE, TRYING TO FIND A GOOD DEFENDER AT THE MO, UK
Date Posted: 8/30/2015 2:22 PM
Posted By: Ernie
Comment:
I've heard a lot about someone in Glendale having an awesome Arcade in their home from fellow Arcaders,... I guess that's you...lol... Nice set up! I'm in Verrado and been collecting for 3 yrs. I'm up to 12 machines now...I enjoy gutting them and restoring them to make them look almost new. Just moved and must set them up in garage now but I'm looking to insulate it and climate control it. Will post pics when done. And the up side...I have more room for a lot more machines...lol
Date Posted: 9/26/2014 12:07 PM
Posted By: sid seattle
Comment: great selection of gamea gyrus AND a metreocross both  ..would love to attemp a world record in your sace.rob/sid
Date Posted: 3/30/2014 2:49 PM
Posted By: Brien King
Comment: Check out http://forums.arcade-museum.com/index.php.  They have a lot of Canadian collectors on there.
Date Posted: 3/20/2014 6:27 AM
Posted By: Wade
Comment:
Wicked cool arcade! I'm trying to get my boss I mean wife to let me add a couple more games. I have 1 working Primal Rage and a cabinet that I'm in the process of restoring ( I think it's D&D Tower of Doom but the board I got with it was Golden Axe)  I'm debating to make it a mame due to my space or fix the pcb.
Thank you for the part explanation, and other info.  I don't have the room you have but I think I have an idea how to improve the feel of my arcade by adding black lights like you have. 
Is there a forum where I can find someone local that might be able to service my PCB?
I live near Toronto in Ontario Canada
Regards,
Wade
 

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7/13/2007 Welcome to my Arcade!
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