Hello, for about 8 or 9 months, I have been a proud owner of the discontinued Arcadeshop Programmable PCB. Originally sold by Arcadeshop from February 2005 - March 2010, this programmable PCB allows you to program up to 40-ish games depending on the game's file size, you can program it in both vertical Multi-game mode, or Horizontal "Multi-Williams" mode. This PCB also happens to be the predecessor to the ArcadeSD sold by Phoenix Arcade, and the successor to the Gamma-1 Jamma PCB's. This is my personal review of the PCB and if it's right for you.
1st is Build Quality:
This PCB is build like pretty much every other PCB, however where it shines is the lack of any voltage caps, caps can go bad on most PCBs causing faults and errors, even possible physical damage, this board is cap free and requires just power straight from the power supply, it also does not require the +12v wire. Only few downsides is the fact it does
NOT have VGA output so it can only be plugged into a CRT or CGA Supported LCD monitors, and the constant fear of breaking the test switch directly on the board, if this breaks, it's possible you won't be able to get the board out of test mode, even with a test switch, it won't work. In terms of use, this board is very user friendly, however that was back in the day, sadly due to the discontinuation, the software is harder to find for this board, luckily I found the required software, the only problem I have is when using the programming cable, sometimes the PC won't recognize it, this could be due to how old the software is but, I eventually get it to work.
2nd, Emulation Quality:
Emulation is pretty decent overall, games run pretty good, sounds are accurate and graphics are splendid, however, some issues do pop up for me, not enough to be unplayable, but a little annoying, first off,
Centipede, while the sound is okay, has noticeable audio glitching, as I said though not unplayable,
Super Pac-Man has a bit of lag but to an average player, won't be too noticeable, but the real problem is the fact that the game will simply close out if you get a high score, meaning no name initials can be added in, unless you startup in game. Finally
Gorf has some issues, first of all if you have "Attract sounds" settings off, Gorf will actually do the opposite and play sound during the attract mode, if you switch it on, Gorf will be silent, but other games will play their attract mode. Also Gorf's first stage is black instead of a blue sky.
In terms of sound emulation, this board destroys the 60 in 1 as the sounds are very accurate, games like
Millipede and
Galaxian sound just great on this board.
3rd, Menu system and attract screen:

The menu system and attract screen are simply, beautiful, the select menu is simple, yet very easy to navigate, visually appealing, and much faster than say the 60 in 1, surprisingly also faster than the ArcadeSD, but not by much. This board also eliminates the annoying music that the 60 in 1 constantly plays. The select menu itself is simply a 3D starfield, with the selected game's marquee on top, and a "screenshot" of the game, outlined by a box that changes colors constantly, almost bringing you in.
If you have the PCB programmed in "Multi-Williams" mode, the menu will consist of the selected games logo and a screenshot of the game, all with a beautiful "Multi-Williams" graphical interface! Instead of the normal "Pop" sounds you will have sounds from the selected game play as you move the joystick.
Attract mode is simple (For both modes), if the player does not move the joystick, the menu system will automatically start scrolling through the games until the game after the one you had it on is selected, it does this so on and so fourth... The attract mode itself starts the game fresh and plays through the selected game's original attract screen that was on the original machines, unlike the 60 in 1, once the game's attract screen is done, the game will automatically exit back to the menu and start scrolling again.
Other advantages of the system menu is how fast it is, for example on free play, you want to play a game, simply move the joystick and find the game you want, press start, the game will start right away instead of having to wait for the 60 in 1 to start a game after the board puts a credit into the game you selected. If you are tired of a game, or simply have to call quits, depending on your settings, you can actually hold both 1 and 2 player starts at the same time to exit the game!
4th, Final thoughts, opinion, and my score:
Overall even with its flaws, the Arcadeshop Programmable PCB is a really nice multi-game PCB, if you are building a new Multicade however, I would go with the new ArcadeSD as it has way better emulation, more games, lots of bug fixes and more options, it builds off of the programmable board. On the other hand, if you have an old multicade with a CRT monitor that you just want something nice in, this board is just right.
Build Quality: 7/10
Emulation Quality: 7/10
Select Menu & Attract Screen: 9/10
Overall score: 8/10
Reminder scores are based off my opinion, got a personal experience with the board? share them with me, I'm always happy to hear thoughts and opinions.