Best multi-game pcb? Opinions?

Cmndr Brain

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I have a friend who's not a gamer. He's a wood worker. He would like to make a table top jamma multi-game system for when his grand kids visit. What is the best multi-game pcb? I know the 60 in 1 is a pretty rock solid board and I have no experience with any of the others, like Pandora's Box, etc. He likes the idea that some of the multi-game boards allow you to press certain button combinations to get back to the main menu. The 60 in 1 you have to kill all your guys to get there. I'm going to help his wire it up but, don't know what multi-game pcb to suggest. Any opinions?
 
I swear this has been discussed before ...

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I don't have as well-informed opinion as most on here due to my relatively brief status as a classic arcade owner. I do, however, own a cabinet with an iCade 60-1 pcb installed. I bought it that way as it was my very first cabinet purchase.

The cheap multiboards get no love whatsoever on this forum. That is entirely understandable as there are many collectors here and the greatest sin is to take an original dedicated machine and desecrate it by putting in a cheap multiboard. Since this project appears to be a scratch build for grandkids, those rules don't apply.

If you want simple, straightforward, low-cost plug and play, I am not sure a 45.00 60-1 pcb can be beat. It has many of the most popular classics for the average joe...PAC Man franchise, Ms PAC, Frogger, Donkey Kong, Dig Dug etc. and you can play most of the games on that pcb with a very simple control panel setup. One joystick and two buttons. It is certainly not the way to go if you have a particularly discriminating audience, but for visiting grandkids...

The well-respected multiboards....ArcadeSD, JROK Williams, ArPIcade are all more expensive. Some considerably more expensive.
 
Raspberry Pi with a JAMMA pcb attached. Some assembly required, but ultimately a better solution than a 60 in 1, and much more customization.
 
To answer the OP's question, it partly depends on what games you really want to play.

There are excellent multis like the Jrok and Bitkit, which were carefully hand-crafted to give very accurate versions of the included games. They are more expensive, but they are excellent quality, if you care about the half dozen or so games they include, and are virtually perfect replacements for the original game boards.

There are cheaper multis (e.g., 60-in-1, or any of the other XXX-in-1's) that all run some version of MAME, and are basically poorer emulations of a much larger number of games. Some of the games are reasonably playable, and some aren't, but they are often a good value if you aren't a serious player, and just want to mess around.

There is also the ArPiCade, which is a RasPi running MAME, with a JAMMA connector. it's a newer multi, and is more flexible and configurable than a XXX-in-1, but requires a little more tech skill and time, if you want to get the most out of it.

So long story short, you'll need to do some research, and figure out which is best for you, as there is no silver bullet.
 
I think the pi-cade is a little more tech than he wants to get. I know I'll be helping with the wiring, but don't want to have to "fix" things. I have my own dedicated games, so if this was discussed before, it wasn't a thread I would have subscribed to. I've played the 60 in 1 and it wasn't too bad. For the general public, they probably couldn't tell the difference. But, it doesn't have a quick way to get back to the main menu. I have absolutely no experience with any of the other systems. As far jrok and bit kit, he's looking for the most popular classics, pac, galaga, dig dug, etc., not necessarily the "collectable" games like Joust or Robotron.

I was just trying to feel it out for him and get opinions of people that may have had experience with them. Thanks everyone.
 
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For "simplicity" the ArcadeSD is hard to beat.... but pricey. The 60-in-1 is cheap... but shit. The ARpiCADE is current king ... but it's a little more hands-on than it sounds like you want.
 
Arpicade.

:D

I have a friend who's not a gamer. He's a wood worker. He would like to make a table top jamma multi-game system for when his grand kids visit. What is the best multi-game pcb? I know the 60 in 1 is a pretty rock solid board and I have no experience with any of the others, like Pandora's Box, etc. He likes the idea that some of the multi-game boards allow you to press certain button combinations to get back to the main menu. The 60 in 1 you have to kill all your guys to get there. I'm going to help his wire it up but, don't know what multi-game pcb to suggest. Any opinions?
 
I think the pi-cade is a little more tech than he wants to get. I know I'll be helping with the wiring, but don't want to have to "fix" things. I have my own dedicated games, so if this was discussed before, it wasn't a thread I would have subscribed to. I've played the 60 in 1 and it wasn't too bad. For the general public, they probably couldn't tell the difference. But, it doesn't have a quick way to get back to the main menu. I have absolutely no experience with any of the other systems. As far jrok and bit kit, he's looking for the most popular classics, pac, galaga, dig dug, etc., not necessarily the "collectable" games like Joust or Robotron.

I was just trying to feel it out for him and get opinions of people that may have had experience with them. Thanks everyone.

Step 1. Buy the Arpicade (with Rpi3)
Step 2. Follow the simple instructions and put Kickman's Vertical Set on a microSD.
Step 3. Put the microSD in the Rpi3
Step 4. Connect Aripcade to Jamma harness. (in vert jamma cab)
Step 5. Turn on power.
Step 6. Play games.

What step are you having problems with? :confused:

REF: https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=418702&highlight=kickman
 
Step 1. Buy the Arpicade (with Rpi3)
Step 2. Follow the simple instructions and put Kickman's Vertical Set on a microSD.
Step 3. Put the microSD in the Rpi3
Step 4. Connect Aripcade to Jamma harness. (in vert jamma cab)
Step 5. Turn on power.
Step 6. Play games.

What step are you having problems with? :confused:

REF: https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=418702&highlight=kickman

Doesn't sound too bad. I'll point that out to him and see what he thinks.

The only problem I can see is step #4. As this is a custom build and he's probably going to use an lcd computer VGA monitor. By the looks of it, Arpicade wants a CGA arcade monitor connected to the Jamma harness. Without a more expense to get a video converter, how would he connect the Arpicade to a VGA monitor?
 
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Doesn't sound too bad. I'll point that out to him and see what he thinks.

The only problem I can see is step #4. As this is a custom build and he's probably going to use an lcd computer VGA monitor. By the looks of it, Arpicade wants a CGA arcade monitor connected to the Jamma harness. Without a more expense to get a video converter, how would he connect the Arpicade to a VGA monitor?

The problem is most people on here are technically minded and think everything is easy.

"easy" on here can easily turn into 20 hours of pain of suffering if you are new to this stuff.

ArcadeSD will take you 10 minutes to get working.. its expensive tho. The cheap 60-1 is easy also but is a cheap knockoff kind of thing.

Smart thing would be to start with the 60-1 and if they dont like it can always upgrade to Arcade SD, worst case you are out $40.
 
The problem is most people on here are technically minded and think everything is easy.

"easy" on here can easily turn into 20 hours of pain of suffering if you are new to this stuff.

ArcadeSD will take you 10 minutes to get working.. its expensive tho. The cheap 60-1 is easy also but is a cheap knockoff kind of thing.

Smart thing would be to start with the 60-1 and if they dont like it can always upgrade to Arcade SD, worst case you are out $40.

+1 right here. This is not for a collector. Everyone mildly into classics loves loves 60-1 and everyone mildly into fighters loves Pandora's Box. For someone not in our community they are great solutions - cheap, easy to setup and pretty bullet proof.
 
Doesn't sound too bad. I'll point that out to him and see what he thinks.

The only problem I can see is step #4. As this is a custom build and he's probably going to use an lcd computer VGA monitor. By the looks of it, Arpicade wants a CGA arcade monitor connected to the Jamma harness. Without a more expense to get a video converter, how would he connect the Arpicade to a VGA monitor?

You can plug a VGA monitor into the DAC on the Arpicade system directly. All it needs is to reconfigure the software for high res.

But as others have pointed out for a casual player 60 in 1s are very popular, plus they're cheap and easy.
 
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