when i was growing up, many of the arcades i frequented were in really bad neighborhoods in brooklyn. i used to go anywhere to get my arcade playing "high" and put my high scores up all over the place. i would hang with a few friends and basically my skills were pretty good so most of the thugs would not mess with us. we were considered cool because of our great gameplay!
my tag was "del" that i would put up on a high score and was well known in many arcades in brooklyn. most of the arcades were in pizzerias, grocery stores, candy stores, etc. for the most part, these areas were taken over by some of the toughest guys and the store owners would basically stay away. they were clubhouses where locals would hang.
most of the time the only interference was when the coin operator would come and empty the quarters or when things would get seriously out of control. the owners of the stores were making their money so basically they let the local kids and teens have control of the arcade section/room.
i saw many crazy things take place but my motto was see no evil, speak no evil and i never had a problem. i saw many drug deals go down, marijuana smoking- all the control panels always had cigarette burns, people with guns, knives, all types of things going on.
many times the coin doors were broken into and we played for weeks sometimes before the coin op noticed. especially the ones that had seperate coin door and safe door.
if you were good at a game, the toughest guys would show you alot of respect and i thought it was cool to be able to walk in some of these arcades and not get killed!
i was only 11,12, 13 yrs at the time and it felt really cool!
what were some of the ugly or craziest things you seen or experienced hanging at an arcade?
what was you tag- the 3 digit name you would put up in a high score?
my tag was "del" that i would put up on a high score and was well known in many arcades in brooklyn. most of the arcades were in pizzerias, grocery stores, candy stores, etc. for the most part, these areas were taken over by some of the toughest guys and the store owners would basically stay away. they were clubhouses where locals would hang.
most of the time the only interference was when the coin operator would come and empty the quarters or when things would get seriously out of control. the owners of the stores were making their money so basically they let the local kids and teens have control of the arcade section/room.
i saw many crazy things take place but my motto was see no evil, speak no evil and i never had a problem. i saw many drug deals go down, marijuana smoking- all the control panels always had cigarette burns, people with guns, knives, all types of things going on.
many times the coin doors were broken into and we played for weeks sometimes before the coin op noticed. especially the ones that had seperate coin door and safe door.
if you were good at a game, the toughest guys would show you alot of respect and i thought it was cool to be able to walk in some of these arcades and not get killed!
i was only 11,12, 13 yrs at the time and it felt really cool!
what were some of the ugly or craziest things you seen or experienced hanging at an arcade?
what was you tag- the 3 digit name you would put up in a high score?



