It's one of the things I love about classic arcade games (and most pinballs too). For the most part you can just start a game and figure out enough to "have fun" even if you aren't score optimizing or anything. Most of them were pretty intuitive for basic operation. Some obviously not as much but most of the popular ones have one attract mode screen that communicates enough info for you to get started.
Every time I try modern console gaming, each game has an hour-long tutorial that is mandatory before even playing where you are spoon-fed every input and outcome "Did you know you can press L2 to access Inventory? Press L2 now to try it!" Ugh. By the time I finish the tutorial, I'm out of free time to play!
Edit: Yes, I just realized Gauntlet does that to you by default… luckily it can be turned down or turned off!
As a corollary, I've noticed that many of the teens (eg, my kids' friends) that come over to play are less apt to jump into some of the more obscure games and I personally suspect it is, in part, because they actually have to "figure out" how to play and aren't really prepared for it.