@fatherpain does this make you the successor to Grinkers?
Heh, no, not likely.
I'm firmly in the hobbyist, non-commercial, non-profit, small home arcade realm, that's open about once per month 6-7 hours on a Friday or Saturday night, pending permission from my boss…err wife, Sara.
While I am fortunate to be the recipient of the help from several fantastic volunteers (
@Jamesv833,
@KaBoom1701,
@jawhn and others) I do not have any employees. I also haven't run any competitions as of yet. Grinkers was on a completely different scale with a different purpose. With any luck someday it will return. Maybe with the help of Alan-1 or
@SCUBA King, dunno.
A more appropriate comparison might be to the long passed Ataricade, though Francis's games numbered (26) mostly Atari cabinets and were all perfect 10's condition wise and his collection had several super rare titles, including a prototype Paperboy, Major Havok, Irish Pole Position and a Missile Command Cockpit.
My (43) games are a mixture of 10's, 9's and 8's from many different manufacturers, not just Atari. Both Francis and I have emphasized gameroom decor with different visions. Both have games all set to quarter operation to hopefully provide an authentic experience. But there are many differences in our approach:
Whereas Francis utilized dim lighting, believing the use of blacklight was overdone, even though he had blacklight carpet…I use it extensively.
Ataricade visitors were limited to just (1) or (2) based on my observations and were vetted. The experience was phenomenal, but perhaps akin to visiting an amazing one of a kind museum.
My home arcade is more like a party, with music playing, open to whomever expresses an interest in coming out and typically have numbered in the 20-30 range…though with increased requests, that number may be going up to accommodate. No vetting involved, though behavioral weirdo's won't be invited back. Have only had a couple of those over the many arcade and console parties I've hosted dating back to the mid 90's, though there was (1) of the 100 that attended Saturday.
Sadly for me, Grinkers was largely in operation while I was on my 10 year hiatus from the hobby. Would've loved to have gone to visit. The number of games there was phenomenal and it judging from comments I've seen it was a very special place.
Perhaps someone who has been to both may be able to speak on whether there are any similarities…
That said. If what I'm rocking here in SoCal provides similar fun and happiness as a visit would have been to Grinkers or the Ataricade, then yes I am succeeding. With any luck I'll be around for many years to come, now that I'm back
Still putting some finishing touches to the garcade for the big event. My arcade mentor always stressed clean monitor glasses was an absolute must when having visitors. Took a look and yes the games definitely needed some attention…
