Freeplay - kills it

The way I look at it, by way of analogy:

A really nice Single-Malt Scotch is a few percent better when it's in the right glass than it is if it's in a plastic cup, or even a regular highball glass.

A nice beer is better in a real pint glass than it is drinking it from the bottle.

A shot of espresso is better out of a tulip-shaped heavy ceramic cup than it is out of a shorty Starbuck's paper cup.

An arcade game is a little bit better when you drop in the coin and hear something change, even before you hit "Start". It's also a little bit better when your planning is based on the weight of the coins in your pocket.

On the other hand, coin mechs are a pain in the ass.

One of my early finds was a change machine in which the bill acceptor had been bypassed and a small button had been installed instead, so it would spit tokens at a press.

I spent a few days basically breaking all my (cheap) coin mechs so they'd accept almost anything. At some point in the future, when my remodel is finished and I can actually have an arcade party, I plan to use tokens for any game that has mechs. Anything that is missing them, or for some other reason is finicky will be on freeplay.
 
My games are all on freeplay. I don't even bother messing with the mechs ... at all. While I do get the op's opinion... it's just another expense per game that 90% of the people out there won't appreciate.

I have 25 games... converting to either coin or token would be expensive... even though i bet 3/4 of them have mechs... just aren't setup.

Mechs are also the #1 "problem" area in coin-op game. Jams... bitchy mechs... etc... are all a pain in the ass.

Finally... I have no distribution avenue. Coin changers are expensive. A bucket of quarters invites loss and runs counter to the typical "save all your change" mentality that I've been used to for many years (it adds up... last cash out we were in the $800 range).

The only time quarters are used in mine, are when *I* put them in. I actually use Dig Dug to hide quarters(aka money) from the Millennial(aka, my step-son). It also keeps them "out of sight, out of mind" for me, for those occasions where I need a few bucks, I suddenly remember they are there. My wife knows I do it, but she never messes with them.

Generally, there's less than $5 in there, but it's something.

Oh, and Pole Position on Free Play is a royal pain in the dick. Like, worse than a bad case of herpes, pain in the dick.

That one got set for tokens as quickly as I could make it happen. I've got less than 100 tokens at this point, but what I have is more than enough. I just wish I could remember how to adjust a coin mech. I've got 5 or 6 around here that I could convert that way.
 
I too love the "coin up" and everything that goes with it. Same as the others who only had 3 quarters and had to spend them wisely. That's one of my earliest memories. Then when I worked in a sandwich shop in college, I got totally hooked on Comet pinball. Every quarter I got in tips went in that machine. Though it was fair game to change in the other coins for quarters.. :) Even now, I play my own machines with what's in my pocket. (Though I may get a buck in change if I'm out somewhere to play someone else's.) And all my machines have mechs because they often rotate through my sandwich shop and having them tuned up and ready to go is good for less hassle when they go in there.

I must say though, that if I do have a large party at my place, I believe I would put them on freeplay. Hosting a party is hard enough sometimes without having to unjam machines or find coins/tokens for the kiddos because they burned through a whole bucket of em! The option to stuff a quarter in there is still there, but it just won't actually be necessary. ;)
 
While I love the concept of coining games, I hate running around coining games and dealing with coin issues when people come over to play games. All of my games are non-coin-crunchers....(games that add time / lives with more quarters). Thinking of TMNT or Gauntlet. I have a button on all of my coin returns got free play.

Brian
 
Last edited:
All of my games are set up for coins. Have a change machine in the corner.
However, I can certainly see how it would be a real pain for you guys with large arcades and hosting parties with lots of younger kids.
 
Coin mech issues are all part of the authentic arcade experience of the 1980's. If one mech doesn't work and gets jammed, simply put an Out of Order sticker over the slot, this directs people to use the other slot mech.

The odds of both mechs failing on the same game are slim, but there is obviously a good market here for coin mechs that act as "pass thru" mechs that accept any coin. No one wants to fiddle with paper and tape. If someone makes one of those, sign me up for 50x!

I get that anyone born in the 1990's and above wouldn't get the purpose behind coining up games. Most kids running around during a party just want to get on, rack up a few credits, play, continue, play re-credit, slam, bam, move on to the next.

Its just keeping true to the environment these games as we know them were first released, and we, fortunate enough to pick them up and move into our own homes, and creating our own basement arcades, I think need to realize.

I had my games on freeplay myself, but then I realized it wasn't how I remembered them, growing up. I got bored quick. So going back to the coin up scheme has worked for me, as I have respect for the value of the "CREDIT 1" I get when coining up and playing the shit out of my abilities on that single credit. It makes the arcade much more real and authentic.

But I get the concept behind the freeplay needs for some of you. I get it, it just depends on what "flavor" you want to run by, and being able to "adapt" to the newer post-millennial crowd that you host parties to.

As for business arcades - quarters aren't the same as they are today in the business model. No one wants to pay 50-$1 for a single arcade credit on a 1980's game. So yeah, barcades are OK to run freeplay especially, because when you drink, you don't care about freeplay. (lol)

So I'll make a new rule in my arcade if I ever acquire any 1990's and above games, especially driving games. Keep those on freeplay while the older games stay on coin up.
 
I have mine on free play. It's just so much easier for me. I just enjoy playing the games and going for new high scores. When friends are over it got annoying being the guy running around handing out quarters or opening the coin door and forcing a credit.

I just want people to play as long as they want without needing my help.

The nostalgia for me is totally just in the cabs... the buttons... the crts... the games themselves. I can live without coining up. I do prefer just setting the game to ftee play and not setting up a
 
As someone who played these games back in the 80s I don't think having a game on freeplay kills the experience at all. I certainly remember the coin sounds but that's a trivial thing. It's really about playing the classic games on actual cabinets. Consider that today freeplay is much more appropriate:
- retro arcades generally have a pay for few hours or all day model so having the games on freeplay makes more sense.
- an arcade show like CAX where there are 500+ games certainly needs the games to be on freeplay (the organizers request this or having some way to coin them up).
- private collections - does anyone really want to have to get quarters or tokens to coin up games ?

I'd say a bigger problem today is some games (e.g. Namco games after Bosconian) don't support freeplay mode and many games which do (e.g. Namco and Konami games) sit at a start screen slowly causing monitor burn-in.

I suppose if you really want to coin up games then you could add a 1up button which also solves the problem with some games not running attract mode but sitting at a start screen when coined up or in freeplay mode.
 
I paid $500 a piece for the vids (I don't even want to talk about the pins!) to drag the f'ing things into my house, I deserve freeplay.

Seriously, I like the games and don't care about the coin drop. The ones that have a static screen on freeplay/coined up get a credit button hidden in the coin return chute.
 
Example of games that are not meant for Freeplay:

Gauntlet
Gauntlet II

They were meant to be quarter eaters!

"Warrior needs food" = reach into your pocket for another quarter/token.
 
I have a mix of both... for my own purposes I dont really care. My free play games are only that way because they have kits in them like the pac 96-1 or DK trainer etc.

When people are over I always wish everything is free play.

Your average person will just start pressing buttons and if its not on freeplay they wont know what to do which means I have to put the beer down and go coin it up.
 
4 years, 305 days, 13 hours...

It seems Grinker's has food (even a menu) and alcohol/bar according to the pictures. My definition that would be the "gimmick" I was referring to. I mean nothing negative about it, but it's not a stand alone 25 cent arcade.
 
.....it's lame when you get into the continue era....

I noticed this when I picked up a Neo Geo this summer. It was on Freeplay. I just kept hitting continue.... While Metal Slug is cool and all, if you're just going to keep continuing you should be on a console, not an arcade. Continue really defeats the idea of seeing how far you can go on one quarter. Sure, you can get the high score. But how much do you want to pay for it? Lame.
 
My definition that would be the "gimmick" I was referring to. I mean nothing negative about it, but it's not a stand alone 25 cent arcade.

Gotcha.

A while back we considered opening up a smaller arcade arcade across town.

Based on empirical data gathered during our time in business (game revenue + guest feedback) we would definitely be using quarters again even in the absence of the "gimmicks".

We had a private party once that insisted on the games being set to freeplay. So, we put a bunch of credits on all the games... I repeatedly saw people walk away in the middle of a game because they had no vested interest in it.

The quarter drop is an investment that creates a vested interest which in turn makes the game itself more engaging.

So I agree with the OP, freeplay kills it... at least in public venue IMHO... of course it might be different in a home arcade setting.
 
Back
Top Bottom