Greetings from Portland, OR

geech

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Donor 3 years: 2016-2017, 2024
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Hey Folks,

I've been a long-time fan of the site and community and finally realized I should have signed up ages ago! I'm pushing the mid-century mark and was fortunate that my home town on the coast of Maine had a few different pizza places and random other machines throughout the town when I was growing up.

I used to hitchhike around to find the various game rooms across the island, be they campgrounds, YMCA, restaurants, laundromats. Four quarters in the pocket was all it took to get me to make the 10 mile trek to the Epi to get some time at Donkey Kong.

We had such a great selection to play on then. The classics were all represented. Rare ones we were lucky enough to get: Discs of Tron (up & enviro), Major Havoc, Blaster (wood cab. The side art always stuck with me), I, Robot, the Pit (damn frustrating game!!), Black Widow. We never really had many Universal games, though Cosmic Avenger was in the game room of the campground at the head of the island and Carnival made an appearance. It's fun to reflect on how many games came through that island. Odd though, to this day I've still never seen a Crazy Climber.

I've always envisioned having my own game at some point...and I kick myself when reflecting on all the ones I passed up over the years for myriad reasons. All which seem woefully inadequate now! Oh, well. Best get on it now...

I've not purchased my first machine yet. Pretty much ready to when I see the right one...not sure what will tip me over. Until then, I long for the ones that I played the most, or more appropriately, got the most out of playing. Discs of Tron, Major Havoc and Blaster were ones that just lit me up. I did my best to light them up as well. I'm going to have to get Donkey Kong (multi...not a purist there, though it has to be the Nintendo cab, of course!) as my kids have successfully taken the bait and taken to MAME like flies on stink. One of their highlights from a recent trip to San Diego for Legoland & The Zoo was the 60-in-1 at the "arcade" adjacent to the hotel pool! Heh, pretty damn fun, impressing the kiddo with my "prowess" at DK & Mr. Do! Anyway, I ramble...damn glad to be here. Hoping to connect with some other PacNW folks and get the collection started already!

Chris
 
Greetings and welcome! You're in a great part of the world for arcade game collecting, although your list will certainly guarantee you years of happy hunting!

Hope to meet you soon!
 
Hah! Yeah, those are the coveted ones. I do need to get a Donkey Kong for me and the kids though. Just love it too much and they do too. I'm thinking of going for a jamma conversion for a start. I need to research those a bit more...and make more room in the house! I just got a lead on one for $800 which sounded reasonable for a DKJr cab. Again...more research! Thanks for the welcome!
 
Welcome! Btw, I think there's a great arcade/gaming exhibit going on at one of the musuem's in Portland right now. Worth investigating if you haven't already - sorry I don't have more info.

Good to have you here!
 
Hah! Yeah, those are the coveted ones. I do need to get a Donkey Kong for me and the kids though. Just love it too much and they do too. I'm thinking of going for a jamma conversion for a start. I need to research those a bit more...and make more room in the house! I just got a lead on one for $800 which sounded reasonable for a DKJr cab. Again...more research! Thanks for the welcome!

Oh, please don't do the JAMMA conversion! As far as I know, the DK family has yet to be really well represented on any of the multicade boards, and the original PCBs are widely available and probably a lot less expensive by the time you've got it all set up.

Also, $800 is a bit steep, even in the PNW for a DK Jr. If you cast your net a little wider, I think you can do better. I've had the best luck expanding my Craigslist searches up into the Seattle area. A little bit of patience goes a long way. I've been able to pretty consistently find nice, original plywood DK Jrs with nice monitors for around $600. If you really poke and prod, you can probably do better, but it all depends on how much effort and time you're willing to put in vs. how much cash.
 
No, no, I wouldn't be doing it. I was just leaning toward buying one already done as we don't have the space and resources for all the separate machines.

I've got clist searches going on from here to Eugene, haven't branched out to Seattle though as the traffic up there makes it even more of an arduous trek.

ZM, when you mention that the DK family hasn't been well represented on the multi-boards, are you speaking of gameplay or graphics/audio issues? I've seen and played them in a 60-in-1 and I didn't catch any issues, though these weren't extensive plays. Just trying to get a sense of what you meant there. Thanks for the feedback!
 
Welcome! Btw, I think there's a great arcade/gaming exhibit going on at one of the musuem's in Portland right now. Worth investigating if you haven't already - sorry I don't have more info.

Good to have you here!

Thanks Thomas! Yep, Game Masters just wrapped up yesterday. We hit it a couple of times and my sons loved it, as did I. Never had played Reactor before!

Though I was surprised to see Eugene Jarvis' efforts represented by a bench! ;^)
 

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Thanks cappy!
 
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