My first trip to Galloping Ghost

Nah, You might see maybe 1 arcade game not working in the Top Arcades in the old days, everything was usually up and running, 40 years and older is alot for those Video Arcade machines, Better go now and support your arcades in your area, now if you want a shot of experiencing what it was like in the old days. Who knows how much longer they will be around? It is what it is, though.
I visit every retro arcade I can to support them!
 
I visit every retro arcade I can to support them!
Yeah, I just don't have the time. Actually I pretty much played every arcade game ever made up through the mid ninties at least once. At least the ones I wanted to play. I wouldn't mind trying some of those Arcade/Ride games though. Like Star Wars, I never got to play those. Those things look like a blast.
By the time the Mid Ninties rolled around it was Genesis and Playstation, and the Arcades for the most part were on their way out. At least from what I noticed. PS2 & XBOX pretty much put a nail in it. Get your kicks in while you can.
 
Last edited:
Probably some rose colored glasses also.

I rarely walked into any arcade with more than 5 bucks to play with. So there was kind of a routine involved.
The first thing you would do was to see where the action was. New Hot game in, that everybody was around. You would check that out for maybe 10 minutes.
Then you would hit the Coin returns on every machine in the joint.
If you were lucky maybe pick up a 1.50 to 2.00 bucks extra to play with.
Then it was watch and pick your spots, maybe 2 hours later roll through the coin slots again.
🤣
 
So let me start by saying I give props to Galloping Ghost and All retro arcades out there trying to make a go of it.

Thank you for helping to pass our games on to another generation of gamers.

But I wish someone would open an arcade that LOOKS like an arcade from the 80's. Most of the classic arcades today just look like a bunch of games crammed into some closed down warehouse or something.

I want it to look like it did back in the 80's.

I'm talking about "Arcade84" video level stuff. That's what I want to see in an arcade today.

Make me put in a quarter to play a game. Have someone walking around with the quarter changer hanging on their belt. I want a 50 cent hot dog and a 75 cent Coke. I want flashing lights and a juke box full of 45's playing classic 80's hits. I want a "Game Of The Week" high score contest written in chaulk on a chaulk board showing the latest high score to win $10. I want cool ass carpet that trips me out. I want a cool name and blacked out windows. I wanna see an arcade tech walking the arcade floor fixing games and leaving a couple of credits for the next lucky player. I wanna go back...
.

 
So let me start by saying I give props to Galloping Ghost and All retro arcades out there trying to make a go of it.

Thank you for helping to pass our games on to another generation of gamers.

But I wish someone would open an arcade that LOOKS like an arcade from the 80's. Most of the classic arcades today just look like a bunch of games crammed into some closed down warehouse or something.

I want it to look like it did back in the 80's.

I'm talking about "Arcade84" video level stuff. That's what I want to see in an arcade today.

Make me put in a quarter to play a game. Have someone walking around with the quarter changer hanging on their belt. I want a 50 cent hot dog and a 75 cent Coke. I want flashing lights and a juke box full of 45's playing classic 80's hits. I want a "Game Of The Week" high score contest written in chaulk on a chaulk board showing the latest high score to win $10. I want cool ass carpet that trips me out. I want a cool name and blacked out windows. I wanna see an arcade tech walking the arcade floor fixing games and leaving a couple of credits for the next lucky player. I wanna go back...
.

this place used to be local for me https://undergroundretrocade.com/

it hit on the 80s aesthetic pretty well. it may not have the quantity of GGA but the atmosphere was better. GGA just has too many games now. for posterity when I first went February 2013 they only had 320 games. much of that 1000-something is stuff that was never released in America and really has no casual appeal unless you are extremely curious to peruse rare artifacts. Doc had a vision and he made it work. he's the reason I have the job I do today... which while totally cool, is becoming a major strain on my physical health.
 
much of that 1000-something is stuff that was never released in America and really has no casual appeal unless you are extremely curious to peruse rare artifacts
Yeah that's a very good observation. There was a LOT of obscure stuff there that, while neat to see, weren't enticing to play. I *did* like the ability to play some of the newer Cave shmups and other similar stuff that I've played via emulation but of course never encountered in the wild. But the fact that 95% of that stuff was in generic Dynamo cabs with no art was a little bit of a bummer. I assume those games were just in candy cabs so there probably wasn't any cabinet art for them.
 
So let me start by saying I give props to Galloping Ghost and All retro arcades out there trying to make a go of it.

Thank you for helping to pass our games on to another generation of gamers.

But I wish someone would open an arcade that LOOKS like an arcade from the 80's. Most of the classic arcades today just look like a bunch of games crammed into some closed down warehouse or something.

I want it to look like it did back in the 80's.

I'm talking about "Arcade84" video level stuff. That's what I want to see in an arcade today.

Make me put in a quarter to play a game. Have someone walking around with the quarter changer hanging on their belt. I want a 50 cent hot dog and a 75 cent Coke. I want flashing lights and a juke box full of 45's playing classic 80's hits. I want a "Game Of The Week" high score contest written in chaulk on a chaulk board showing the latest high score to win $10. I want cool ass carpet that trips me out. I want a cool name and blacked out windows. I wanna see an arcade tech walking the arcade floor fixing games and leaving a couple of credits for the next lucky player. I wanna go back...
.

Ok Spaulding
🤣
Those days are gone, gone, gone
The Top 100 from 1984 playing in the backround?🤣
 
For my money, the much-missed Grinker's arcade did a very admirable job of recreating the style of the 80s arcades.

Sure do miss that place...

Jon
 
For my money, the much-missed Grinker's arcade did a very admirable job of recreating the style of the 80s arcades.
I
Sure do miss that place...

Jon
A lot of People like the 80' Arcades circa 1985?
I think If I was to do an arcade I would probably do a 1970's arcade with no arcade later than 1979🤣
Just a lot of EM pinball and a great collection of early video game arcades.🤣
Now that would be a trip.
😁
 
Last edited:
This week I had business in Chicago, and took an extra day for myself to visit Galloping Ghost. I went for two sessions, Wednesday evening for about 5 hours split between the arcade and pinball, and 3 more hours Thursday before heading to the airport.

Wow, the place is massive. And I love that it's massive in that "maze of twisty little passages" way, not massive like PHOF's gigantic open warehouse feel. It's easy to get turned around in there and end up in a different section than you thought you were entering. By the time I had to leave I was still finding areas that I wasn't sure I'd seen before! And I appreciated that it wasn't trying to be some retconned version of the old days with black lights and UV carpet and tons of throwback art on the walls. It was dark, the floor was uneven, the carpet was patched with duct tape… it was authentic!

The variety of games was insane, as you would imagine. I was surprised how many cabs had a switcher in them. I did like that they were very consistent with the location and style of credit button for games that needed one and for the switcher button for games that had one.

A few things were disappointing. More than a handful of games were down or missing what I'd consider a key piece of their iconic functionality… for example, they have an Afterburner Deluxe. I was super excited! But no motion. And they had a Journey which I'd never actually played. I spent a good 20-30 minutes figuring out how to beat all the stages of the first level so I could hear the concert… and the tape deck didn't work so the concert scene was silent. The Star Wars cockpit was down. I was also a bit surprised how many games had monitor problems. There were games I wanted to play but just couldn't because the monitor was way too dim, or the colors were just too far out of whack, or the image had a problem or was folded over or convergence was a problem…

But hey, I think that also just goes to show how incredibly difficult it is to keep a large collection running, especially when it's a business and not our personal showpiece collections. There's limited time, manpower, and budget for all the things that need to be done and I get that. None-the-less I was a bit bummed by a few of them.

I did get to play a few games I'd never seen before that I enjoyed. Space Zap was quite fun, and I enjoyed Reactor too. I really liked playing Sea Wolf as well — I'd never played one. I still don't care for the controls on Major Havoc. 🤷‍♂️

The pinball room was… small. Having been to PHOF in Vegas and a regular attendee of the Allentown Pinball Festival here in PA, the 30 or so tables in the room down the street wasn't that exciting. A nice collection to be sure, but small. I had a couple good games of PinBot, Bride of PinBot, and Addams family and then headed back to the video side.

Anyway, I'm glad I went. I would go again — I intend to. I was happy to pay the door fee twice to support the business and everything Doc is doing. And I hope that he can continue to grow and improve the collection for my next visit!
I've been there a couple times myself… but it's much easier when you're in Wisconsin and only about 90 minutes away. The place is simply incredible. I ran into Doc my first time there. He was incredibly kind and took a few minutes to talk with me about the problem I was having with my TRON at the time. He's such a great guy, and I know 1000's love all the time and effort he's put into his business and LOVE of Arcades.
 
The Galluping ghost would be a fun visit. I kind of dig this guys Bed & Breakfast setup though. Probably be a fun weekend.
Weiners & Losers probably be my choice
That looks like it would be pretty fun

Not really sure what is going on in the Carolinas, North & South but looks like they take their arcade games seriously. Myrtle Beach Influence? Interesting.
 
Last edited:
The Galluping ghost would be a fun visit. I kind of dig this guys Bed & Breakfast setup though. Probably be a fun weekend.
Wieners & Losers probably be my choice
That looks like it would be pretty fun

Not really sure what is going on in the Carolinas, North & South but looks like they take their arcade games seriously. Myrtle Beach Influence? Interesting.
Weiners got a 1980' Bally's Midway Extra Bases Coctail Cabinet👍😆
MEB1.jpg
It would probably be pretty tough to beat Weiners Classic Retro Arcade game experience.
VERIFIED AS BONAFIDE
 
Last edited:
Instead of new game fridays he needs to do fixed a game friday.
Doc was on the floor fixing games himself when I was there. He was gracious enough to stop and chat with me about laserdisc games, particularly Cobra Command. while we talked. Really great guy. He was talking about expanding again. I don't know where...he owns the entire block already.
 
For my money, the much-missed Grinker's arcade did a very admirable job of recreating the style of the 80s arcades.

Sure do miss that place...

Jon
100%. It was a really special spot and Steve curated one hell of a collection and atmosphere. Sorely missed
 
Back
Top Bottom