Quarters, tokens, freeplay or credit buttons? How do you coin up your games?

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Quarters, tokens, freeplay or credit buttons? How do you coin up your games?

I know this topic has come up before, but it's been quite a while.

How do you coin up your games? Do you feel that actually dropping in a coin is part of the experience, or do you just go for the convenience of free-play? Do you just leave coin doors open and flip the credit switch, and have confused guests?

Or tokens - what kind and why? And was it expensive to get enough tokens and compatible token mechs for all your games?

-Ian
 
I have been doing freeplay as much as possible, but I am thinking I should sell off my quarter mechs for token mechs and use tokens.
 
I'd love to do the token thing with Aladdin's Castle tokens but I've never gotten around to actually doing it. Maybe someday... :)
 
as many as i've been able to switch over are on tokens.

unfortunately a few (multi-Taito, JROK Williams) do not allow for token use.

i like the experience of dropping in a token or quarter for credit, and there's nothing like watching guests scramble to stuff tokens into Carnevil before the time runs out to continue.
 
Free play right now, with the occasional flicking of the credit switch.

Eventually tokens... but that's a ways away.
 
Set to free play when supported.

Otherwise, i add a microswitch to the right coin return button that is connected to the coin-up wiring. I hot-glue the switch to the upper part of the coin mechanism so pressing the return button activates it, and have been able to wire this by simply popping the connectors at the bottom of the coin mechanism and inserting the wires from the switch before reconnecting the original wiring. it is completely reversable.
 
Whatever supports freeplay w/attract is on freeplay right now.

The exceptions are Jungle King which has the Player 2 button wired up to the coin switch, and Space Duel which is on quarters. Discs of Tron just got moved into the arcade and I think there are freeplay roms out there for it.

All my games have coin mechs which have been modified to accept quarters and .984 tokens. I am contemplating switching completely to quarters / tokens.
 
If a game has free play, I'll set it on that. The only exception is if the free play causes the machine to just sit on a certain screen, waiting for a start. If it doesn't, then I use tokens. (Woops! My woodrail pin uses Nickels, so I do have one game where I keep a tub of nickels around for it).

It wasn't expensive at all for the mechs. Over the years, machines I havd had came with adjustable mechs, so I just adjust them to use tokens. As for the tokens themselves, they're not too expensive. In bulk, I think I was paying around $.05 per token. Not bad since they cost $.25 at an arcade. :)

Bill
 
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Tokens all the way, complete with change machine. I was lucky enough to find 2400 tokens on CL 5 minutes from my house shortly after getting my change machine. Paid $50 IIRC. The first thing I do when I get a new game is mod the mechs.
 
Is there a token that would work in 100 yen mechs? Just thinking I could trade quarter mechs to one of my op friends who has a bunch of japanese machines that come with 100yen mechs. Apparently, it's better to have a mech that was factory set for quarters rather than adjusting a japanese mech to accept quarters. Guess they bind up more.
 
Coin door open with switch flick right now, but will have little switches wired in to allow guests to 'coin up' before my first arcade party... Soon.

Adding a quarter is neat, and I currently have working quarter mechs in all my games, but I'm very resistant to having to have guests pay for games. Just seems rude, even though it'd be a nice tiny little ROI. ;)
 
Mario Pin, VO, Multi and Snap Station set to free play. Dig Dug, Pole Position, and DK Jr. use free play switches. You just have to put money in Space Invaders I'm afraid, gotta hate the Midway coin-door killswitch.
 
Exactly. In my case, the change machine is configured to dump tokens when you hit the coin reject button, and it is labeled as such.

Funny story... At my son's last birthday party kids started piling into the game room to play games before I could tell them about the change machine. By the time I got in there, I saw the grandfather of one of the kids holding out a 5 dollar bill, about to insert it in the change machine. Lol! He thought we were charging to play. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. ;)
 
4 of the 5 are on Free Play. Tetris and Raiden have attract in Free Play but I miss my Pac and Ms. Pac attract modes. Super Pac cocktail has a well hidden coin up button under the bottom on the same side as the power switch (bitch to install but it works nicely). I have wanted to go to tokens for years but I can't ever seem to get enough money to afford 10 mechs and tokens at the same time. If I ever do it, I want a Rowe BC-3500 to go along with. They are just as classic as the games they once supplied with quarters and tokens. Presently, I would like to go back to quarters in a jar as I have done in the past but I have trouble keeping quarters in it. They get swiped for the pop machine at work. Other problem is my 3 year old daughter likes to take the quarters off the games (usually keep 5 or 6 on each machine at the top edge of the CP for easy access) and put them into the games when they are turned off.
 
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