That first time...

I got my first game was when I was 15. The clerk at the hardware store sold me a Stratovox cocktail for 200 bones.
Little did 15-year-old me know what giant masterpiece he would get himself into 10 years later.
 
First arcade cab I bought was a Neo Geo 4 Slot. I chose it due to its ability to swap carts, cause I feared if I bought another cab I'd get bored with it.

First thoughts after it arrived was I can't believe how good games look on a CRT. They looked better than what I remember.

Thought this was gonna be my only one. Then I decided it'd be cool to find an Outrun. Then I decided it'd be nice to own a Smash TV… and on and on and on.
 
I got a Donkey Kong at a game auction. I kept it at a friend's house. For weeks I was just in complete awe that I actually not only had an arcade game, but a DONKEY KONG. A few weeks later I got a Super Pac-Man off eBay. It sat next to the DK. Standing back and watching these two machines in the dark was surreal. Just sheer magic. There was so much pride. It was an awesome feeling. I wish I could get that back.
 
My first game was Karate Champ that I bought off of a member here (flex) that was very active on the local CL. I ended up selling the KC later to another member here. I think my second WORKING game was P.O.W. It was either the P.O.W. or a red tent. I found a pic of the three from 9/2010. I had already rotated the monitor in the P.O.W., added rotary joys and installed Heavy Barrel by that time. I looked back and picked up about 10 projects between the Karate Champ and P.O.W.

I loved the Karate Champ. I remember playing it a bunch in the garage by myself and even sometimes just turning it on to let it run through attract mode and watch it for a while.

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My first game was Missile Command, and I was hooked the minute I fired it up. The warm glow and buzz of the marquee light, the glorious CRT picture, and the analog game sounds running through the old speakers got me. This type of experience cannot be replicated with any modern tech - so go original, or go home. It gets played all the time, and I don't think I'll ever let it go.

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WWF superstars in early 1993. A really bad cabinet. I remember it being sprayed with some sort of glitter. Too bad I don't have any pictures of it.

I do vividly remember inside the coin door there were 2 pvc like pipes that I presume were for the coins to go through
 
WWF superstars in early 1993. A really bad cabinet. I remember it being sprayed with some sort of glitter. Too bad I don't have any pictures of it.

I do vividly remember inside the coin door there were 2 pvc like pipes that I presume were for the coins to go through
Yep. It dropped them into the coin vault, to keep game techs honest.
 
NBA Jam was the first game I ever bought. Didn't realize it at the time (because of the awful ebay ad) that it wasn't a dedicated cabinet. I had it shipped, and when it showed up, it didn't work. Its how I found KLOV. People always say they'd never get rid of their first game, but this has been replaced with a dedicated cabinet.

Its also wild how terrible phone cameras were back then...

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My first games were bought at the same time. I wanted some arcade games for my 'video room' at that time. Living is So. Cal then, I came across an ad in the 'Nickel' paper. It was from an operator that had a garage full of games he was selling off. I picked up an Exidy Venture, and a Warlords cocktail for 400.00 for both, this was 1985. The games weren't even that old then! Had them for many years then finally traded them when we moved back to Nor. Cal. but I really started collecting in 1995 when I picked up my Lunar Lander from Yogi in the bay area. I still have my Lunar Lander (30 years now!! hard to believe it's been that long.). I still have my Yogi T-shirt too!
 
Started collecting in 1987. First game a dedicated defender in the classified ads for 100.00. Wish I still had it. That game was super nice and never gave me issues. Then picked up a Galaxian cocktail cabaret pac man and a donkey Kong also found in the local paper in separate ads in the few months after purchasing the defender….. just the excitement of owning and actual arcade machine was a special feeling…. since then arcade machines have always been a presence …..
 
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Donkey Kong full size was my first game and favorite game of all time. I was over the top excited to own it, and terrified at the same time for fear that it would break. Then I decided to try my hand at restoring the game because of you fine people. It was going to be my only game.

Fourteen cabarets, an Ice Cold Beer, a Wizard of Wor, a Mario Bros Widebody, and a Track & Field cocktail later, here I am 8 years later, and loving every minute of it…well almost all of it.

Thanks,
Jason
 
It was going to be my only game.

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First for me was a cocktail Tempest I picked up way back around 1992. I had somewhat recently rekindled by passion for the game, but by then, it was very hard to find the game at the still-dwindling/still remaining arcades at the time, let alone one that was working/playable. I actually found a local outfit that had a working unit about a year earlier and would visit it once a week or so, but it did go down eventually which cemented my desire to own one even though I had no idea whatsoever how to find one nor about how to maintain it. I even offered the owner for the now-not-working game, but they didn't want to sell it at the time.

So I literally looked up "Amusement Devices" in the old school/Yellow Pages phone book, called a couple of the places listed and left messages, and one called me back a couple of days later saying they had a working cocktail version and was I interested. It was local and I agreed to come by to check it out, and for $300, I could not resist (even though I would have preferred (and still do) the upright). Lugged the game around with me from place to place for several years as I was still in graduate school and renting. And amazingly, it never had any problems during this time other than a minor problem with the A/R board that I was able to fix at the time with help from an Atari tech I contacted back when they were still active in Milpitas (California).

Fast forward a few years to me wrapping up graduate school, getting a "real" job and actual savings to my name, and then meeting a collector at the time with about 40 games which inspired me to start building my own collection (this by the late 1990s/early 2000s). Began with a Space Duel, then a Major Havoc, then a Sinistar, and then more and more. And yes, I did eventually trade my cocktail Tempest for a very nice upright (which I still have to this day).

Pretty much maxed out these days on space with the 30 or so I have, but pretty happy with the collection as is...

As a side note, I've always really enjoyed meeting other collectors from all walks of life, and also learning how to fix/repair/restore the games myself. It's quite fulfilling when I am able to fix an unhappy game and get it going again.

Jonathan
 
I got my cabaret stargate in 95?from a friend that was a vendor ,another full size stargate a few years later from my cousins pinball connection.Then they were plugged in when I was away in 2004?and got fried by a lightning strike , Then paid to have them fixed? in 2022?and that is where it really started and that inspired me to buy a few more defenders and stargates and learn to do it myself or at least try with the help extra parts and this forum etc ,its less of a collection,more of an obsession .i don't remember exact dates .i still have the cabaret and the overlay looks like crap .
 

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First for me was a pin: Back to the Future. Spent $20 for a raffle ticket at a Peddler's Mall type of place and won it. I about $#!@ my pants when I found out. Next was Simpson's 4 Player and a Crime Patrol 2 game from a local Namco arcade. $400 for the Simpson's and $100 for the CP2...both working. Got my Dragon's Lair after that and it just ballooned from there. After getting 12 games and a Rowe R-84 Jukebox I finally turned them all on to look at my arcade. The level of awe and pride could not be measured. Now up to 15 games.
🥳
 
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