Whac-a-Mole SE (No longer for sale)

CarrieZ

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Donor 3 years: 2015-2017
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Working original Bob's Space Racer's Whac-a-Mole for sale. Music plays. Moles pop up. You bash them in the head and get taunted to "do it even faster, next time." In other words, not only is it perfect family/party fun, but it can be therapeutic on a bad day.

This is most likely the first edition of the Special Edition (SE) model, circa 2008. The SE was the first model not to use compressed air, which makes it lighter and more reliable than the older games. This is the commercial arcade version of the game, which unlike the home edition, accepts coins, dispenses redemption tickets, and has 3 LED displays instead of 1 (high score, your score, and bonus tickets).

I bought this game from an operator 3-4 years ago and it had been on route. It was non-working and a real labor of love to bring back to life. In addition to cleaning a mind-boggling amount of stickiness and candy wrappers out of the game, I did the following work:
  • Replaced 3 out of the 5 "mole" solenoids
  • Replaced all 5 sensors
  • Installed a new power supply
  • Had both game boards refurbished by Bob's Space Racers in July 2018
All replacement parts were new from Bob's Space Racer's (three cheers for them still being in business and continuing to stock these parts) and represent well over $1000 in parts and services. The game would benefit from one additional new solenoid as one of the moles (I named him Milton) can get a bit "tired" after the game has been played continuously for a couple of hours, which will result in him popping up partially or more slowly after extensive play. It's still very playable, but the score can be affected since there's a timing component in the hits. The side art has the standard wear and some scuffs, but is in overall good condition. The marquee has imperfections which I tried to capture in the photos. The mole heads show the normal signs of being bashed in the head in an arcade for several years, although I did replace two of the more worn moles heads with newer used moles heads. The back door is missing.

The machine is relatively light and easy to move for one person, so I am willing to deliver to the San Francisco Bay Area or the North Bay as far as the wineries in Sonoma. I'm located in the SF Bay Area close to Pacifica, CA. Local sale preferred but I'm willing to ship if buyer makes arrangements, however, I cannot pallet the game. $2000

 
Working original Bob's Space Racer's Whac-a-Mole for sale. Music plays. Moles pop up. You bash them in the head and get taunted to "do it even faster, next time." In other words, not only is it perfect family/party fun, but it can be therapeutic on a bad day.

This is most likely the first edition of the Special Edition (SE) model, circa 2008. The SE was the first model not to use compressed air, which makes it lighter and more reliable than the older games. This is the commercial arcade version of the game, which unlike the home edition, accepts coins, dispenses redemption tickets, and has 3 LED displays instead of 1 (high score, your score, and bonus tickets).

I bought this game from an operator 3-4 years ago and it had been on route. It was non-working and a real labor of love to bring back to life. In addition to cleaning a mind-boggling amount of stickiness and candy wrappers out of the game, I did the following work:
  • Replaced 3 out of the 5 "mole" solenoids
  • Replaced all 5 sensors
  • Installed a new power supply
  • Had both game boards refurbished by Bob's Space Racers in July 2018
All replacement parts were new from Bob's Space Racer's (three cheers for them still being in business and continuing to stock these parts) and represent well over $1000 in parts and services. The game would benefit from one additional new solenoid as one of the moles (I named him Milton) can get a bit "tired" after the game has been played continuously for a couple of hours, which will result in him popping up partially or more slowly after extensive play. It's still very playable, but the score can be affected since there's a timing component in the hits. The side art has the standard wear and some scuffs, but is in overall good condition. The marquee has imperfections which I tried to capture in the photos. The mole heads show the normal signs of being bashed in the head in an arcade for several years, although I did replace two of the more worn moles heads with newer used moles heads. The back door is missing.

The machine is relatively light and easy to move for one person, so I am willing to deliver to the San Francisco Bay Area or the North Bay as far as the wineries in Sonoma. I'm located in the SF Bay Area close to Pacifica, CA. Local sale preferred but I'm willing to ship if buyer makes arrangements, however, I cannot pallet the game. $2000


Can't view the pics. As an elemecha fan* pleeeease fix lol. :p

* DISCLAIMER: I have no money.
 
Can't view the pics. As an elemecha fan* pleeeease fix lol. :p


Pictures work fine for me. You have to click on the image links. You also need a KLOVimg account (or log into it if you already have an account.)


I've seen and played this very machine and it's in great shape. A lot of work and care went into it. Nothing beats the original Whac-a-Mole! GLWS!
 
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Here's a medium resolution version of all the photos. It's kind of fun to see "under the hood". I can't take a photo of all the giant solenoids without really dissembling the game, but this gives a good overview of what the Whac-a-Mole guts look like.
 

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Learning new things about the new KLOV: you have a 10 attachment limit. Here's the rest.
 

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I sold a couple of other games and lost all motivation to sell this one, but I'm finding myself out of room again so bumping this thread with a price drop. Now $1500, which is the same price as the last one that sold on KLOV (that was the cheaper home version while this is the commercial version). Who wants to whack a mole? 🐻🔨
 
Wonders what the cost of a new solenoid cost would be.

Wack a mole is an iconic machine.
I seem to recall that the solenoids were in the $125 range from Bob's Space Racers, which is why I didn't just bulletproof the game and replace all 5 immediately. (Makes me appreciate the price of pinball solenoids now. Although the mole solenoids are really big, so at least you are getting a lot of bang for the buck!) I didn't really notice that "Milton's" solenoid was weak until I put the game out for Halloween and the neighborhood kids played it non-stop for hours. I have no idea if there's a way to rehab an old solenoid. They seem pretty well sealed up, so replacing with a new part or used part seemed like the most realistic way to go to me.
 
Thinking about the solenoid replacement got me searching for old photos from when I was working on the game. I found a picture of the mole heads sitting in their coil bed right after replacing some of the coils, a picture of a particularly grimy old solenoid (the game was practically mummified in sticky goo) and its shiny new replacement.

This brings back such good memories! This was a fun game to work on, especially since I could trouble shoot with the guys at Bob's Space Racers. Now if only I could get Atari on speed dial . . . 😂
 

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