table top arcade machine

[karym6]

does anyone remember those table top arcade machines you used to get in pubs?

I am in the process of building one now (well a 21st century one any way) but I cant remember what games used to be on them.

Can someone with a good memory help me out?

 

[Purity]

does anyone remember those table top arcade machines you used to get in pubs?

I am in the process of building one now (well a 21st century one any way) but I cant remember what games used to be on them.

Can someone with a good memory help me out?

The games i used to play on tabletops were asteroids, scramble and space invaders. Any chance of sharing your designs?

 

[softscoop]

We've still got a table top pac man in our local. 20p a pop!

 

[karym6]

The games i used to play on tabletops were asteroids, scramble and space invaders. Any chance of sharing your designs?

no problems with that my friend - i was considering blooging it all anyway

I will put some stuff together this weekend on it and post it somewhere for you all to see.

I have had two ideas -

1) create a cabinent based on a flat panel display with an itx mobo at its heart

2) convert an ikea coffee table into this design.

I like the ikea thing as most of the hard parts of furniture design are already taken care of . The only things left for me to do there would be strengthen the frame and apply a see-through surface to the top.

I am part way through building an RC spy copter at the moment, so I have not started anything other than planning the computer hardware right now.

 

[karym6]

We've still got a table top pac man in our local. 20p a pop!

what controller does it use? is it a joystick, rollerball or dial?

 

[softscoop]

Its a joystick mate.

 

[karym6]

ty. looking at ways of making this appear modern, but authentic if you know what i mean

 

[Colin]

there was a footie one with a rollerball we used to play cant for the life of me remember the name though!

 

[nilrem]

I used to fix them many moons ago proper name for them is cocktail video cabinets , you get them on ebay every now and again and they go for silly money £500+

Never seen a MAME one though .....good luck with the project

Cheers

 

[karym6]

£500, thats a mint eh?

Well, as soon as i get the table bit sussed i will blog it for all and sundry

 

[Trancemaster]

Played on one in a pub in Preston a couple of years ago, had space Invaders and New Zealand Story Space Invaders on it.

If you're building one, make sure to use smoked glass if possible, makes it look much cooler!

 

[karym6]

i was thinking of putting perspex over the top to keep the costs down... the best bit is i have found some great veneer that looks like an authentic bit of pub veneer.

only thing is - i have no idea how to make good the edges. would i be sealing it then sanding it at all?

 

[Purity]

there was a footie one with a rollerball we used to play cant for the life of me remember the name though!

yeah i remember this one - great game. I think it was World Cup 86? or sumat similar

 

[rick.oshea]

I looked at restoring one of these.....If you tap in Taito spare parts into google, you should get a list of suppliers where you can get bits for them. I was gonna give the old Taito Space invaders cocktail table a blast. You can now get a repalcement board for the insides which allows the unit to play over 50 of the old retro arcade games....Space invaders, defender, pac man...... gotta be done.

You can pick up sheets of laminate from specific suppliers, got a company in Cardiff called Llandaff Laminates, just the job. It will cut with a stanley and then its a bit of elbow grease to sand down the edges. If you don't get it neat, try putting a metal corner strip over the top... Prob can get hold of the original ones but if you don't want to hunt them down then you could get something to do the job inthe bigger b & Q's etc.

If your gonna do it though, spend the time over it and it I'll be worth a mint...£500 is a cheap one, some are way more than that!!!