It has been six years since the last entry in the Niche Collections series and we are returning to present a wildly diverse collection of machines that span continents, generations, and styles.
I have a reputation for being sympathetic to many of the oddball coinop machines out there. Lots of collectors have solely videogame cabinets, or pinball machines, or a mix of both. But outside of those obvious choices is a world of coinop machines that found a slice of the market outside those twin titans. The collection here today is an exemplary potpourri of the coinop world's variety, while showing how every inch of potential arcade space can be utilized.
Eclectic gamerooms are something I have been preaching about for years! Have an awkward counter area? A pachinko and a pachislo machine will elevate your gameroom experience for a wider variety of visitors. Have an empty slot in your lineup? An EM pinball / pitch-n-bat offer tonnes of fun for relatively cheap. A MAME setup feels nearly essential.
I hope you find it as delightful as I do, and I hope it inspires others to explore the wildly diverse world of coinop machines just off the beaten path, and to fill in those awkward nooks and crannies with uniquely enchanting entertainment machines of all persuasions.
Niche Collections 008: Pearson's eclectic coinop potpourri
the basics
who: Pearson
where: Virginia, United States
what: A wide variety of games spanning over a century of entertainment.
what country are these machines from? USA, The Netherlands, Germany, Japan, UK, China
when: I bought my first pachinko machine as a kid in the 1980s, but didn't seriously start collecting any games until about 2020 as my wife and I knew our kids would be moving out in a couple of years, and we began thinking about what to do with the extra rooms.
how many: I currently have about 65 "games", depending on your definition. Most are in one of our various game rooms, though there are a couple in storage, and a few more in the workshop.
full tour of the arcade
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| rough map made in MS paint |
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| this map was made by a robot vacuum |
How did you first discover these types of machines?
Growing up in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, going to the arcade was a regular occurrence. I've always had a love of arcade and pinball machines, but it wasn't until I was an adult and started frequenting sites and groups for people who also loved these things did I realize exactly how wide a world it was. Every new group or type of game was a new rabbit hole to explore!
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| Hi Deal - Bally - 1975 - USA |
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| Solar Ride - Gottlieb -1979 - USA |
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| Joker Poker - Gottlieb - 1978 - USA |
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| Line Drive - Williams - 1972 - USA |
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| Travel Time - Williams - 1973 - USA |
What attracted you to them?
As
I mentioned, I grew up going to the local arcades. I loved playing
these games, only I wasn't really very good at them, so I'd blow through
my allotted pocket full of quarters pretty quickly. That love never
really faded, but it wasn't until my kids were young, and we would take
them to Chuck E. Cheese, or the bowling alley that that love came to the
surface again. One day on a whim, I decided to see what kind of pinball
and arcade machines were available on Facebook Marketplace, and in very
short order, I was moving a broken, dilapidated pinball machine into my
office at work. Thankfully both my boss, and my wife were tolerant, if
not supportive of my growing obsession, and when it came time to start
deciding what to do with the 2nd floor of our house after our kids moved
out, my wife agreed a game room (or game rooms) was a perfectly
acceptable idea. Virtually every game we own came to me either
completely or partially broken, or has been modified, as in the case of
the few Arcade 1up cabinets in the mix. I find that I enjoy working on
these games, bringing them back to life, and figuring out how they work,
every bit as much as I enjoy playing them.
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| Eros One - Fascination - 1979 - USA |
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| inside: Eros One - Fascination - 1979 - USA |
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| CD Fire - NSM - 1989 - Germany |
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| Mini-Baseball - Chicago Coin - 1972 - USA |
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| inside: Mini-Baseball - Chicago Coin - 1972 - USA |
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| Coin Pusher 365 - Arcadro - 2023 - The Netherlands |
What is the history of the machines you collect?
Historically
speaking, I have machines that span from the very early 1900s, all the
way up to the present. I'm not tied to a specific era or type of game,
though I do have a deep appreciation for, and interest in games from the
first half of the 20th century, but I won't turn my nose up at the
newer stuff.
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| Bullseye - Midway - 1972 - USA |
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| inside: Bullseye - Midway - 1972 - USA |
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| Golden Tee 3D - 2025 - Arcade 1up - USA |
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| Computer Baseball - Milwaukee Coin Industries -1973 - USA |
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| inside: Computer Baseball - Milwaukee Coin Industries -1973 - USA |
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| Mini Claw machine - Vevor - 2020 - China |
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| Ball Walk - Cointronics - 1960 - USA |
What inspired you to acquire so many of them?
I
love variety. I have more pinball machines than anything, because it's
probably my first love as far as gaming goes, but if it's weird, quirky,
unusual, or even generally unloved, I'm still interested. I enjoy the
fact that if I'm not in the mood for pinball or an arcade game, there's
still a wide variety of choices. I also like that many visitors to our
game room have never seen or even heard of many of the games in our
collection. There's something for everyone!
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| Wheel Of Fortune - Arcade 1Up - 2023 - USA |
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| PulseScan - 1990s? - Manufacturer unknown |
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| Super Sieben Rotamint - NSM - 1967 - Germany |
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| inside: Super Sieben Rotamint - NSM - 1967 - Germany |
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| Big Strike Bowling - NSM - 1969 - Germany |
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| inside: Big Strike Bowling - NSM - 1969 - Germany |
How do you enjoy spending time with them?
I
love to unwind after a day of work by enjoying a drink and a few games
of whatever. It helps me decompress. We also enjoy having friends and
family over to play. In addition to playing them, I get a lot of
satisfaction out of repairing and maintaining them. I know maintenance
is a chore for some people, but it's a very meditative experience for
me, plus I get to know the games better inside and out, and it help
ensure that everything is working well when people come to visit. No
"out of order" signs in this arcade! Plus, a broken game is WAY cheaper
than a working one! I don't mind the sweat equity involved in fixing
something, it's half the fun for me.
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| Test Your Memory - 1980s? - Manufacturer unknown, however the game is utilizing an actual Milton Bradley Pocket Simon board |
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| Grip Test - Mr. Vend - 1994 - USA |
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| Megatouch Force EVO - Merit Industries - 2003 - USA |
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| Quick Draw - Wenige Epperson Inc. - 1982 - USA |
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| inside: Quick Draw - Wenige Epperson Inc. - 1982 - USA |
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| Power Flash - Nishijin - 1974 - Japan |
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| Pac-Man (converted to light gun multicade) - Cabinet is Arcade 1Up, USA, light guns are Sinden, UK, and the Computer is HP, USA |
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| Drinker Tinker - Irving Kaye - 1967 - USA |
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| CR Hanafuda Story - Heiwa - 2010 - Japan |
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| Game King Multi Game - IGT - 2001 - UK |
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| inside: Game King Multi Game - IGT - 2001 - UK |
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| Asteroids (converted to multicade) Cabinet Arcade 1Up, USA, computer is Raspberry Pi, UK |
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| Cougar Darts - Valley Recreation Products - 1990 - USA |
What do you tell people about these machines when they walk up to them and have never played them before?
Virtually
everyone has played arcade games and pinball, so those don't usually
require much in the way of explanation. Casual players don't really care
about the rulesets on the pinball machines for example, but many of the
more obscure or older games do require some explanation, and it's often
an opening to to talk about history, or what makes a particular game
interesting or noteworthy.
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| Glory Ball - Unknown manufacturer - 1976 - Japan |
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| inside: Glory Ball - Unknown manufacturer - 1976 - Japan |
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| Breathalyzer - Unknown manufacturer - Unknown date - Almost certainly China |
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| Zambini - Mr. Vend - 1995 - USA |
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| Hanabi Hyakkei Pachislo - 2003 - Eleco Ltd. - Japan |
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| Legends Pinball Micro - AtGames - 2022 - USA |
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| Aqua Gun - Midway - 1969 - USA |
Advice if someone reading this wanted to get into these kinds of machines?
My
knee jerk reaction is to tell them to dive right in! But in reality, my
advice would be to look around a bit. What kind of games interest you
the most? Second, find a good community of people who have been there,
done that already and can offer advice, particularly about a specific
game, or style of game you're interested in. What's a fair price for
one? How reliable are they? How hard are they to maintain or fix if
something goes wrong? That sort of thing. Or, you can be an idiot like
me and just buy whatever strikes your fancy, and if you want to play it
badly enough, you'll learn/figure out the answers to those questions
yourself, LOL.
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| Cascade - Bell Fruit 1972 - UK |
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| inside: Cascade - Bell Fruit 1972 - UK |
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| Star Wars - (Converted to flying/racing games multicade), Cabinet, Arcade 1Up - USA, computer, Raspberry Pi - UK |
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| Ballwin De Luxe - 1930s? - UK |
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| Testo - Testo Mfg. Corp - 1960 - USA |
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| Major Series - Rock-Ola - 1936 - USA |
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| The Little Dream - Mills Novelty Co. - 1904 |
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| renpatsu-shiki pachinko machine - Sumire - 1953 - Japan |
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Saida Shokai pachinko machine - Saida Shokai - 1938 - Japan
heavily restored |
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| The Challenger - Bradley - 1947 - UK |
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| inside: The Challenger - Bradley - 1947 - UK |
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| inside: The Challenger - Bradley - 1947 - UK |
Do you have a name/nickname for your arcade?
My wife calls it "The Museum", though you're most definitely encouraged to touch the things!
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| Hi-Fly - Central Mfg. - 1946 - USA |
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| Gold Mine - UPI - 1979 - USA |
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| Five Star Final - Gottlieb - 1932 |
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| Punch-A-Ball - Genco - 1939 |
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| Imp - Groetchen - 1940 - USA |
Not coinop, but some classic toys:
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| Gee-Wiz - Wolverine Supply Co - 1920s - USA |
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| Pachinko - Epoch Playthings - 1972 - Japan |
Your arcade exists in an awkward physical space. Can
you talk about the layout of your arcade, what that space was before,
and your thoughts on designing around it?
The
layout is what you might describe as "get in where you fit in". The
arcade takes up the 2nd floor of a small-ish Cape Cod style house, so
not only is the layout a little weird, but so are the rooms, with their
knee walls and dormer windows. The two largest rooms were my kids
bedrooms, and the two smaller spaces were both closets. We wanted to
keep the pinball machines together, and the older games together, but
besides that, it was mostly just a lot of trial and error, and testing
to see where things would work. I started collecting games before we
were able to really start laying anything out, so that means there were a
few games that are in storage, and a few that were sold off once it
became clear either there wasn't going to be room for them, or there was
another, better game of a similar style that we prefered. The limited
space, and, in particular, the upstairs location means I've also passed
on a few great deals on really interesting stuff because it just
wouln't be physically capable of accommodating them. For example, my
wife is an absolute Skee-Ball freak, but there's just not enough room
for one. A couple of things really helped with fitting as much in as
possible without it feeling TOO cramped (the arcade area consists of
about 325 square feet, total). One, a number of our games can be wall
mounted. That means they can go places some other games can't, and we
don't need to dedicate table space to those games either. Speaking of
tables, number two, you can get tables in almost limitless dimensions on
Amazon. We found some truly weird dimensions when we were working out
where everything was going to go, and finding a table that fits where
you need it to is an enormous help. Tables are also great for cable
management. You can mount power strips under them, and little sticky
squares for zip ties that helps keep everything tidy.
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