Expedition Eighty-Two

Tags

eightytwo, Retro Gaming

Having spent the Easter weekend and much of the week down with a nasty bug, I didn’t feel much like writing any blog entries.    Thankfully, Saturday Night was a fantastic success wherein I got my crew out to Eighty – Two in the Los Angeles Arts district.

It was not quite what I expected.   We got there at about 630 pm, with pockets full of quarters.   Each game was 25 – 50 cents to play.    The place was fairly busy, with a bouncer (!) at the door, washroom attendants (!) (men and women), and four bartenders manning the bar.    We wandered around and enjoyed the many games.     Surprisingly, as the night went on, it became filled with twenty-somethings, couples on dates, and only a few guys over 40 (and that was us).

I happily bought drinks at $8 a pop, enjoyed the music the DJ was spinning, and played plenty of games.    Space Invaders saw me top the high score, using the standard method of “Get them on the sides so they can’t advance”.    I impressed my buddies with my skill at Tapper, Centipede, various pinball machines, but most of all Galaga.

I managed to post the third highest Galaga score, after being challenged and saying “This really isn’t my game”.    For my group this was definitely the best game we played.    And the screen gets projected onto the wall above the bar (along with Street Fighter).

Galaga screen is cut off, but to the right.

Did well and also tried out Dig Dug, Off-Road Racing, and enjoyed them a lot.    Paperboy didn’t hold up for me and got a single quarter.    Lots of Pinball machines I’d never played before, with the exception of Funhouse.    The Tron Legacy pinball got beat into submission by me winning many games against it.

By the time we left (like old men – 11 pm) the line was halfway around the block to get into the place.

The place got completely packed

No doubt about it, I’ll have to go back with the guys again.    Everyone enjoyed their time and having a chance to hang out together.    The draw of “We rotate out the games” is pretty strong – hopefully next time we can make sure they have a Tempest in the place, along with Asteroids, and pick a time when the line to play Street Fighter isn’t 8 quarters long.

It was there ! I did OK, but failed to finish the game.

Umm – that score was a bit odd. 666 666.

The place was fantastic, with a fun and well behaved crowd, part arcade and part nightclub.   Heartily recommended.

 

Retro Gaming LA

Tags

eightytwo, Retro Gaming

God yes !    I’ve been waiting for years !    It finally seems to have happened – retro gaming is returning to Los Angeles.

A friend circulated the news on Facebook about 82 – also know as eightytwo.la – which is a new barcade now open somewhere in Downtown.   Seems opening weekend was March 28th.    Googling revealed that not only is this one man’s private collection – he’s getting pinball machines from someone else’s, Molly’s Pins and Needles.

See a real estate blogger’s entry with pictures, and salivate with anticipation like me.

Pins and Needles has apparently been open for the past year, but it’s not the barcade format – it’s more for the hardcore kind of guy.    I’m hardcore (or I used to be), but none of my friends are.   With an actual barcade I should be able to make it down there with the crew and we’ll all have a blast.

I note with approval there’s an actual Star Wars Cockpit game, which I would love to play again; Lunar Lander, naturally; Tempest, not something I’ve seen for many years; Street Fighter 2 which I’ll again kill all my buds at; and the immortal Space Invaders, naturally.

Have you been there ?   Plan to go ?   I’d love to hear about it.    Or about any barcades worldwide, I know there are many in America, concentrated in the Chicago area if memory serves.