Gotta Pocket Full of Quarters...

Do you know what the following words have in common?

asteroids

galaga

centipede

dig dug

burgertime

zaxxon

joust

If so then you need to visit Starcade whose boast is "TV's first and only video arcade game show" (there is an obvious reason for the adjective "only"...just visit the links).

I found a link to this site over at the Secret Fun Blog and could spend hours just looking and reminiscing! I remember the game show, but didn't remember the name "Starcade". Growing up in the late 70's & 80's, I've plunked many a quarter...MANY a quarter...in arcade games at the Midget Market and down at the Outer Limits arcade in my hometown of Sheridan. (Ask me about the time I gradually emptied my sisters piggy bank over several weeks to satistfy my video fix.)

If you haven't figured it out yet, Starcade was a TV game show themed around video arcade games. Players were scored on arcade trivia as well as playing skills. The grand prize - of course - their very own, full size, arcade game. Oh, man did I ever want my own!

My "game" growing up was Galaga & Galaga 3. I could tear 'em up. I still find Galaga in many arcades today, but have yet to find Galaga 3. I'm starting to think I made it up or something. My friend Eric was a master at Gyruss. Remember that one? Me either. My college roomate had his own Donkey Kong game in his garage. So what if I was 19 years old, I still thought he was cool.

Oh, and remember this song? That was my life. Really. Can you still name all four ghosts?

Anyways..back to Starcade. You can actually watch about a dozen full length episodes online (they buffer pretty fast). Also check out the Pilot episode fact page that explains the challenges of doing a game show with video arcade games. That almost seems like a no brainer in today's techno charged world. Couldn't they just plug a USB cable in the back of the game right into their camera? Seems pretty simple to me.

Also, while writing this blog, I came across this site that allows you to play miniature versions of some of the old 1980's games. It's called ... well ... "1980's Games". (WARNING: there's an "Adult Games" link included on this page along with a questionable image, so please use your own discretion.)

I'll end with this:

Can you name the cutting edge video game represented by the image below?

For 10 extra tokens, what was this game's "claim to fame"?

And for 100 free credits, what is the character's name?

Give up? Click here.