Arcade Games

If you’re a Gen X kid like me, you spent half your childhood (and more than half your allowance) at the local arcade. Can you still hear the sound of the guy shooting out quarters from the thing he wore on his belt? Do you remember setting that quarter on the machine to say “I got next?” Can you still smell that one kid who was eternally parked in front of Dragon’s Lair?

What are the arcade games that you spent the most money on? What were your favorites?

We’re voting on the greatest arcade game of them all! Get your joysticks ready! Raid your kid’s piggy bank! We’re not leaving this place until we get the high score!

Round 2

(1) Pac-Man v (9) Dig Dug

Developed way back in 1979, this is the game that broke the mold and gave us the iconic pellet-gobbling yellow circle. Pac Man holds eight Guiness World Records!

Dig Dug was a maze game that allowed the player to create their own maze while pumping up Pookas and Fygars until they burst. It allowed far more strategy than many of its contemporaries.

(5) Asteroids v (4) Galaga

One of the first big arcade hits, Asteroids was innovative: screen wraparounds, curious gravity, and the tantalizing Hyperspace button.

Galaga perfected its predecessor, Galaxian, and let arcade regulars show off with the tractor-beam-double-shooter trick.

(11) TMNT v (3) Frogger

Up to four players control the Ninja Turtles in a beat 'em up fight to take down Shredder. TMNT was Konami's highest grossing arcade game.

From 1981, the broad appeal of Frogger (and his many, many ways to die) has earned it praise as one of the greatest of all time. George Costanza has the high score.