Seven Arcade Games in The Great Outdoors!

Once summer hits, vacations to large bodies of water are abound. Amongst the trees, water, and locals you may find an arcade hang out or two. Since most of us are stuck home due to COVID-19, I decided to watch The Great Outdoors and highlight 6 arcade games from the Lake Potowotominimac Boardwalk Arcade!

Williams JOUST!

Displayed prominently dead center we have a Joust cabinet. Joust is a classic arcade game that begs for two person co op play. What sets the co op apart from other games is how you can either play cooperatively, or you can try to stab each other to death! Personally I preferred to make it a versus game!

STERN’s Super Cobra!

A few frames in and we spot a Super Cobra hiding in the back. Super Cobra is a pseudo shmup in the vein of Scramble or Choplifter. The marquee has a 70’s lava lamp look to clash with the industrial style STERN conversion cab. It’s like going to your high school girlfriend’s conservative parents house with purple hair.

Atari’s Battlezone!

As the camera pans over further, we can spot a Battlezone cabinet in the far corner. Battlezone is still one of my favorite vector games. My first introduction to Battlezone was with the 2600 VCS port which lacked the tank controls. Fast forward to my College years where I traded a SEGA Genesis and Streets of Rage 2 for a Battlezone hack that allowed you to use two joysticks to simulate the arcade tank controls. Still one of the best decisions I ever made.

This one shot is FULL of arcade goodness. Let’s make it easier by breaking the games down by numbering them.

1.) Taito’s QIX!

Here’s an easy spot! Qix was a unique puzzle game that had you drawing rectangular shapes while avoiding and trying to trap Spirograph enemies. There have been many variations on this game, including an adult themed series called Gal’s Panic.

2. William’s Laser Ball!

Here’s a game I (2600) have yet to come across. It seems like a standard Williams game, but I could be way off. The game and flyers I found seem to rely heavily on sex appeal, which was very common in early eighties arcade advertising and marketing. 

3. Bally’s Mr. and Mrs. PAC-MAN!

I love how You can chart Pac-Man‘s life through the various arcade games. First he’s a young buck running around stuffing his face, then he meets Ms. Pac-Man, gets married in one pinball game, has a baby in another, and chooses a second career as a professor! Mr. and Mrs. Pac-man is a pinball machine with great artwork, but  suffers from some awful early 80’s pinball sounds. Even a near mint machine sounds like it is being played under water.

4. Bally’s Eight Ball Deluxe Limited Edition!

I personally have never played the limited edition of Eight Ball Deluxe. From what I have gathered online, I am truly missing out! The Limited Edition of Eight Ball Deluxe has an added “box” for displaying the score while the backglass looks like something you would see attached to a slot machine. 

Thank you for reading about old arcade games that appeared in The Great Outdoors!

All of the flyers came from  The Arcade Flyer Archive.