I have a million memories floating around up there (amongst the cobwebs) about arcades that I frequented or machines that I found in the wild in places like the local Pizza Hut (a cocktail Moon Cresta), the convenience store at the end of my road (Commando and Black Knight), and one of my all time favorite places to find arcade games, the laundromat (Ladybug, Pac-Land, and Gladiator)!
But, the place that truly "HOOKED" me was a little place called The News Depot in my hometown, Harvard, Ill. The News Depot wasn't exactly an arcade - I would describe it as more of a news stand/coffee shop/ice cream parlor. It was absolutely filled with racks of newspapers and magazines and had sort of a lunch counter up one side where random, boring adults would always be drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes, and reading newspapers. I hardly noticed them as I hustled past to the small arcade in the back of the building. Even today, I can picture it perfectly in my mind and can even list which games were there and the order in which they were placed. They had a Defender, a Centipede, an Asteroids, and a Pac Man against the left wall. Against the back wall (positioned from left to right) were Donkey Kong, Tempest, Star Castle, and a Firepower pinball machine. The right wall only had room for one game, Frenzy, due to the coin operated candy, toy, and super ball machines that were taking up valuable real estate on that right wall.
Over time, Defender was replaced with Stargate (huge upgrade, IMO), Pac Man was replaced by Ms. Pac Man, and Donkey Kong was replaced by Donkey Kong Junior. I'm certain other machines also came and went, but I vividly remember those new games showing up. I played in The News Depot almost every day until a real arcade opened up down the street featuring more games than I could ever imagine even existed. The News Depot eventually closed down, as did the other arcades in town, but it will always be the genesis of arcade games for me and a place that I will never forget.
The time I cracked 100k on Donkey Kong for the first time with about 10 kids watching over my shoulder is a moment frozen in time that will likely stick with me forever. I was 10 years old and thought I was on top of the world. Getting that little carpenter to the top of those girders safely and saving the girl from Kong was my whole world then. And it's still a small part of my world 36 years later. :-)
Steve
MM