Packri Monster game at Retro Replay

We spotted this nice old handheld game from Bandai on display in the window of the Retro Replay Arcade, Gaming Lounge & Bar at the Castle Quarter shopping centre in Norwich last month.

Check out that Woolies price sticker on the box too

It's one of a number of retro gaming items in the window at the arcade bar.

Visit the Retro Replay website for more information.

Happy National Video Game Day

Today is National Video Game Day.

Nu Game Arcade in Southampton

It was a nice surprise to find the Nu Game Arcade in Southampton last month. It was also brilliant that we happened to be the first customers on the opening day too!

We spotted the sign for the Nu Game Arcade on the first floor as we were leaving the Marlands shopping centre. We're glad we did as it's been a while since I've played at an arcade.

It was brilliant to have a go on two of my favourite games - Metal Slug on the Neo Geo MVS and Robocop.

Check out the Nu Game Arcade Facebook Page for more information.

WINNERS DON'T USE DRUGS

Who is your favourite Director of the FBI?

I'd have to go with William S. Sessions.

Show me a better arcade game attract screen. I'll wait

Happy National Video Game Day!

Happy National Video Game Day

Today is National Video Game Day.

This is some of the video game graffiti art at the Ghetto Golf indoor minigolf courses in Birmingham and Liverpool.

Resident Needle

I don't think I could've seen a better business name, sign and shopfront during my pandemic lockdown daily outdoor exercise than this one in Woodley Precinct, Stockport!

What voice would you use to say this shop name out loud?

Link:
- Resident Needle Tattoo Studio

A new Putting Pencil

One of the nicest things about visiting a new minigolf course is seeing what scorecards and branded pencils they have. Not all courses have them and at present some courses have stopped giving them out. Other courses use apps for players to use as scorecards while others use a mix of the old-school approach mixed with technology and offer both scoring options.

On our travels to 948 miniature golf courses we've collected quite a few putting pencils.

Earlier this week I blogged about the fact you can now play Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge from The Simpsons! It's available as an online game as well as a download.

Do you think you can reach the Parking Lot with a Putter?

I bought the downloadable version and as a nice bonus you receive a scoring pencil.

It's something different to add to my collection of minigolf ephemera.

Toys R Us at the Central Retail Park in Manchester

A look at the old Toys R Us store at the Central Retail Park on Great Ancoats Street in Manchester.

While looking through my photos during lockdown and prompted by my recent look at the old Woolworths store in Brunstane, Edinburgh I found these views of the old Toys R Us store at the former Central Retail Park on Great Ancoats Street in Manchester.

The old Toys R Us unit at Central Retail Park in Manchester

The snaps were taken in February and March last year following the demise of the brand and the closure of the retail park.

How the store looked in early February 2019 

The demolition work had really begun when we passed by a month and a half later

A look at the entrance to the store in March 2019

Geoffrey was the last to leave the Ancoats store

Working at Toys R Us

My first job during my time at university in the year 2000 was as one of Geoffrey's helpers at the Luton store. I worked on the video game and electronics section.

Shopping at Toys R Us

It was a real shame to see the brand go under. It was always a treat when me and my brothers would visit to buy games for our SEGA Master System in the 1990s. I've still got those games, some have the Toys R Us stickers on.

A nice piece of ephemera

Other lost brands

Our travels around the country have seen us spot the remnants of a number of old and defunct brands, including Woolworths in Stoke-on-Trent, Tandy in Hitchin, RadioShack in Lytham Saint Annes, Kwik Save in Barrow-in-Furness and Blockbuster Video in Fallowfield, Manchester.

Do you have a favourite 'lost shop' from years gone by? Maybe the remains of an old brand are still visible on a building near where you live or work? Do let me know.

Play Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge from The Simpsons

You can now play Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge from The Simpsons!

I know which club I'm choosing

I love The Simpsons and I love Putting so I was very very very happy to hear that Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge from the show has been made into a playable game!

Many thanks to my friend and minigolf rival Martyn Williams from the Welsh Minigolf Club for sending the link to me.

Play Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge online

The playable version of the game was made by Aaron Demeter. Follow him on Twitter too.

It's certainly cheered me up on this Minigolf Monday and is a bright spot in an otherwise incredibly gloomy year.

Happy Putting.

Wac-Man Crazy Golf

A look at the 'Wac-Man' minigolf hole at Joe Joe Jim's Crazy Crazy Golf course inside Fletcher's Arcade in Cofton Hackett, South Birmingham.

We played Joe Joe Jim's Crazy Crazy Golf course in August 2018. The 9-hole indoor layout was the 829th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The course at Fletcher's Arcade and game-play has to be seen and experienced to be believed. It really is Crazy Crazy Golf!

Happy birthday Nintendo Game Boy

Happy 31st birthday to the Nintendo Game Boy.

The Nintendo Game Boy was released in Japan on this day in 1989.

I got mine in 1992 or 93. I've still got it too.

Lazlos' Loop for the Nintendo Game Boy, the last game I bought for the Game Boy. I picked this up earlier this year

Game Boy Minigolf

We've seen a few Game Boy inspired minigolf holes, obstacles and artwork on our travels.

This Game Boy inspired hole can be found at Teezers Retro Golf in Coventry.

Teezers Retro Golf in Coventry

This Game Boy inspired graffiti art can be found on the Ghetto Golf indoor minigolf course at the Custard Factory in Digbeth, Birmingham.

Ghetto Golf in Digbeth, Birmingham

This Game Boy inspired graffiti art can be found at Ghetto Golf in Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Ghetto Golf in Newcastle upon Tyne

Arcade Club in Leeds

A visit to Arcade Club in Leeds.

We visited the new Arcade Club venue in Leeds yesterday. What a place!

Earlier this year we visited the original Arcade Club in Bury and were very impressed by the selection of games on offer to play.

Always nice to visit Pac-Land

Once you've paid your entry fee (we paid £16 per adult) you get to play hundreds of games all set on free play.

Three floors of fun

It's an amazing place to spend anything from a few hours to a whole day.

A very small selection of the hundreds of games available to play

As someone who grew up going to arcades in the 80's and 90's it's superb to relive those memories by playing arcade classics like Pac-Land, The New Zealand Story and Bubble Bobble. But I also really like the fact there are games available that I'd only had a glimpse of back in the day, or those that were out of my price range to play.

Pac-Land

One of those was The Last Bounty Hunter, a live-action on-rails LaserDisc light-gun game. Back in the day it would've been one of the expensive 50p or a pound a go games I could only dream of playing. Watching older players pumping the machine full of money while firing away at a selection of bad guys and then seeing the really cheesy cut scenes as the actors die is indelibly burned on my mind like screen burn on a CRT monitor.

The Last Bounty Hunter

I easily got my money's worth by playing The Last Bounty Hunter and managed to get to the third stage. I could've spent more time on it but I had to wander and play other games.

The ground level is home to pinball tables, quirky Japanese import games, old racing and driving games and new arcade machines.

As a big fan of Resident Evil games there was one game I spotted and immediately wanted to play. After waiting for some other players to finish their go Emily and I jumped on the Taito game Elevator Action Death Parade. It was brilliant.

We arrived at 11.30am and there was a steady flow of people of all ages into the venue while we were there. Even though it was busy, there was a nice buzz and we never felt cramped in playing machines and there are plenty of games on offer we didn't have to wait long to play any games.

Tempest. I'd never played the arcade game before, but I love the Atari Jaguar version

There were still plenty of games I could've had a go on there but there just wasn't time.

The Neo Geo section

We're looking forward to our next visit to Arcade Club. There will also be a new Arcade Club venue opening in Blackpool next year. Wonderful news.

Bubble Bobble, a true classic

You can find Arcade Club at the Abbey Retail Park in Kirkstall, Leeds.

Arcade Club - retail entertainment done right

Check out the Arcade Club website for more information, opening times and prices.

Retro Arcade in Warrington

A visit to the Retro Arcade in Warrington.

We've been to quite a few arcades, retro bars and barcades over the last few years and Retro Arcade is easily one of the best.

As I grew up playing in the amusement arcades of the 1980s and 90s I remember how brilliant it was back then.

I also remember how far I ever managed to get in games. Even though I played back in the days when a game was 10p a go I never had enough money - or patience - to play anything all the way through. I used to love having a go on as many games as I could with my pocket of change. A lot of the time my brothers and I spent in the arcades would be waiting our turn while watching older and better players on the machines. That and making out we were playing while watching the attract screens, the FBI Warning from William S. Sessions and demo modes.

Just a small selection of the original arcade cabinets available to play

There's a marvellous range of original cabinets at Retro Arcade and when I first walked in it took a few seconds for me to take it all in. Some of the rare titles on offer include Tron and Video Pinball.

As well as the quirky and rare Video Pinball cabinet Retro Arcade has a number of real pinball machines

For an £8 entry fee you receive unlimited play on stacks of arcade machines. There's also a SEGA Mega Drive, NES and PSone tucked away at the back near the bar area and I enjoyed playing Wardner on the Mega Drive. It's one of my all-time favourite arcade games.

Retro Arcade has made very good use of the space in the old railway arch

When I got inside I had a quick play on RoboCop and died on level one. I then had a go on Hyper Sports and then had a wander.

What a game

What a cool menu

We went to the bar and then I went back to the Data East RoboCop cabinet. As the machines are all set to free play mode I knew this was my opportunity to finally complete the game. And I did. If I had been spending 10p or 20p a go on it I'm certain I would've spent all my pocket money for the month playing the game the way I went through continues.

It's taken me three decades to see this screen

It was worth the wait

After accomplishing a feat 31 years in the making I had a bit of a break before stepping up to play Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Another coin eating beast and certainly a machine to play to get your money's worth at Retro Arcade. I managed to get further than I ever had before but had to give up after quite a while as my trigger finger was getting worn out.

What really made the experience perfect for me was that you could actually hear the games you were playing. Quite a feat considering all of the sounds coming from dozens of arcade cabinets. There's also a free play jukebox and that was kicking out some superb tunes from the 80's and 90's.

Part of the fun of playing a game is hearing the sound and music of it. So often I've been to an arcade bar only to find that the music at the venue is far too loud and so therefore drowns out the music and sound effects from the game.

The staff on our visit were great and it was fantastic to see a real mix of people enjoying the experience.

Retro Arcade is a must visit venue.

I'll be back

Check out the Retro Arcade website for more info, opening times and prices.

The SEGA Bus

Hopping aboard the SEGA Mega Drive Mini Bus in Manchester.

Last week I heard that the SEGA Bus was hitting the road again!

The SEGA Game Bus on Market Street in Manchester

My brothers and I went on one (a lot) when it stopped off at Barry Island Holiday Camp in the early 90s.

It was such a fun thing to do and I remember we played challenge games of Sonic the Hedgehog for prizes as well as receiving goody bags for visiting. Once we left the bus we immediately joined the queue to get on board for another game of Sonic on the Mega Drive.

The 2019 SEGA Game Bus

The version of the double decker bus that called in to Manchester on it's week-long tour housed a number of the new SEGA Mega Drive Mini consoles and allowed players to have a go on the system's 42 games. I played Road Rash II, Darius and Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition.

Playing Darius on the SEGA Mega Drive Mini

I hope it isn't another 28 years before I go on another SEGA Bus. The year 2047 is AGES away.