Response to Arcade History 101

Here are some thoughts about early arcades in the DC area. Around 1977 or '78 I remember playing Space Wars and a Depthcharge type game that made a yee-ow-yee-ow sound when the PT boat went past. The Space Wars was in a Mariott Hotel on the Arlington side of Key Bridge (connects to D.C.) and they had a game room with about ten games in it. On the other side of the bridge is Georgetown and the bars there had the Depthcharge-type game and other crude black and white games. At George Washington University around 1979? I remember playing Battlezone but the cost was high - fifty cents. Earlier than all that I recall playing Deathrace (Exidy) at Ocean City , Md., where there were huge game rooms filled with the old games. Down in Crystal City in Arlington (about 1980) there was a game room with Lunar Lander. I remember playing an early cocktail Pacman in a ski- lodge in Vermont. In college I played Missile Command , Asteroids and (of all things) Targ! I wonder if anyone likes that or was it kind of a dog, in most people's view. Oh yea, I really liked Star Castle! (1981?) I guess its kinda funny that the memories of these early arcade encounters have persisted so long - I guess that the sound and feel of it - the stuff that made it fun - also is the stuff that makes the memory stick.

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