Thinking of having a Chicagoland gaming thing on February 9, 2013

[Dauber]

Well, the title says it all. Anybody interested? Would love to meet more of you and to see some familiar faces as well. (BTW, anybody hear from jbanes lately??) I'm thinking early afternoon or later. Here are some suggestions as to where:

 

Galloping Ghost Arcade

9415 Ogden Avenue

Brookfield 60513

 

PROS:

- They have an obscene number of games!

- Separate rooms for pinball and consoles (I think you need to make a reservation for the console room)

- I THINK it's fairly easily reachable via mass transit (Metra)

- Very close to I-55

 

CONS:

- Many of the games are not the real thing; a lot of hashed-together "twofers", and Dragon's Lair is the PS3 version

- A few machines in disrepair out on the floor (I wish to hell they'd fix Food Fight!!!)

 

Underground Retrocade

1 E. Main St.

East Dundee 60118

 

CONS:

- Kind of small

- You're almost forced to take the Kennedy to get there

- AFAIK, not near any mass transit

- Relativey long drive if you're not in the northern suburbs (takes me about an hour from the north side of Chicago)

 

PROS:

- Even though it's kind of small, it has a pretty good variety of games.

- If you like Atari arcade games, they're very Atari-heavy (and the only place where I've ever seen Atari Football!); in fact, the phone number actually has the word "Atari" in it!

- The owner is a really nice guy....plus he's an Aurcade.com referee and can register your high scores.

- Free drink out of the fridge upon your first checkin via Yelp

- The only place I know of in the whole freakin' state that has Jr. Pac-Man Turbo!

- A bit cheaper than Galloping Ghost's $15 admission fee; Underground's is $5 for half hour, $10 for unlimited

 

Dauber's Apartment

North side of Chicago, just a few blocks away from where Bob and Emily hartley lived

 

CONS:

- Street parking

- We have a dog, so if you're allergic to dogs, not a good place for you to be.

- If you want to play arcade games, forget it - I don't have any other than via MAME.

- I live on the third floor with no elevators, so if you have walking problems, not a good place for you.

- If we gather at my place, that means I have to clean the damn place!

 

PROS:

- For the day, I'll donate my garage space to the first vehicle to arrive.

- However, usually the street parking in my neighborhood isn't too bad; it's unmetered, too.

- VERY close to mass transit. Get off the Red Line and walk a few blocks, or if you're lucky, grab the bus from the Red Line and it drops off practically at my front door!

- We have a dog. Dogs are wonderful. In fact, screw what I said about having a dog being a con for someone allergic. Just deal with it.

- I have a newly-AV-modded Atari 7800 for optimal quality on a 40-inch Sony Bravia!

- The aforementioned 7800 plays the 2600 games that most people think won't work with the 7800, including The Activision Decathlon and Starpath Supercharger games

- And with the 7800 I have lots of homebrews and a Harmony cart, which means that we can play not only some great 7800 games but also (thanks to the Harmony cart) practically any 2600 game in existence.

- Chicago is loaded with good food places if we want to go out, and if we want to stay in, plenty of places deliver, including a really good (and cheap) Chinese joint my wife and I frequent.

 

Thoughts?? I'm equally up to do any of the above...I really want to go to Galloping Ghost again, but I also want to go back to Underground to see if I can improve my 4th-best-in-the-world record on Jr. Pac-Man Turbo....but if we have a thing at my place, I don't have to leave...

Edited January 9, 2013 by Dauber

[Keatah]

I'm 2 towns away from East Dundee. And they have Squire's there for cheap eats.

[Coolhand20th]

Why don't you think of this place? http://emporiumchicago.com/

 

Has beer, whiskey and a bunch of arcade games.

[Dauber]

I did think of it -- it'd be VERY convenient for me, obviously, but the thing is, they have kind of a limited selection (of games, that is)...also, it's in Wicker Park, which, on a Saturday, is....unparkable, so anybody driving in would have a PITA time looking for parking...

 

BTW, an ex-coworker of mine went there not too long ago and did say he had a great time...

 

But hey, if people would want to go there instead, to borrow an expression from the pun-intending Inky, I'm game. (but I didn't intend the pun!)

 

I'll update the poll.

EDIT: Ooops...can't edit the poll, or the original post, so I'll just tag it on to here...so if anybody wants to have a scene on 2/9 and would prefer this option, just reply to this thread, I guess...

 

Emporium Arcade Bar

1366 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Chicago 60622

 

PROS:

- The games are all pay-per-game, which for some people is a better deal than an entry or hourly fee

- Pretty close to the Kennedy, so people coming to the city via I-90 can have pretty good proximity

- Is in a hipster neighborhood

- It's a bar!

- You can have food delivered or bring your own.

- Near public transit -- the Blue Line Division/Milwaukee stop and the Ashland bus

 

CONS:

- Limited selection of games

- Pretty close to the Kennedy -- which is usually a PITA to drive on

- Is in a hipster neighborhood

- Impossible to park in that neighborhood on the weekends!

- Is pay-per-game, so unless your games last a LONG time, it might not be financially the best option.

Edited January 19, 2013 by Dauber

[+Random Terrain]

As long as there will be alcohol, cigarettes, and hookers, I don't care where you have it.

[Trinity]

As long as there will be alcohol, cigarettes, and hookers, I don't care where you have it.

 

Is that allowed under the new anti-doping laws????

[JohnBuell]

Has there been enough interest to make this a possibility?

[Inky]

I'm in as long as its after 4

[wallydawg]

I don't know if this alters your plans at all but the Galloping Ghost is having a Swap Meet on February 2nd, a week before your initial plans. I can't find anything about it on their webpage though, just heard about it as a friend of a friend marked it on Facebook.

[racerx]

It's under "Events" on Galloping Ghost's Facebook page.

Edited January 29, 2013 by racerx

[Dauber]

Looks like that swap meet is pretty arcade game heavy; not particularly interested, myself...although I AM interested in their (free!!!!) how-to-repair-a-vintage-arcade-game workshops they said they'll probably be doing...

[Dauber]

Well, the latest is that I might have to work until mid-afternoon on 2/9, so my activities will most likely be limited to the evening....ah well...