Your top 10 favorite arcade marquees

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

When we go to a video arcade, the arcade machines and cabinets have a marquee that lights up and illuminates the room. They have awesome illustrated artwork deciphering the game that you may want to play. And I am giving out a top 10 of my favorite arcade marquees from number 10 to 1. Feel free to share your top 10.

 

10. Mario Bros. (1983)

 

9. Wizard of Wor (1981)

 

8. Missle Command (1980)

 

7. Tempest (1981)

 

6. Pac-Man (1980)

 

5. Asteroids (1979)

 

4. Space Invaders (1978)

 

3. Centipede (1980)

 

2. Original Q*Bert (1982)

 

1. Donkey Kong (1981)

[+cmart604]

Many of those would be on my list but Tron would be at the top.

[Omega-TI]

I could not come up with ten, but these are my favorites in no particular order...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[VectorGamer]

Too many good ones. Here's one that sucks: Wild Western. How boring is that?

 

[KreatorKat]

I'm gonna cheat a little and use this as 1-10:

You can use any number of awesome looking mini marquees (metal slug, baseball stars, etc.) in the slot

[+cmart604]

I could not come up with ten, but these are my favorites in no particular order...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Man, so many of these are just beautiful. Now I need to go buy more.

[BillyHW]

Wow, Centipede, Lunar Lander and Pole Position are just amazing.

[+sramirez2008]

Asteroids is my number one, just because its my #1 favorite arcade game.

 

Putting my bias for Asteroids aside, here are my favs.

 

1. Lunar Lander

2. Tron

3. Tempest

4. Centipede

5. Battlezone

 

* Sea Wolf - Like the shape of this one, due to the periscope. As a youth, this was one of my favorite games. Haven't come across it for many...many years.

[VectorGamer]

* Sea Wolf - Like the shape of this one, due to the periscope. As a youth, this was one of my favorite games. Haven't come across it for many...many years.

 

I'm with you on that. Sea Wolf was a hit when it was released. I could never get on the game at the local arcade but my bowling alley had one which is where I played it.

 

When I made my first trip to Funspot in 2010 it was the first time I played the game in over 30 years (excluding MAME)!

[nshollingsworth]

Da mappy marquee cuz it so big

[Syzygy1]

Q*bert because it looks like he's cussing

TRON, Discs of TRON, the Mega Man arcade games, Qix (beautiful), and Pac-Man

[nshollingsworth]

Oh and APB

[Nebulon]

Scramble, Joust, TRON, Galaga, Gravitar, Spy Hunter, Congo Bongo, Zaxxon, Xevious, Defender.

 

 

I'd include images, but I kind of suck at adding images to messages on here. Is there an easy way to do that?

[VectorGamer]

I'd include images, but I kind of suck at adding images to messages on here. Is there an easy way to do that?

 

If you're on desktop, all you have to do is Google the images, right-click on the image and select "Copy image location" then use the picture icon in the editor to paste in the URL

[The Mr. Video]

Here are my favorites.

 

1. Tempest

 

2. Millipede

 

3. Breakout

 

 

4. Asteroids

 

5. Defender

 

6. Astron Belt

 

7. Space Invaders

 

8. Spy Hunter

 

9. Centipede

 

10. Space Duel

 

...And as a bonus, here is, in my opinion, the strangest arcade marquee!

Edited May 26, 2016 by The Mr. Video

[+save2600]

Oh crap, broke the top ten rules. Can't do it. Too many great marquees to choose from.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[+save2600]

Okay, here's a second top ten list We're allowed to do that, right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

Okay, here's a second top ten list We're allowed to do that, right?

 

 

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bf327b8bea094c9178dc9942cf0e80fa_original.jpg th.jpeg

 

il_570xN.742542988_k45p.jpg Rampage marquee.jpg

 

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Agree! It is hard to pick 10. Here are some of my honorable mentions.

 

Magic Sword (1990)

 

Star Wars (1983)

 

Kangaroo (1982)

 

 

GORF (1981)

 

 

Tron (1982)

 

Defender (1981)

 

 

Space Firebird (1980)

[buttertweet]

Oh goodness, some of these almost bring tears to my eyes. So many happy memories of spending hours in Reno arcades (cuz ya know, can't gamble when you're under 21) and making instant friends with the other kids.

There really is something about the marquee that adds to the experience. My all time favorite has got to be Galaxian, especially when it's lit up and the arcade is fairly dark. It really epitomizes the word "arcade" to me. The irony of it is, I am terrible at that game!

All right Johnny, let 'em roll...

10. Revenge of D'OH: Even a few years before the Simpsons, I remember this one giving me a chuckle.

9. Cliff Hanger: Probably the most clashy color scheme ever. Somehow it appeals to me.

8. Venture: Very D&D-ish. I think they had this at Golden Nugget in Sparks.

7. Space Odyssey: I remember seeing this at an arcade inside a restaurant (yes, some restaurants actually had arcades). The simplistic, elegant marquee prompted me to insert a token. I lasted about 30 seconds.

6. Pac-Man: Like Galaxian, this one is synonymous with "arcade" to me. Also like Galaxian, I am terrible at it.

5. Nappy: It's huge. And bigger is better.

4. Wizard of Wor: The regal lettering always reminded me of King Norman's toy store. This was also one of the few co-op games back then.

3. Gypsy Juggler: Thought this game was way too hard, but the font is pure funk.

2. Dragon's Lair: I would love this one even if it weren't my favorite game of all time. The "Dragonslayer" font, the cartoons, the fancy 3-panel layout. Outstanding.

1. Galaxian: Just beautiful. If only I could figure out how to play this one...

[nshollingsworth]

also toobin pac-mania

[VectorGamer]

 

1. Galaxian: Just beautiful. If only I could figure out how to play this one...

 

 

Shoot anything that moves and don't die. Shoot the two reds and then the boss in the convoy for 800 points.