Zombies Ate My Arcade - My Home Game Room

I've been into pinball and video games since I was a little kid in the 80's. Growing up, I always knew that I'd have arcade games in my house someday.

That dream became a reality when I picked up a Berzerk arcade game (my most-played game of my childhood) in the Summer of 2003. A few months later, after several visits to the arcade at Castles N Coasters in Phoenix, I was itching to get a pinball machine to put next to it. I bought my first pin (Creature From The Black Lagoon) in October of 2003, just in time for my my 1st Halloween party (now an annual affair). Four months later, on Valentine's Day, I added The Addams Family to my collection. The pinball thirst was quenched for several years as I got more into collecting video arcade games, but around Christmas of 2009, I acquired a Bram Stoker's Dracula in a trade that was just too good to pass up (I traded out a 60-in-1 arcade game).

In the Spring of 2010, I traded my CFTBL and an Asteroids arcade game for a minty Discs of Tron and a Crossbow arcade with a multi-Exidy kit installed. A Month later, I sold my BSD in order to get a Warlords cocktail machine. Video arcade games were beginning to take over the game room, and my pins had become expendable real estate. Ah, but things were about to change...

In April of 2012, I sold my Addams Family so that I could get my favorite pinball machine of all time: Monster Bash! I'd wanted one from the very first time I played it on location, and I knew that if I didn't grab one soon, the price was going to skyrocket and I'd never have a chance to own it. I wound up finding one for a good price in CO, so I pounced and had it shipped to me.

After Monster Bash, the pinball bug was back in full force. I soon added an HUO Pirates of the Caribbean, a new-in-box Tron, and another Bram Stoker's Dracula (I missed it). I later traded POTC for The Simpsons Pinball Party (+ cash)... which I ended up trading back to the very same guy I got it from for a super nice CFTBL (side story: he wound up trading TSPP to my best friend who lives right down the street from me. So TSPP went from CA, to AZ, back to CA, and then back to AZ. Weird).

In April of 2014, that need to change up my game room crept in again, so I sold a bunch of my video games in order to fund a Scared Stiff, which is a game that I'd always wanted to own.

In October of 2014, I picked up a NIB The Walking Dead (Pro). I've tricked it out with all sorts of mods.  Almost two years to the day later, I added a NIB Ghostbusters Premium to the lineup, which has received similar attention when it comes to modifications.

In December of 2016, I got a unique opportunity to do a bulk buy of nearly 40 arcade games, including a Monster Bash pinball machine.  Given that I already have a very nice MB in my collection, I sold the one that I picked up in the bulk buy (it was in need of some TLC) and bought a minty Addams Family (plus a bunch of mods for it) with the proceeds.  I sold my original TAF back in 2012 in order to fund a Monster Bash purchase, so I thought it was pretty cool that it was a Monster Bash that wound up getting The Addams Family back in the collection.  Full circle.  

In June of 2017, after months and months of speculation, Stern finally announced that they were producing a new Star Wars game.  I've been a Star Wars fan since I was a little kid, so I pre-ordered a Premium model immediately.  This is my current project, and I'll no doubt spend the coming months customizing it and learning how to play it. 

So my pin collection as of September 2017 currently stands at Creature from the Black Lagoon, Scared Stiff, Monster Bash, Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Addams Family, The Walking Dead, Ghostbusters, Tron, and Star Wars.

In addition to the pins, I have a handful of video arcade games: Donkey Kong, Galaga, Q*bert, Berzerk, Joust, Sinistar, Tron, and Satan's Hollow.

My game room features black light carpet, a custom neon sign with my game room's name (Zombies Ate My Arcade), lasers, music, Star Wars vehicles hanging from the ceiling, horror movie posters/photos/autographs, video game marquees, and movie memorabilia.

Perhaps the coolest feature of my game room is the entrance itself. The room was added to the house by the previous owners, and is at the end of the house, which made it the perfect room for a "secret entrance." I replaced the French doors to the game room with a bookcase, which my dad and I built together. The bookcase sits flush against what appears to be a wall. If you pull a particular book on the 3rd shelf (the Handbook for the Recently Deceased book from Beetlejuice) the bookcase opens up, and you can enter the game room. Additionally, the shelves of the book case are motorized. Books slide forward and back on the shelves, giving the illusion that the book case is haunted.

To see a video of the game room and its secret entrance, check out this YouTube video.  I also have a website that documents my collection and arcade adventures: Zombies Ate My Arcade.