So I live in Tokyo. I know this is not much of a game room but in this city it is HUGE!!!

3A098A13-F1DC-4451-8570-7A7E71D0F62C (resized).jpeg

"Pfffft. Here hold my beer" - Williams Fire!

oem toppers are sweeeeet, and watch out for fade on that WH2O, please.

As of a thorough cleaning and weeding out, a lot of machine moving, and the purchase of a Road Show, this is my personal hole in the ground.

Bonus: Besides being sorted by cabinet depth, the entire lineup is sorted counter-clockwise by date of manufacture.

IMG_20180810_072655853_LL (resized).jpg

IMG_20180810_072712781_LL (resized).jpg

Hah, nice. I've seen that one before and I still love it.

Ya, I thought that too, but the Star Trek pro I just bought from a guy came with a topper that is just a piece of acrylic that lights up blue and it is really nice. So it depends on your situation I guess.

Undertale?

Yep, that's my custom build.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-very-physical-undertale-fangame

Just updated the game room with a nice Slugfest - good two player game. I do have to say the Chex does get the most play with a group of people over something about hockey in the great white north..... who knew lol

IMG_20180722_123008 (resized).jpg

IMG_20180807_170543 (resized).jpg

I think fish tales is the best topper but the new Potc ce topper looks as though it could be really good.

This morning's project: a legit use for a Star Explorer.

star (resized).jpg

Hey guys

Just wanted to share a couple of photos of the game room area in our new house. It's still a work in progress. I really enjoy seeing everyone elses photos, and getting lots of ideas.

Cheers,
MacJedi

IMG_0294 (resized).JPG

IMG_0296 (resized).JPG

IMG_0298 (resized).JPG

Nice backglass wall!

Nice Collection!
I’m thinking you should hang Lucille from the ceiling above TWD!

Thanks IdahoRealtor !

Thanks imagamejunky , I appreciate it. Been collecting for about 4 years. I've been lucky and found several grail pins in the last six months (Tron, IJ, and LOTR).

HAHA! Good idea! Maybe I'll hang it up a little loose, and then you have the added adrenaline rush of wondering if you are going to get whacked in the head by Lucille while playing the game.

I'm putting an offer in on a house tomorrow, and the wife says I can do whatever I want with the basement... If we get it, it has a 19'x13' room, a 10'x11',and a 20'x25' main area... Too bad at the current prices it will take me the rest of my life to fill it with pins!

The down side is it's not a walkout, and the stairs will be tricky...

WOW I could see a 19x13 theater, 10x11 shop and a 20x25 arcade. Have fun.

Word of advice from experience. Having a walkout is almost ESSENTIAL to collecting pins and arcades.

My last game room in the last house had a stairway that ran 90 degrees with a landing...made it next to impossible to get large stuff into the room.

So, if at all possible, work a walkout entry into the cost of building a game room. My current room didn't have it, so I added the walkout to the plans. Concrete stairway, custom 44 in. wide door, etc. added to the cost but in the long run, made it sooooo much easier to use.

If there is a window that can be modified into a doorway, words can't describe how invaluable that really is.

Really? I thought 19x13 arcade, 10x11 arcade and a 20x25 arcade

I would have loved to have a walkout...
But I didn't, and couldn't add one...
My stairwell also has a 90 degree landing at the top as well.

I managed to get over 60 pins and 45 arcade games in and out, largest being Daytona USA twin.
I know you said almost essential... I'm just here to provide the other side of that almost.

Just knock those walls down and have one huge arcade room!

This is exactly what I did in our downstairs area. It has made things a hell of a lot easier for us!

Where there is a will (and a pin), there’s a way!

1F897AA1-1D2A-43A8-B42A-1EFCA7A5852B (resized).jpeg

Try this instead...
Well, maybe not the war part.

Walkout project. Started out as a 48 x 48 in. window. Began excavating
excavation01 (resized).jpg

Cut out the house foundation for a doorway
door-outside2 (resized).jpg

Added the steps and concrete
img04 (resized).jpg

Finished view from the inside. Custom door 44 in. wide, 7.5 ft. high
img11 (resized).jpg

I would be so paranoid about that drain clogging!

Same exact measurements as my house. It's bi-level. The 19x13 was a garage but I closed it off for my work room and runoff pins. 20x25 is my game room and 10 x11 is storage. I also have a 12x24 addition for more pins.

I would have a cover over it for rain. Drain should only be relied on as a back up.

Most definitely! Esp living in colorado, with the snow fall.

The drain in that stairwell feeds 2 ft. down, to the drain tile surrounding the house. It ends at a sump pump in the utility room, and I have an alarm within the pump. The sump well is lower than the top of the stair landing, so if there should be enough water to fill the sump and it fails, the alarm will blast and the level still wouldn't be enough to work its way under the door.

I have always been paranoid about excessive rain water when I lived in IL. Four sump pumps at times couldn't keep up. Many arcade machines trashed over the years. After the fourth time flooded, I finally did away with carpet and tiled the entire game room. Still, I got standing rain water during heavy rain, but clean-up was much easier.

So here in CO, I'm up on a hill (intentionally after my experience), and even the worst storms don't even come close to standing water. The floor is metallic polyaspartic that can't be water-damaged, and I sleep well during those occasional storms....

Oddly, the snow is minimal. Even compared to living in the Chicago area. It's one of northern Colorado's best kept secrets.

It's the sun; they rarely even plow snow here because the sun takes it away. And no salt, unlike IL.

Now, western Colorado is a different story. In Vail they get several feet of snow - and they're thrilled if they get three feet overnight. All about skiing.

I dream of having a walkout someday

Or snowboarding! I will be out in Breck for new years this year!

While on the subject of water, here's a video of my game room in Illinois ten years ago, after a storm that left 4 inches of water in much of the room. 8 minute walk-thru and you can see the carpet floating.

There were four sump pumps in the room, but the power outage killed the deal. Things you learn.

Mine clogs - it is a nightmare! We’ve narrowly avoided flooding about 10 times over the years

I almost bought a house that had two sump pumps in a finished basement. Good thing I listened to my gut feeling. When I thought myself, there is a reason there is two sump pumps!!!!!

Not sure I understand the logic. If you only have one sump pump, you're a moron.

I have 3 sump pumps, no issues here. Each has it's own stage. They aren't meant to run together.

I spent money on drainage outside too.

Dont forget to keep your gutters clear.

I was the thinking the more sump pumps the more water accumulates in your basement. I have one sump pump in my house now and it hardly runs but i live on a hill and i have dug out and installed drainage tile to help. And yes keeping your gutters clean is a must!

Some areas have a higher water table than others - we constantly have water surrounding our foundation so a sump would be a good idea if we started seeing water coming in.

what can you do if there's a power outage and the pump can't pump?

My wife wants me to buy a whole house generator, which is about the price of a pinball machine. She also wants a new pinball machine. Hmmm. Which do I buy? Dah - the pinball machine keeps winning that battle.

Whole house generator is really good to have if you have seen power outages on occasion. Otherwise, a battery-backup secondary sump pump could work in a power outage event. However, usually when the power goes out, the rain is very excessive, so you're limited to the capacity of a battery powered pump (usually not a lot of flow compared to a 3/4 HP sump). And, you need to change the battery every two years to keep it holding a normal charge.

I'd vote whole-house generator in a flooded basement scenario. And at least one additional pump.

I even had a secondary 3/4 HP pump in my sump well above the existing 3/4 HP pump as an overflow safeguard. That was in Illinois.

I was going to redo a bathroom. Got the quote. Started to think...does the bathroom still function?....yep.....then I'll get a DI.

I was going to redo the back patio. Got the quote. Started to think...is it fine for the little I use it?....yep....Hello MET.

The good news is, even if you get a foot of water in your basement, your pins will survive nicely.

But you'll need to keep a supply of glides to replace the rusted ones that land in the water.

Very happy that my house is almost at the top of a hill. My basement stays dry without an active sump pump (do have a french drain around the house). We've had a decent amount of rainfall this summer but haven't seen any problems in the basement. Plenty of snow in the winter and things were dry down there too.

I have walk out basement on hill. No need for sump pumps. It's gravity feed to septic system. Spent big money on seamless, oversized, covered rain gutter system. No problems with water in basement at all.