Having turned 13 years-old in 1972, I am drawn to the arcade games from my youth, particularly those released in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Among the most ingenious designs, in my opinion, were those produced by Sega. Sega's games of that era dazzle me. I think that Sega's games are worthy of a thread on Pinside. Dedicating this thread to Sega is not meant to slight any of the other impressive EM arcade game manufacturers, of which there are many.

If you share my admiration of these Sega game designs, post photos of your Sega arcade games. I'll begin this thread with photos of my four Sega EMs, to wit:

1) Moto Champ (1973)
2) Grand National Race (1972)
3) Monster Gun (1972)
4) Gun Fight (1970)

1973 Sega Moto Champ:

The above youtube video is not my game. Kudos to Kevin Keinert for this youtube post in which he furnishes a comprehensive explanation of Moto Champ's design.

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1972 Sega Grand National Race:
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1972 Sega Monster Gun (my apologies for having previously posted these on another thread awhile back. . .posted here to consolidate this Sega EM reference):

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1970 Sega Gun Fight:

This video (link above) shows the gameplay (not my game in the youtube clip).

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In response to multiple inquiries about this novel arcade game, below are a few more photos of my Sega Grand National Race, a steeplechase arcade game (circa 1972). Post #2 above contains additional photos of this unusual and extraordinary EM game. The player controls the race horse, whose legs retract and extend repeatedly in a gallop as the canvas track pulls along new obstacles. The canvas track moves on a chain-driven belt, simulating forward movement of the race horse. An audio element includes an equine bugle call at the start of the race and a galloping sound as your race horse trots down the course.

The horse automatically moves laterally via a rod, back and forth throughout the game. The player must time his/her jump by pressing and holding a control button, in order to successfully leap over the obstacle, without kicking down the gate or wall. The gates and walls actually fall down, when kicked. Challenging——not too easy, not too hard. . .you know the “just one more game” feeling of a well-designed game. Successful jumps score the posted score and a bell rings multiple times as well to punctuate the score-reel scoring. Some steeplechases are double rows, which award higher value scores. When the horse jumps, the legs retract as the horse becomes airborne. In the future, I'll post a video of the game in action, since none seem to exist on the internet.
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I sent you a private message a few days ago. Feel free to reply at your convenience.

This evening, I'm very pleased to have added a 1966 Sega Basketball to my line-up. To me, this game epitomizes the Space Age sensibility. Surely the Jetsons had one in their gameroom.

The game is too heavy to remove from my SUV tonight. I nearly dropped my end loading the game, after a long walk from a shed to my car, when I stumbled into an unexpected elevated railroad tie.

The dome (not shown) has imperfections; but, it's in decent shape. The original legs were included. It's going to need reproduction lexan backboards (no big deal) and some attention to restore the cabinet cosmetics. However, the game is complete and I'm fairly sure that it functions properly in its current state.

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I saw that same Sega Stunt Car in Adam Kovalski's garage, in NJ, recently. I played one a few years ago. It's unique. However, the linear action reminds me of the Gottlieb woodrail Guys & Dolls. The Sega game is fun, though, whereas those Guys & Dolls moving can-can posts are a design failure.

It's not often that I ask my wife to help me lift a game out of my vehicle. Tonight was the exception. Plugged her in (the game, that is) and she lit up instantly. Everything looks complete under the hood. Inside the coin box, I found the best surprise. . .the original paperwork!

These photos depict the game in "as found condition," save for the fact that I dusted off the dome and quickly wiped down the legs. I was pleased to find the original leg hardware in a bag, attached to a leg. This looks to be a fun project.

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Here's two photos of the Sega Basketball mechanicals.

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The 1966 Sega Basketball restoration is nearly complete. While cleaning the game, I noticed that the etched graphic, on the stainless steel control panels, depicts Philadelphia 76er, Billy Cunningham (jersey #32). Japan-based Sega certainly did its research inasmuch as Cunningham was a premier player back in the day. As a resident of southern NJ, the representation of my local team only adds to my appreciation of this game.

The former game owner must have had a problem replacing the relay switches under the baskets because he created a manual scoring mechanism by soldering buttons (shown in post 16 above) to the wires and feeding same through holes he cut into the dome on each side. Blasphemy! That's likely what caused the needless spider crack damage to the dome at both ends. In any event, I was able to remove the dried and hardened electrical tape residue and also eliminate the substantial fogginess in the canopy. I will install the correct relays under the baskets once I locate suitable brackets.

Also, I still need to fabricate lexan backboards for each side. Fortunately, the 2 broken ones which came with the game are complete enough for me to create a template to do so. Other tasks include adding the red #1 sticker to the playfield, replace a missing carriage bolt and minor cabinet touch up. After experimenting with several types of balls, I found one which functions well (and also resembles a real basketball, as depicted below). Now that the game has been polished, I can see that the game's cabinet and playfield condition are actually much better than originally anticipated.

Common deficiencies with Sega Basketball games include fractured domes, broken backboards, chipped baskets, corroded button bezels, lifting/damaged/faded formica, misshapen or incorrectly repainted coin door, missing "Sega" serial number plate, missing maintenance prop, missing/damaged numerical stickers, missing coin box, missing ball.

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Here's the etched graphic, on Sega Basketball's stainless steel control panels, which depicts Philadelphia 76er, Billy Cunningham (jersey #32).

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One "error" about the graphic, however, is that Billy Cunningham heavily favored his left hand for both shooting and dribbling. It's still cool.

Here's a good action shot of the Grand National race horse leaping over a steeplechase. I'll be posting a video of this game in action soon.

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At the link below, I have posted a video of Sega Grand National Race in action. Disregard the periodic audio from the adjacent arcade game, Sega Moto Champ. Grand National Race's audio consists of a bugle call at the start, followed by the sound of the galloping race horse.

https://vimeo.com/159663757

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1974 Sega Cowboy.

This extraordinary game features highly unusual gameplay in which the player is seated behind a cowboy upon a horse, with the objective to lasso a steer. The player times his/her release of the lasso via a button on the console as the lasso twirls so that it ropes the steer's horns. Photographing the lasso is difficult so I have enhanced the colors and definition in those photos for the sake of clarity.
Successfully landing the lasso causes the steer to realistically tumble in the dust, which awards a point. The projected 3D image is unique as is the element of timing to score points.

Thundering hooves and the bull's capture are enhanced by sound effects. The flyer states that the cabinet's construction is a duco-formica finish, which is essentially a painted surface formica hybrid, whereas standard for Sega EM arcade games of the seventies was traditional formica. This game was a new-old-stock time capsule item which remained in its crate until 2015 when the owner took her out for a breath. I am the 2nd owner. The entire game looks new. Even the original owner's manual and score cards were intact, inside the game.

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1969 Sega Duck Hunt.

This scarcely seen EM arcade game is Sega's follow-up to Sega's Rifleman (below). Anticipating future technology, Duck Hunt was the first game to employ moving light projection targets in this manner. Like Rifleman, Duck Hunt dispenses a paper "target ticket" souvenir at the end of the game which displays the accuracy of each shot by recording the shot with a perforation. The souvenir ticket is dispensed to a tray in the lower front of the machine.

Duck Hunt players receive ten shots to seek to land on rows of flying ducks. When struck, the duck target disappears from view. The shotgun fire sound is produced by an ingenious echo-spring system, also utilized on Rifleman. Adding to the fun, the game generates duck sounds from a sound card. Duck Hunt was so much fun that Nintendo reprised the game (sans souvenir ticket) many years later.

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1967 Sega Rifleman.

This game is also awaiting restoration. It's not functioning; however, I think that it needs only minor adjustments because I trust the seller. Unfortunately, a leg was damaged during shipping so it sits on the floor of my gameroom currently.

Rifleman utilizes an optical viewfinder which creates the illusion of great distance from the targets. Physical saloon doors open and close during the game, requiring concentration and timing. The player has a limited number of shots to fire judiciously because the shot only registers when the saloon doors are opened. A successful shot creates an actual puncture upon a paper "target ticket" which is dispensed, at the end of the game, as a souvenir on the side of the machine. The player can inspect the ticket to identify how close the shot landed to the bullseye of each of the five targets. An ingenious echo-like sound gunfire sound effect is created by a spring mechanism. The target tickets are circulated through the game on a large roll. Just before the ticket is dispensed to the player, the machine cuts the ticket from the roll.

Two versions of the backglass art exist for this game. An excellent Youtube demonstration of this game is posted by collector, Kevin Keinert.

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Thanks, Joe. Yes, I plan to create videos. Whereas good YouTube videos already exist for Rifleman, there are none on the internet for Duck Hunt or Cowboy.

Indeed, very little information is available regarding most Sega EM games.

Sega of Japan made some of the most extraordinary arcade games in the seventies and Cowboy is no exception. This seldom seen 1974 vintage electromechanical arcade is designed to simulate roping a steer. What makes this game so elegant is that three of the game's main elements are well-executed faux holograms, the cowboy's arm, his lasso and the steer. The arm hurls the lasso at the steer, with the push of a large, circular button. The player is challenged to time his/her release of the lasso so that it travels forward into the distance and arrives at the steer's legs, roping him. The cowboy's 3D illuminated arm swings the lasso in a circular motion, prior to the release. Roping the steer causes him to turn upside down, which registers a point score. The player has 1 minute (time is displayed as a clock) to execute as many successful lasso endeavors as possible. Points are displayed on the backglass. During gameplay, an audio (via 8-track tape) plays the hooves of the cowboy's horse as well as the sound of the steer's capture. The cowboy itself is a physical mannequin head (as opposed to a faux hologram), bobbing around as if riding a horse, during the roping escapade. Actually, the cowboy's arm is also a physical object, which is illuminated to resemble a hologram. In contrast, the rope itself and the steer are both purely nonphysical images, composed of projected lights and angled mirrors, created by the magic of Sega designers, who were so far ahead of their time that no other arcade manufacturer ever ventured to duplicate the game. The rope effect is accomplished by a string tethered to an extending and contracting mechanism, illuminated by a black light, and projected into the scene with mirrors. . .utterly ingenious. This example of Sega Cowboy remained in its original shipping crate from 1974 until 2015, when a collector purchased it. However, that collector was unsuccessful in bringing the game to life. Having recently acquired the game, I am pleased to debut its operation on 7/4/17, now that it's fully functional. Since there are no other demonstrations of a functioning Sega Cowboy on the internet, I'm especially glad to have mine posted here so that others may appreciate it.

https://vimeo.com/224273794

Post a video of the gameplay, please. Cool cabinet art.

I think that Bally World Cup Soccer gets overlooked because of its poor aesthetics. Never played Sega Soccer. Love the graphics. Saw Mickey's video.

My most recent Sega acquisition is Lunar Rescue, which is partially working but requires restoration.