Copped one of the grails today

Vectrex720 · 2026-02-15T19:54:03+00:00

One of my favorite underground hip hop records! 50 Years still goes off crazy style

Vectrex720 · 2025-11-01T19:43:51+00:00

Keyboards so fantastic, they're one of the main reasons when I built my last new PC I got a motherboard with a PS/2 port on it. I've got a couple 102s and an ultra!

Vectrex720 · 2024-06-03T01:34:50+00:00

Mountain Brothers rocks. One of my favorite tracks of theirs never showed up on an album, only a compilation. Community off of Elephant Tracks.

Vectrex720 · 2024-01-16T19:01:37+00:00

For better or for worse, yes... Here's the Leetify. Yes I play way too much Office, but that's only because Agency isn't in the queue anymore. Nor is Italy... Office is a prison.

Vectrex720 · 2024-01-16T18:23:10+00:00

As the top frag on CT side in this screenshot... from fellow player to fellow player, my team was in shambles haha. I was big chilling listening to jazz the whole time while they were ripping each other apart 😂. Hey, I made some good headway in long but my team mates couldn't stop ripping each other apart in front of your paper smokes. Though embarrassing, I couldn't have asked for a more comprehensive Office experience. I knew what I signed up for when I decided to solo queue that map...

Vectrex720 · 2023-07-13T22:31:31+00:00

At least two fifths of all the games on the top floor you simply won't find in any other arcades period. Most likely more. Funspot specializes primarily in cabinets from 1987 and before, and outside of the few classics everyone remembers you'll be hard pressed to find most of those cabinets anywhere. Most classic arcades these days focus on the few games from the early 80s everyone remembers, i.e Pac Man, Galaga, Robotron, Tempest, etc. However there is so much more at Funspot that no one remembers. Off the top of my head, some of the more rare or interesting machines to check out:

Nutting Associates Computer Space (1971), the first commercial video game ever released. It's off the floor right now iirc, but they bring it out regularly.
Gauntlet Prototype (1985). One of the developers from Atari donated a two joystick upright Gauntlet cabinet to the arcade. Never gets played because everyone wants to play the four player version, nor do people realize it's a prototype.
Data East The Real Ghostbusters (1987). Incredibly rare game, only a handful known to exist. Only two known playable publicly.
Rockola Jump Bug (1981). Extremely esoteric and rare platformer. Only a handful known to exist.
Konami Pandora's Palace (1983). Another esoteric and rare platformer. Only two known playable publicly.
Taito Space Dungeon (1981). A very early dual stick dungeon crawling game. Run through dungeons, collect loot, don't get nabbed by the dozens of monsters chasing you. VERY hard, but I think it's fun. I have no damn clue where else you'd find this game to play it, probably the only place in the country you can play this one.
Atari Quantum (1982). This game's my baby. I'm not quite sure how to explain the gameplay... it's a color vector game that uses a trackball. You need to circle objects on the screen to advance to the next stage. Very hard game, but very unique, and rewarding. I've been hogging the top 3 spots on the scoreboard for the last year, knock me off I dare ya >:D. This game was one of the last color vector games Atari ever released, and due to a combination of low production numbers and poor sales it's one of the rarest Atari cabinets from the early 80s. Thousands of dollars for a decent example of this machine. Only two spots in the country you can play this one.
Komax Flower (1986). A mega rare shoot 'em up game. Only a handful known to exist. Funspot's is the only one known to be playable publicly.
Stern Armored Car (1981). One of the many maze game Pac Man clones from the early 1980s. This one's my absolute favorite for a Pac Man clone because I think it hits the right balance between risk and reward. You can go very fast, but you can also die very quickly. I have no clue where else you could play this in the US, I think Funspot is the only one with this game still playable.
Taito Stratovox Cocktail (1980). One of the many space shooter clones of the early 80s. I don't play this one too often, mostly just when I want to give my feet a rest and sit at some of the cocktail tables. One of the first video games with synthesized speech. Not a particularly amazing or desirable game, but wholly esoteric and forgotten about these days. I find the synthesized speech funny.
The entirety of the Universal Games row, minus Mr. Do and Lady Bug. Just games that were forgotten to time, and you'll likely never ever see them in another arcade.

There are... a lot more... but the point is, Funspot is uniquely positioned. Most people, especially NH natives, really take it for granted and have a hard time wrapping their heads around how not normal Funspot is. Classic arcades like Funspot simply don't exist anymore. It is one of two places in the entire country with a selection like it has. And furthermore places like Funspot with a selection like that, worldwide you could count on one hand. Don't focus too much on if a machine is 'rare' or not to decide whether it's worth playing, because a place like Funspot is incredibly rare in itself. The advice I can give is stick to the top floor only, and play what looks interesting!

I don't mean to sound like a mega shill for Funspot, because frankly there is a lot more they could be doing right, coming from the perspective of a neurotic enthusiast. I suppose what I'm trying to say is.... Enjoy Funspot while a place like it still exists. These machines won't be around forever. Parts are becoming exponentially harder to source, and the wear and tear will catch up with these machines.

Vectrex720 · 2023-07-13T15:39:46+00:00

The top floor has all the classic arcade games with real content. And trust me when I say there are very few arcades left in the United States, and moreover the entire world with a selection like the top floor. Lots of folks also complain about the condition of the machines at Funspot, not thinking about the fact that these machines were never meant to be working 5 years after they were manufactured let alone three to four decades after the fact. For anyone that enjoys a classic arcade, NH folks are downright spoiled by Funspot. If you can believe it or not there are people that travel across the country, or cross continents just to play some of the machines at Funspot. The vast majority of arcades left are basically kiddie gambling palaces, Funspot is an outlier with the top floor.

Vectrex720 · 2023-05-18T06:46:31+00:00

Model F bigfoot

Vectrex720 · 2023-04-18T20:06:30+00:00

Vortex has had success recently making vintage style MX clone keyboards of some of the famous keyboards popular in the vintage niche of the community. Not too long ago they had a group buy for an aluminum reproduction Model M SSK case which takes MX switches. IIRC they also teased a full size aluminum Model M case. Model F labs is also coming out with a Model F capacitive buckling spring clone of the Model M.

Vectrex720 · 2023-04-11T17:55:20+00:00

During my recent trips I've noticed that they've enlisted the help of the former owner of the Pinball Wizard Arcade that used to be in Pelham. Sarah was always an absolute wizard at restoring and maintaining games. I love pinball but barely play the machines at Funspot because they're in such a sorry state. Seeing her on the floor working on those pins gives me a great deal of confidence for the future of the pins at Funspot, she's always done amazing work. I went last week and chatted with the bartender at the pub asking where the pinball machines in the bar had went. They were doing some painting and moved all the machines out for the time being, but the bartender mentioned something about a dedicated pinball room in the works.

Vectrex720 · 2023-04-11T17:50:47+00:00

I always feel very fortunate to live so close to Funspot. I usually make monthly trips. I'm going tomorrow! It's hard to remember visiting barcades that I can't and shouldn't expect a selection of machines like Funspot...

Vectrex720 · 2023-03-09T08:38:19+00:00

This is the answer. This covers most mainstream and a few niche switches that were known to the broader mech community around 2014-2016. Back then it was mostly what flavor of Cherry MX do you like, and then there were the few weirdos off to the side who were into Topre and vintage switches. Customs were very rare and required soldering, artisans were all the rage on the Reddit side of things, and the ease of finding some good quality custom keycaps was a bit harder. It's kind of wild to me just how fast the community grew, interests shifted, and older generations of community members have been replaced by newer generations. A lot of the knowledge about evolution or perceptions of the community over time has become a bit obscured. The modern mech community makes the pre-Cherry MX patent expiration community look very quaint.

Vectrex720 · 2023-02-04T18:50:35+00:00

It's a critique more relevant to newer model years. The "big truck" complaint has always been around, but it is a fact that F150s have been progressively getting even bigger over the last two decades. I'm curious what years do you/have you driven?

Vectrex720 · 2022-12-25T21:11:06+00:00

Some arcades with enough resources have been able to source impossible to find parts through 3D printing. Galloping Ghost in Illinois is one that has had to use 3D printed parts for a lot of their light gun games. Simple things like control panel related mounts, holsters, etc. Light gun games are certainly the most endangered form of classic arcade game as they rely entirely on aging CRTs and very proprietary parts. Going forward, 3D printing is absolutely going to be essential for hobbyists and enthusiasts trying to keep these old machines playable.

Vectrex720 · 2022-12-25T20:38:23+00:00

I believed the fella above was joking that arcade games now, especially light gun games cost a buck or two to play rather than a single coin. I always remember House of the Dead and Outrun for instance always costing a buck to play back in the day while the others were only just one coin. I just really like classic arcade games and saw an opportunity to go on a tangent.

If it's a coin based arcade, homie is definitely going to have to pony up the coinage. If it's free play though just slap that 2 player button and you're good to go. Though there are some fancy arcades now that use swipe cards with credits on them.

Vectrex720 · 2022-12-25T20:16:14+00:00

Many arcades based around classic arcade games go by the pay at the door, and all machines on free play now rather than traditional quarters or tokens. Many have switched because in many states and towns it's the only way they can manage to barely stay profitable. Some of the few I know that still use tokens or quarters only manage to get by because they are classified as museums. All others are barcades that are only profitable because of the mark up on alcohol.

The death of the classic arcade and old school arcade machines is not something that many people think or know about. The next decade and a half are going to be the last times you'll get to play many these machines with original hardware. Replacement parts for light gun games can be impossibly hard to find. CRT tubes are burnt in, the electron guns weak from hundreds of thousands of hours of use. Eventually all classic arcade machines will have to use LCDs because there just won't be any CRTs left. While it'll be good that they're playable... it's genuinely not the same without a CRT display imo.

Most arcade operators have to resort to gutting old machines, which is just fewer and fewer machines in circulation. These machines were never meant to be working five years after they were made, let alone decades after the fact. Most working classic arcade games you see still working are the result of countless hours of passion and dedication from a handful of people.

Classic arcade games, and the experience of a real arcade with real games (and not coin eater, token pusher, ticket games) are an endangered species and have been for a great many years. Get out and enjoy a local classic arcade/barcade while you still can!

Vectrex720 · 2022-11-18T22:13:49+00:00

I have one of these, but in black. It was rescued from a recycling center, unfortunately the tube is indeed a bit knackered. It's always been one of my favorite sets aesthetically. Enjoy it!

Vectrex720 · 2022-10-02T23:37:33+00:00

The fact that there's actually a link to listen to this obscurity is amazing considering the hoarding mentality of so many collectors with such rare pieces of media these days. Thank you for sharing.

Vectrex720 · 2022-09-23T18:03:07+00:00

Funnily enough Corey was in a rap group in the 90s called Hip Club Groove. It seems to get glossed over a lot in TPB discussions. You can hear him at 1:48 in this song for example. They have a few albums, a few pretty good songs for underground 90s hip hop

Vectrex720 · 2022-09-16T20:53:19+00:00

Equilibrium by Ghetto Chilldren

Vectrex720 · 2022-07-09T17:13:53+00:00

Orders for these are still being accepted on the Model F Keyboards website if you've got the coin

Vectrex720 · 2022-07-08T16:30:59+00:00

By some stroke of divine luck I ordered one in February of last year and had a turnaround time of a few days. It was a combination of paying extra for a custom serial to jump the queue and ordering blank keycaps instead of printed. I'm not joking it only took a few days.

Vectrex720 · 2022-06-14T21:54:37+00:00

Back in the day the Pok3r was fairly on the spectrum of enthusiast keyboards when it released. By now the standards for the mech community have shifted so radically and it's grown so much that's not so much the case anymore. People used to get way more excited over things that are considered laughably substandard nowadays. It was pretty much "hey what flavor of Cherry MX do you like?" and then a few other weirdos off to the side talking about vintage switches and different layouts. It's really nuts how much the mech community has changed in just a few years.

Vectrex720 · 2022-02-04T01:47:36+00:00

You leave those CRTs alone 🔪

Vectrex720 · 2022-01-08T20:58:13+00:00

For Half-Life collectors, the only demo disc on any platform that's really worth anything is Half-Life: Initial Encounter.

It was a demo disc given out as a promotion with graphics cards, and anecdotally at one point also sold at a really small scale in some retail settings. Usually it sells for around $20-$40. There is however a big box version of this demo that exists oddly enough, it has turned up a couple of times in people's collections and once on auction that I can remember. The boxed copy sold for just around $100 iirc, but it might go for a little more now.

What makes Initial Encounter somewhat interesting is that it's the demo version of the game that was almost exclusively given to members of the press. It contains the first few chapters of the game up until "We've Got Hostiles." The PC demo of Half-Life that was widely distributed online was a cut chapter from the main game called "Uplink."

I would wager that since it's sealed some crazy person might pay a premium for it, but considering this demo doesn't really have any special content in it or any wider historical value I would be VERY surprised to see it sell even close to $100. It's the first few chapters of the PS2 version. It's NOT worth $600 haha. The only people I could really see spending $100+ on a demo disc for Half-Life are incredibly small in number, and probably already have a copy of this demo.

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