It's funny, but reading these articles really does bring back fond memories. I remember that I used to snaffle as much of the spare change that lay around our house as possible, and stash it like an over excited squirrel for our planned skives to Southsea. As we regularly had school outings once a term, we'd begun to cotten on that these were the perfect opportunities. We wouldn't be missed, our parents expected us to be away, and as it was near the end of term there was never enough time to get caught...

I forget how many times my compadres, "Frank", "Fooks" and I made the journey; leaving as normal for school and promptly get the bus into Southampton instead. Trekking through the stations on the hour long hop-skip and jump to Southsea and the "Golden Nugget" arcade. But I remember my arms would be sore from carrying the jar of change I'd been collecting, but boy, it was worth it the minute I saw the lights, the full size cabinets and the latest titles I'd only read about in C&VG.

I remember seeing Operation Thunderbolt for the first time, and Frank and I completing it on one credit after several hours practice. I remember sweating furiously over New Zealand story, falling off Super Hang On, fighting to get on Bubble Bobble and standing, gob-smacked, as The Fooks completed Afterburner in the full size sit-down cabinet. I recall he threw up straight after due excessive cider intake and far too many rolls on the later levels -- but that didn't detract one bit from the achievement!

And in those days scores lasted. We ruled some of those cabinets for months, pestering older siblings and parents for lifts just so we could check and report back which machines had fallen to the locals before planning strategies for the next day-long mission.

Good times indeed. Especially as word got 'round of our antics and we started meeting other skivers from school down there.

Funny thing is, I now work 10 minutes away from the Golden Nugget and occasionally I pop in just to see what's there. Gone are the big Sega sit-down cabs, gone are the rows and rows of machines I played 10-12 years ago, and in their place are one armed bandits and the occasional Time Crisis cab.

I think Edge may be right. Arcades have lost it (as have I. My scores are shite now), and oh! How I miss those Hi-Score tables of old. Maybe I'll should pop down there someday soon and hunt out an old Taito machine to slap my moniker on? Or just focus on the league instead...

Still, brings a tear to my eye remembering what an arcade used to be. I doubt kids would even bother going to the lengths we did to reach an arcade now.

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