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Preface: I am writing this after having just spent my summer working in an arcade, which had taught me one thing, Don't ever work in an arcade.


This guide is intended to inform you of the various things that are common knowledge to an arcade employee, such as how to set a game onto free-play, which games are run on a standard pc, and other interesting subjects.


Contents
1-+General Arcade Information+-
2-+Specific Gamesa+-
3-+Which games are run on a PC+-
4-+Information on the Intercard System+-
5-+Advice on SE in an arcade+-

1+-------------------------------------
One thing to take into account is that almost all functions of an arcade game are made to be as simple as possible. This is obvious in the wiring schemes as well as the Settings menues. If you are good at picking locks, then the arcade is a great place for you to have fun.

Usually inside of an arcade game that had a screen there will be at least two buttons. One will say something to the effect of credit (or service) when pressed it will add one free credit to the machine. But why stop there. The other button is labeled "Test". This button is the one used to access the game's setting menu. From this menu you are able to change all of the games basic funtions.

How to set Free play: In the menu there is always a selection named "Coin settings". When selected, it will open a menu that displays the amount of coins per credit (ex: 1 coin per credit, 2 per credit etc.) Cycle through the selections until "FREE PLAY" appears. Exit to the main menu and then goto the exit selection. Generally the game will restart and it will be in free mode.

(This applies to games that give out tickets)
How to Start the ticket feed motor:
On the side of the ticket feeder (ive seen it left or right) there is a circut board, on the circut board there is only one button, once pressed,the machine will feed one ticket. Most people at the p[oint of opening a game will usually just stal the whole stack of tickets, but I included this for the sake of completeness.

Basic menu function descriptions:

Input test= Test to see of all of the joysticks/buttons are working.

Output Test= Test Feedback Devices such as Feedback steering wheels, and motors.

Coin Options= Leads to a menu that controls game prices. (see "How to set Free Play")

Bookkeeping= Get a report of how many transations the machine has done since it's records were reset (which is usually never)

Reset= Self explanitory

Calibrate Gun (game Specific)= This is a personal favorite. If you are a fan of gun games, but are frequently pissed off because it won't shoot straight, this it the option for you. Using the sights on the gun you aim at an "X" in the middle of the screen to set it's orientation. This is usually found on games such as Area 51 or Deer Hunting.

Exit= Will Reset and return to game mode

Others= Some games have other options, most of which don't do anything usefull except when repairung the machine, but fiddle with things and you're bound to find out a game specific tweak thats neat.

-----------Other General arcade info--------------------
Linked games:
Have you ever seen games that advertise link play? Well there is fun to be had there. The way linked games work is that one game is the master and all of the othergames are slaves. If a slave game stop working, eventuall all of the gbames will goto a default screen thatg will display "lost network carrier" or somethink like that. If the master Goes down then all of the slave games will go down as well, quite abruptly in fact. The best games to pull this prank on are the racing games or tank games that have 4+ terminals, find the master (98% of the time it is the leftmost one, because people are dumb like that) and cut it's power (pull the plug). Watch all of the other games crash as well.



2-------------------------------------------------------

Coin Pushers:
One of the most popular type of ticket games is the one where you drop a token in and try to have it push other tokens off of a ledge. This WOULD be a fair game if it wern't for the built in rig, not alot unlike a carney. On the furthest point of the coin holding surface there is are two slots that travels along it horizontally. What an arcade does is they wedge two rows of tokens into this slot which serves two purposes. First, It gives off the apperance that the machine is about to pay out, but those coins will NEVER fall. Secondly the slot is slightly slanted so that the coins will actually creat an incline that holds the tokens in even better.

(I have to put at least one acsii drawing)

 
 
                               _this is a token in slot 
 This is where the coins sit  //  _ 
-----------------------------//_ //this is second row 
________________________________//



(End of ascii drawing)

The only way you can get those coins out is to slam your body against the machine or pick the locks to the window, (WARNING:some of theese games have a built in tilt sensor and will sound an alarm if bumped hard.)
As examples there are two pusher games created by hary levee amusements, one is Jack-HI, and the other is "Elvis". Jack-hi has no sensor for tilt, Elvis does. The worst thing that will happen the first time is they will ask you to stop, so test and see.

Win Every Time! by Benchmark Games Inc.:
This game has a predictable timing setting that allows you to hit the jack pot about 30% of the time, which is good compaired to the normal chance of about 2%. On the wheel that spins on a motor there are printed values. There are also small yellow pegs that circle the slinnig wheel about every three inches. Once the 200 is lined up with the secont pegto the right of center press the play button to release the disc onto the wheel by the time it reaches the outer rim jackpot will have rolled up (usually).

Smokin Token, Goin Rollin, Wonder Wheel:
These games are fairly simple, but when opened, an alarm will sound if you dont press a button that is hidden inside the right side of the wood that connects to the door.

Skiball LIGHTNING:
On the top of left side bumper of the game there is a panet that slides away exposing the tickets and the reset and menu buttons.

3-------------------------------------------------------
Beachhead 2000 (Ball Turret version) by Tsunami
Beachhead 2000 (Head turret version) by VR games
Ultimate R@ce Pro by Jesler
Wave motion Theatre by Jesler

These are the only games that i have personally encountered that are run by a standard Pc running a version of windows.

The point of listing the games that are Pcs give obvious
possibilities for downloading bootlegs of the games and other mischeif.

4-------------------------------------------------------
The Intercard system is Based on a terminal in each game that reads the magnetic strip on a card. There are a few thing to know about intercard before you go around saying it stole your money.

First, Intercard is an interlinked network that is connected by 6 pin Rj-11 sized phone cords. The games communicate with a main computer in the back telling all of the cardsa that is has scanned since it last communicated or the correct term in "polled". So there is a computer, usually in a back room somewhere that is contantly polling all of the games, so as long as the cord is connected to the game, the arcade knows if the game scanned your card or not. Now here comes the fun part. Usually there isn't someone monitoring the computer all the time, so unplug a game you want to play. play the game a bunch of times and then goto the arcade people and say such and such game took like $4.00 off your card and didn't even play. When they look at what games you've played it won't show any, it will just show how much you put on the card originally, and your current balance. Tell them you want a refund (which they will usually get confused and raise you to your original amount. Ta-dah free gam
es, i suggest only trying this once.

How to Fsck up a game with an intercard reader:
you will need:
a game card
two wires
a stapler
a 9 volt battery

Hook the wires to the nine volt battery, and then staple the other end to the magnetic strip of the card. When the reader tries to read the card it wil spark it, but instead of receiving just a spar back it will get 9 volts. If done correctly it will take out all of the games connected to the same circut.

5-------------------------------------------------------
Now the part that every Social Engineer waited for. (I'm Hoping they didn't skip the rest of the article to read this part.)

1) Go to the attendant and tell him that you scored a jackpot on a game but then some kid hit it and the tilt was set off and canceled the Jackpot.

2) If you can pick a lock here is a way to get tickets. Open the game, take out all but the first like three tickets that are in the feeder, close the game and throw the tickets on the floor so it looks like you won them, then actually win the last three so it runs out. Have some arcade person refill it, and repeat.

3) Run your card out of cash on an un-networked machine (unplug its n/w cord) and then bend the card a good deal across the magnetic strip and put it in a game. The reader will usually make it get stuck. Tell the person that you tried to play the game and it bent the card and thats why all the credit isn't there.

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I tried to be as in detail as possible. I hope this gives you a bit of fun.

One Final Note, I put alot of Effort into this Article, if you post it somewhere else, please give me credit