Fruit Machine Chat

What's your best era, even know the money was easy when 70s 1st come out, or having a good empty before most and making a good few quid in fast time, I think the best time for me was when I was a kid and climbing into pontins, and travling 60miles felt far from home, going out with a 20quid float and being out all day to come home with 70 and feel happy. Does anyone think fruits will come to an end?

Picking up on your 'when 60 miles felt far from home'. I remember my first visit to Leicester. I had flown the nest and it felt like Coventry to Leicester was an inconceivably long way to travel to play machines. Now leicester would be a decidedly local day.
My favourite era would be the £10 maygays. Great Escape, Cluedo?, Fight Night etc etc
It's when I first started to turn things around.

Slight before that for me young George.

£6 tokens I think was the best enjoyment wise, arcades were full of rows and rows of 20p play £6 pot hi-tecs. There was no evil eyes and heat for running a Reno or Monte for £60-£100.

Profit wise it has to be the early days of the £70's where even a waster like me had a spare few grand under the mattress or stuffed in a sock!!! Reds, crests and electros absolutely every where!! My only regret is that I didn't work harder and amass what surely was a quite easy 5 figure bank account.

Imagine going back to those £6 token days armed with the knowledge we have now?? Ooh the anticipation of each machine release!!

Is there going to be value taking methods anymore such that the method lasts a few years or just things like current things which will be chipped and become pointless?

the 2p/10p/token days were definitely more fun ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but i think what may have added to the carefree attitudes , was the reliance on living with parents etc , afterall back then a typical brainout seshion meant you lost 8quid and there really wasn't any real hardship to follow other than having to wait a week for the next pocket money/paper round money to come around etc ,,,,,,,,,, there was plentiful food in your parents cupboards lol ,,,,,,,,,,, now a brainout can be very very serious indeed without the sanctity of a soft parental cushion to fall back on etc .

ratrace's masterspy etc were great fun ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but i think we may be looking back with blinkers on sometimes

4.80-6.00 token days, arcades were packed with munters and there weren't more players than nhs staff

09/10 for me.

Jpms in the mid 90s games were FUN then with lots of skills unlike now where machines are easy.

Skills? Roll up roll up

Barcrest Cash Zone and Cash Counter from the late 80's were proper skills.

Shoot em up sorted the men from the boys back in the day!!

ob wrote:Shoot em up sorted the men from the boys back in the day!!

don't f miss one!!!!!!!! Prob machine which punished you most if you did.


For me JPMs days because I learnt how to guarantee money, loads of machines about, little competition, little fire...

Plus you only ever lost £2 at worst baring a bad barcrest aside

"no-lose" machines that have a very obv sign to play or not play - the era you talk of, jpms, empires, skill quests have a high value for sure. of course there are some games these days with a good sign, eg wilding where you lose 300 on 3 consecutive units. . . .pretty sure i'm done with them after thinking they were the next big thing! lol

ob wrote:Shoot em up sorted the men from the boys back in the day!!

would say true but could hit it and i was only 15ish so not really a man

without cancel?!