RAT RACE

harry2 · Post by **harry2** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 6:23 pm

Middle reel jpm, five nudges to the bell, three to the pear, three to the cherry,nine more back to the jpm, four melons on this reel.

JakeyC · Post by **JakeyC** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 8:00 pm

The first machine I clearly remember playing was a 2p play, £1.50 Jackpot for 3 melons. It had silver sparkly reels and a double/nothing gamble. Gave up to 10 nudges. That was back in the early 90s and it looked a fairly old machine even then.

Around the same time I remember playing a 2p blast-a-bank and later a 5p Treasure Trail I think it was.

Also remember a machine very similar to Sevens Above, except it had a 4th reel at the top, which you could sometimes exchange for the middle reel symbol when you got nudges. Anyone know what it was or if it was emulated? I can remember the nudge music and slight variation that signalled the exchange was available, if that helps!

Mid-90s I made Ghost Buster (see pic) my regular machine of choice, at 2p/£3. Used to take my £3.50 paper round money and spend all Sunday morning gambling away, once getting 4 repeats for £15! Happy days.

Other good memories include Hagar, Haunted House, Bank Raid, Money Spinner, Crystal Maze and Super Streak (when it was 5p play, before they turned it into a 30p Elvis-branded 'which slot is hot').

How many machines being produced today will be looked back at in decades to come with susch fondness I wonder?

Many more I'm sure if I sat reminiscing all night.

betchrider · Post by **betchrider** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 8:10 pm

Silver shuffle just a 2p version of eachway shuffle

JakeyC · Post by **JakeyC** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 8:38 pm

That sounds about right!

I remember now it had up and down nudges. Also remember watching someone get 4p instead of jackpot by nudging the melons onto the first two reels. D'oh!

trayhop123 · Post by **trayhop123** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 9:19 pm

rat race, ace chase ,star turn, fruit cracke(40p gamble to 2quid and could hold)
stop n flip, step n skip, kings and queen's ,win a gain, copper mine, haggar popeye, showtime spectacular, aladins cave, master spy. line up, the eachway nudger /shuffel range, sunset boulavard,

moving on a few years ,,,,,, snakes n ladders, roller coaster, monopoly 25th(loverly empty on the plug mind lol) ,big banker, big bucks, big 50, hot shots n ceasers,

just some of the classics that bring a tear to my eye at the mere mention,
makes me proud to know i was there from the beginning, and at 36 still making a living from them now

i truly will go and sit on a park bench and cry like a girl when its finally all over

trayhop123 · Post by **trayhop123** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 9:49 pm

and of course the classics mr do, gauntlet, double dragon , shinobi, bubble bobble, green beret, kung fu master, gyrus , r type, phoenix, 1942, hypersports, spyhunter, roling thunder, rainbow island, super mario, galaga, frogger ,rampage, final fight, ghosts n goblins, space harrier, out run, etc etc

too many to list

thank god for retro game compilations for the consoles

harry2 · Post by **harry2** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 11:52 pm

Two melons would pay "melon meter" anything from 20p to £2.00 jackpot plus repeat chance.

JakeyC · Post by **JakeyC** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 12:14 am

harry3 wrote:Two melons would pay "melon meter" anything from 20p to £2.00 jackpot plus repeat chance.

No, must be a different machine. Definitely no melon meter on the one I played. Any 2 symbols on reels 1 & 2 paid 4p and 3 melons was £1.50, paid in 10p pieces. There were two payout holes, one for 2ps and another for 10ps.

So if you had the jackpot available off nudges you had to be careful to line reel 3 up first, then 1 and 2 whilst avoiding matching a pair!

Scott · Post by **Scott** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:28 am

I think i mentioned this in a thread back when i first joined but does anyone remember the cat and mouse themed game [barcrest perhaps] that when you got the jackpot you could either have the £6 tokens a wrist watch or a tiny carriage clock, my mate gave the carriage clock too his mum for mothers day [tight c*nt] and apparently it still keeps time, can't remember the name of this machine but it was around 94/95.

anyone?

thecannonball89 · Post by **thecannonball89** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:40 am

GaryChandler wrote:Some kid from yarmouth is doing them aint he?

kid lol, yeah was down there got kickd off carabian and hotwheels!

arcades across the bridge were closed aswell

markyb173 · Post by **markyb173** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 5:18 pm

There was a lot of machines that gave out prizes, normally if the jackpot repeated. A cops and robbers type one, went round a trail and you were Bert getting chased. My favorite was a bullseye in a local pub. One of the prizes was a zippo lighter, used to get a tenner for them off my smoking mates.

Rat race was probably my first fruit as well. Once that gamble was going the £2.00 jackpot wasn't far away. Anyone remember one at that time that had like a grandfather clock and mice on it. With 3 different feature trails. Nudges/Cashpot and something else.

lurches loot · Post by **lurches loot** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 5:30 pm

tuppenny nudger thats where it all began!!! Then andy capps and one of my all time favouties bulleye £2.40 jackpot but the repeat was skill and v easy to hit.
Someone mentioned rod hogs that was a classic i think the 3 blue sevens was £3 and then 3 super red sevens was jackpot £6 in tokens.
oh how things have changed!!!!! thing is i dont think on the whole its for the better!!

lurches loot · Post by **lurches loot** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 5:34 pm

extreme eddie
forgot to say the machine your on about is big cheese (THE OLD VERSION NOT THE HIGHER FLYER TYPE CLONE)...meeeoooowww.
always used to take cat flaps for jackers i think

Scott · Post by **Scott** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 6:55 pm

i thought may have been the older version of big cheese, cheers

trayhop123 · Post by **trayhop123** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:33 pm

of course its for the better, would you really want to go from earning 100plus a day to the token era ????

back in the day of rat races i would think to be up 6quid to be an exceptional day, it meant i could get a 50p burger and a 1.99 commodore 64 game, my busfare home, and still have money left for the next day..... most days lost it all and had to walk home,,,,,

thomas arcades in leicester used to let you swap your tokens for high st shopping vouchers which i could swap with my mam for face value, she always spent em in iceland
(cue somebody saying that's why mums go to iceland lol)
been barred from all thomas for at least 12years though

in most pubs in leicester you had to put tokens back in the machines, with only the odd exception letting you spend them behind the bar

nostalgia , rose tinted specs, and love of the old machines stil wouldn't want to go back to struggling ,
if were all honest , the real living and ability to put money in the bank didn't come till the 10quid days

i dont know , you young uns dont know ya born, we had nowt to eat but a lump of coal , and lived in a cardboard box ,without a tupence to credit a rat race between us,,,,,, i

im 137 ya know