Nostalgic ramblings - the first game you ever played?

[Cardinal Sin]

And just for anyone who isn't quite sure who James / Lauren Harries is:

[Nil Satis]

Fall ref. well detected...... Similarly, on your own username, not a fan myself - not of any footy team actually, just enjoy a good match - but do I detect an Everton FC reference?

Good spot sir! Nil Satis is part of our Latin motto ('Nil Satis Nisi Optimum' being the full motto - usually translated as 'Nothing But the Best is Good Enough' - insert your own joke here, fans of other teams!) and my avatar is a picture of the tower that appears on the club badge.

[WaterGate]

Concentration ( the card memorisation one )
Total Recall ( sort of copy of the latter )

[Guest]

fit

[K_Oranj]

Nil, I got the Everton motto reference...yay. But I only got half the puzzle with the tower folly thing completely passing me by. Is that the actual 'tower' then which is on the badge or just a simulacra?

As for UP's mention of being like a James Harries 'gone badly, badly awry', are you telling us that you've had the 'big' snip or something? OK, I assume you were actually referring to the mental side of things here. And speaking of mental things, did anyone see Keith Allen's programme on her/him, when he went to Lauren/James's house and delved into this character's colourfully weird life. This programme made it quite clear that, even by Harries's own admission, the antiques genius schtick was so much bollocks, so to speak. Hilarious it was too, especially when Allen went all apeshit on the family at the end.

[Nil Satis]

Is that the actual 'tower' then which is on the badge or just a simulacra?

The tower is an old lock-up which I guess was chosen by the early club members to go on the badge as it was a symbol of the area. A clearer photo of it is here:

http://www.liverpoolpictorial.co.uk/brian/lockup2.html

As for James Harries, like the unfortunate lad with Tourette's, he was one of those people whom once you had seen him on TV it was impossible to forget...

[tonkarentino]

Quiz Master was certainly a good machine. You could control the win scores yourself. Pitch all 10 scores around 40k and it was out of the range of ordinary punters, and would save all the pay-out money for yourself. This was a feature that wasn't repeated with any subsequent machines.

Give us a Break was probably the most significant machine of the early period. It was the first machine to offer a £10 prize every go so therefore could be emptied of all the tube money. These were followed by the Barcrest range of cash dispensers that could be similarly emptied.

For the benefit of Nil Statis and anyone else interested I include below from memory a list of the quiz machines that I have played in approximate chronological order. I have probably missed some out if anyone can remember any others. I haven't included the the more recent late 90s ones such as Treasure Quest, Risk, Telly Addicts etc as they were pretty piss poor up until Millionaire came on the scene in 2000.


The Primitive Era 1985-86

History begins. The first primitive examples the browsing mammal Quizpromious Erectus walks on the Earth.

Quiz Master/Question Time (Coinmaster)
Mission Impossible (Status),
Tic-Tac-Triv (Barcrest),
Treasure Trail (JPM),
Greyhound (Greyhound),
Blockbuster (Coinmaster)

The Golden Era 1986 - 1997

Quizpromious Heffalumpus now rampant. Found feeding at watering holes up and down the land.

Give us a Break (JPM)
Barquest (Barcrest)
Suit Pursuit (JPM)
Ten Quid Grid (Barcrest)
Breakthru (Coinmaster)
Adders and Ladders (Barcrest)
Inquizitor (Bell-Fruit)
Skill Cash (Barcrest)
Time Machine (Barcrest)
Trail Blazer (Coinmaster)
Give us a Break (second incarnation new cabinet JPM)
Fruit Machine Quiz (Coinmaster)
Skill Trek (Barcrest first £12 machine)
Every Second Counts (Bell Fruit)
The one in the same case as Turnover that I can't remember the name of? (Barcrest)
Beeline (Bell-Fruit)
Eyes Down (Barcrest)
PAC Man (JPM)
Ludo Quiz (Coinmaster)
The card memorisation one? (Maygay)
Treble Top (Bell-Fruit first £20 machine)
£12/£20 Turnover (Barcrest)
Give us a Clue (Maygay)
Genius (Ace)
Crossword Quiz (Maygay)
Quizvaders (Bell-Fruit)
The Eric Bristow darts one (Ace)
Question of Sport (Bell-Fruit)
Monopoly (first 50p play machine and touch screen machine JPM)
Cluedo (JPM)
Monopoly Deluxe (JPM)

Absolute genius and what a memory! In my neck of the woods TTT preceeded Quiz Master by about a month which suited me because I couldn't get into TTT because there were already three or four locals emptying them from a position of one point! Went straight into Quiz Master and had it all to myself for months.

[kingzilla]

I think the game i remember was Pot Black on a stand alone which me and my mate Jackpotted, ah first and last jackpot i ever had which is a bit sad i suppose.

[mr lugsy]

i have an addition for the primitive era,can't remember the name exactly(not much cop, i know)think it was something like copycat.
it was out before blockbuster and in my local arcade.basically it was like that simon game where you had to get the colours in the right order,a basic memory game indeed with the last round being 12 or maybe 15 flashes and then you had to hit a skill shot to get the prize.

the prize on offer was diplayed on an l.e.d on the top left of the cabinet so you knew what was 'there' right from the start,if it ever offered the 10 pounds jpt it would'nt be there for long as it could easily be done with a couple of friends remembering the light sequence in chunks ,it was a good job the skill shot for the prize was reasonably fast(but still easyish with practise) or anybody would have been able to take it on.

[alcozar]

Connect 4 (on inde unit) earlier in year

[Scott]

i have an addition for the primitive era,can't remember the name exactly(not much cop, i know)think it was something like copycat.
it was out before blockbuster and in my local arcade.basically it was like that simon game where you had to get the colours in the right order,a basic memory game indeed with the last round being 12 or maybe 15 flashes and then you had to hit a skill shot to get the prize.

the prize on offer was diplayed on an l.e.d on the top left of the cabinet so you knew what was 'there' right from the start,if it ever offered the 10 pounds jpt it would'nt be there for long as it could easily be done with a couple of friends remembering the light sequence in chunks ,it was a good job the skill shot for the prize was reasonably fast(but still easyish with practise) or anybody would have been able to take it on.

Pen and paper job if the coasts clear

[tonkarentino]

What about some of the games on the early versions of multi-game machines? The jigsaw puzzle game who's name escapes me and the original word search which didn't last long but if you caught one right it was a dead easy JP.

[harry2]

1. US Machine from 1976

[tonkarentino]

What about some of the games on the early versions of multi-game machines? The jigsaw puzzle game who's name escapes me and the original word search which didn't last long but if you caught one right it was a dead easy JP.

Sadly quoting my own posts but the jigsaw game was called "Masterpiece" and was a right little earner for a while.

[tonkarentino]

1. US Machine from 1976

I played an American machine in a Blackpool arcade circa 1987. Failed miserably because the sport for example was all U.S. Football, Baseball, Ice Hockey based and NOT "What do the call the Toronto Ice Hockey team?"