If you read below the news update on 11/20/08 you will see that the Post Office viciously destroyed a glass bezel that I purchased for my Bump N Jump . When I say destroyed, it was like in a million pieces. I mean, did they play frisbee with it in the back office? Or kick the box around in a nice friendly game of soccer. Unfortunately, we will never know.

I was lucky enough to located another one which was sent to me via UPS. Apparently UPS knows what they are doing because I received this one in one piece.

It also helps if you have a seller who knows how to pack fragile items properly. I installed it in my Bump N Jump and as you can see the artwork for this machine is now complete. The colors pop, and it just.... looks beautiful.

Folks, if you are shipping something fragile then DO NOT use the post office.

Q*bert is one of my all time favorite games. It was the game I could last the longest on for a quarter, sometimes from 20 to 30 minutes. That's pretty good for a 10 year old. The first chance I got I picked up my own Q*bert to relive all those memories.

Now I heard about multi kits made specifically for Q*bert, allowing you to run other rare and prototype Q*bert games on the same hardware. The multi Q*bert kits had a short run back in 2006, but no more were to be had... until now. The creators made a limited run on these kits and I was on the bandwagon to get one of my own. Right before Thanksgiving I received my prize and installed it soon afterwards.

The multi Q*bert allows you to run the following games:

(1) Q*bert
(2) Q*bert Qubes
(3) Faster Harder More Challenging Q*bert (prototype)
(4) Insector
(5) Curveball
(6) Mello Yellow Q*bert
(7) 7-11 Q*bert(prototype)
(8) Tylz(prototype)

Click here to go to the Q*bert
page for more photos.

Most arcade games have a setting to turn on or off the attract sounds for a games. This is the sound that plays when a game is not being played. The theory is that these sounds will attract you to a game, and tempt you into coughing up a quarter to see what it is about. Now Spy Hunter is a great game, and its Peter Gunn theme song is fantastic. However, Spy Hunter is no exception when it comes to default attract sounds.

In a private gameroom, I like to have my games on for ambience but can do without the constant noise in the background. I have all the attract sounds turned off but on this new Spy Hunter there was not a setting in the manuals to do this. I finally stumbled upon the setting to turn this off and have documented it here for anyone else with this problem.

Please note the aterisk is the default setting and Dip Switch #1 actually has 10 settings. The first two are shown below.

Dip Switch 1 - Located at B3 on Sound I/O P.C. Board		1	2
Game Timer	100	on
	130 *	off
Attract Sounds	Off		off
	On *		on

From the previous post I had went to an auction recently and saw a Spy Hunter, one of the last few must-have games on my list. This one I wasn't going to let go.

I was the first bidder on the item and counter offered within seconds anyone else bidding on it. I was determined, and determination paid off. I won this Spy Hunter, and brought this baby home.

This gem is now all shopped out and all problems have been fixed. She is now a shining beauty in The Basement Arcade. Click here to read more about it.

Yesterday was a Super Auctions saturday. That means arcade games galore. You bid, they bid, it all depends on how bad you want any particular game. There were so many classics at this auction, and so little space for anyone who collects them. The collecting hobby has been good to me. I have managed to get most games on my top 10 list.

A game that has eluded me was hit #2. That game is a Spy Hunter. The driving, the shooting, the Peter Gunn theme music. All 80's kids remember Spy Hunter. So when I get to this Super Auctions I see hit #2 on my list. Do you see it? Count 5 games to the left in the picture. Spy Hunter - Captured (More to come)

What you are looking at here was a near perfect Bump N Jump bezel that I bought from a fellow collector to finish off my new Bump N Jump game. This can only be explained by the fact that last friday was soccer friday for the United States Post office, and they decided to use my package as the ball. Unacceptable.

When I opened my box, dug through the package popcorn and opened the package wrap, this is what I saw. Every piece in there is the size of a pea. No large chunks, the post office certainly did a thorough job. WOW. I'm speechless.

The package did have insurance on it, but how do you replace a 25 year old item? I can't go to Wal-mart and buy another one. {Shaking my head in disbelief}

After a bit of a headache and a bit of a seller mixup, the Uniwars game is now sold. Hopefully it will get a little more love than I was willing to give to it. That precious floor space has to be reserved for a Star Wars or Spy Hunter. In the end I can't save them all.

Proceeds of the last 2 games have gone to fix up the Bump 'n' Jump, the reason I picked up the Craigslist haul in the first place.

One of the games I picked up in the Craigslist haul has been sold to a fellow collector. It certainly is a nice little jamma cab so it will go to a good home. Space is at a premium lately, so its great to claim it back.

The Uniwars seems to have a board issue that I was unaware so I will see if it can get fixed. If not, I'll either part it out or put a multi-board in it for the Christmas holiday sales.