After taking an extended break to focus on collecting classic computers and game consoles (photos and descriptions coming soon) and writing some Wii homebrew, I have begun to resume my classic arcade collecting and restoration efforts.

Some of the games that I have recently acquired and/or restored include: Asteroids, Defender, Space Ace, and Space Duel.

My goal is to have descriptions for all of my games posted within the next couple of weeks. Also, going forward I plan to do a much better job of updating the status of my current restoration projects.

Wow, I haven't posted anything to this Blog for a very, very long time. Well, I finally got around to posting pictures of the Classic Gaming Expo 2005 that we attended last year in San Francisco. You can check out the photo album here.

The show itself was great. I have attended California Extreme in the past, but never CGE. It was great to see all of the old console and handheld systems. The guest speakers were also top notch. Unfortunately, they are not going to have a show this year, so I guess its back to Cali Extreme.

The search is finally over, I have found my holy grail. People have often asked me, if you could have any game, what would it be? My answer has always been the same, "Star Wars". Not only does it bring back great memories of the movies I loved as a kid. But, it reminds me of playing it at the Rose Moyer theater while waiting for my movie to start seating.

I couldn't believe it when I happened upon one at a garage sale. The video had stopped working, so I got a great (really great) deal on it. After installing a "deluxe" monitor kit from Bob Roberts, a LV2000, and resoldering all of the joints, I now have a fully functional Star Wars.

I have posted some pictures of it. I still have to make some minor adjustements to the monitor to correct some convergence issues. But, after luckily stumbling upon this game, I truly feel, "the force is with me".

A couple of months ago I picked up a Dragon's Lair cabinet that had been converted into a Cobra Command. Unfortunately, it was the JAMMA version, not the Laser Disc one I was hoping for. Worse yet, was the fact that they tweaked the orientation of the monitor. At any rate, I have started collecting parts for converting it back.

The only parts that I need to complete the cabinet hardware are the monitor plexiglass, the monitor bezel, and the marquee rails. As for electronics, I currently only have the scoreboard and the monitor. My goal is to get the cabinet back into shape and then start hunting down the rest of the electronics.

I can't wait to play Dragon's Lair again on a real cabinet. I will never forget the first time I saw it. It was during a vacation with my family in Hawaii when I was 10 years old. All the sun, beaches, etc. took a far second to attempting to guide Dirk to the Dragon's Lair.

I will be creating a gallery shortly to record the progress of the restoration. This is a quest I can't wait to start...

This weekend our local retrocade Ground Kontrol will be hosting a portion of the interstate high-score championship titled the Classic Video Game Championships Across America. Competitors are going to try for record-breaking scores and win listings in Twin Galaxies' forthcoming Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records.

I for one, will definitely be attending this weekend. In addition to checking out the competition, it will give me a chance to satisfy the vector urge I have been having lately. Ground Kontrol has a ton of vector games: Star Wars, StarCastle, Asteroids, Tempest, etc. I will take some pictures and post them in a new gallery soon.

Some of the games that people will be competing for titles on include Asteroids, Galaga, Missile Command, Space Invaders and 720.