Arcade Raid - Operation Lancaster

May 8, 2016 12:33 AM

I couldn’t believe all these games had been here and then one day in 1983 the ship was shut not to be opened again due to legal issues. These games saw year after year of summers and winters through the port holes, the sun rising, the sun setting, FOR THIRTY YEARS. They were just sitting there, unsure of their fate, wondering if they would be rescued, wondering if they would ever be played again.
posted by veedubya (16 comments total)

paging Artw, Artw to the Welsh nerd history thread
posted by mwhybark at 1:11 AM on May 8, 2016 [6 favorites]

The walk around video is like if you came across a 400 year old arcade while wandering around Fallout 4. I kept expecting to hear a Protectron arcade security bot talking to itself off in a corner somewhere.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 1:31 AM on May 8, 2016 [5 favorites]

Nice story!
posted by Harald74 at 1:44 AM on May 8, 2016

Nice story indeed. I think it rises to the level of a great yarn.
Thanks for posting.
posted by key_of_z at 1:46 AM on May 8, 2016

I kept expecting to hear a Protectron arcade security bot talking to itself off in a corner somewhere.

You just made me hear the clanking footfalls sound in my head. IN MY HEAD!
posted by rokusan at 2:05 AM on May 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

The reason the ship was beached was to get around the rule of no shops or trading to be open on a Sunday (as was the case back then). John Rowley the owner, in his brilliance, had found a loop hole – ships were not bound by this law, and the law did not state where the ship must be – whether it be at sea, at dock, or indeed beached on land – and thus the Fun Ship was born.

I love it.
posted by Mezentian at 2:20 AM on May 8, 2016 [9 favorites]

I saw the ship, by now covered with street art, from the train back from ATP in Prestatyn last year.
posted by acb at 2:47 AM on May 8, 2016

It's not really my thing but it's obvious to me that video game arcade machines like this are definitely worth saving for history. The challenge is making sure enough good, representative examples survive the "worthless old crap" stage and make it into the "valuable old thing" stage.
posted by LastOfHisKind at 6:15 AM on May 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

What a splendid tale. I used to repair slots and arcade games in the mid-80s (in a big shed in Dartmoor, whose owner later did time for counterfeiting US currency - who knows, there may still be a stash up there...). They're eminently repairable and restorable - very few custom chips, normally solid construction, with the exception of the CRT circuits which can be a bit second-rate but they're basically chunks of old television so very easy to replace.

I'd very much enjoy working on that sort of thing again, but don't have that particular collecting bug so I'm happy yo indulge my nostalgia vicariously through stories like this. Thatks!
posted by Devonian at 6:39 AM on May 8, 2016 [8 favorites]

30 years in relative safety and then
Since their last visit, people had been stealing the brass window frames form the outside of the ship to sell for scrap, which allowed the elements in for the first time.
Aaaaah, infuriating!
But it ended well, hooray!
posted by Glinn at 6:55 AM on May 8, 2016 [4 favorites]

I'm glad the crane worked better than the usual kind that you find in arcades.
posted by zamboni at 8:26 AM on May 8, 2016 [29 favorites]

> They're eminently repairable and restorable

The wet capacitors are the big problem, I've been told. I think I'd go the MAME route, philistine that I am.
posted by Leon at 9:42 AM on May 8, 2016

one day in 1983 the ship was shut

I always feel bad for people who make typos in FPPs.

*clicks through*

Holy ship!
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 11:07 AM on May 8, 2016

There's a lot to love about this article/discovery, but the fact that the machines were all of such early vintage is awesome.
posted by comealongpole at 11:49 AM on May 8, 2016

A derelict ship and an abandoned arcade? This is the best thing! I cannot understand how people can own AN ENTIRE ARCADE and not either sell it or spend every weekend just rubbing up against/playing the arcade cabinets. Maybe they had something even better to pass their time, like a mini golf course and bowling alley on a space station.
posted by Durhey at 5:53 PM on May 8, 2016 [5 favorites]

There's a small derelict amusement park in Central New York State called Sylvan Beach; it includes structures that are packed to the ceilings with old arcade games, dozens and dozens of them, many still operating as of two years ago. I often wonder what will become of them now that the structure housing them has been condemned, and hope that a similar rescue might happen before the elements move in and GAME OVER.
posted by kinnakeet at 8:11 PM on May 9, 2016