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For decades our planet was bombarded with alien technology. While appearing to be an abacus under the influence of LSD, this complex device was actually a form of abacus for calculating the event horizon and energy alignment threshold for opening transport wormholes throughout the galaxy. Wormholes are, of course, directional, so to [...]
“In my day we didn’t have laptops and smarty phones. You read a newspaper and ignored your kids like a normal person!” Well played, cranky old man. Well played indeed. I cannot possibly imagine why this failed to catch on. One may note that Hasbro did not revive this particular product when they purchased Kenner in 1991. 
Pinball! Truly, it has to be a lost gaming art. My primary experience with pinball was the old XP 3-D Pinball, which I was about as good at as real pinball, which is to say not very. At least it did not cost any quarters, and was a means to wile away the slow moments at work. Since pinball is still celebrated in some parts, lets watch¹ a little salute to some sweet machines from not so long ago! 
Good morning everyone, and happy Saturday. Today I would like to tell you all a story, a story of a place where children once went to spend many a Saturday of youth. That place was called the arcade, and it was filled to the brim with all sorts of fantastic video games encased in big cabinets. Now this story isn’t about the arcade, per say, I am not here to lament its loss exactly, but about the games themselves. In recent years I have been to some establishments that traditionally held an arcade–a pizza parlor perhaps, or bowling alley–and it seems that there do indeed still exist those places of gaming. No, the question is, what ever has become of those cabinet based arcade games? 
In high school I had a friend who was the hobby guy. I imagine that most people have known a hobby guy–someone who has managed to start and semi-capably maintain a ridiculous number of hobbies. Well, this guy was into sailing, VW vans, snowboarding, and RC airplanes. Likely there were others as well that I am missing, but those are the ones that I remember. As one with an interest in flying, I had always found RC airplanes to be an intriguing way to fly without flying at a young age, but handing around him I quickly discovered that it was no cheaper than taking actual flying lessons, neither of which I could afford. Not without dumping all my available funds into that hobby, instead of into the sweet El Camino I was rolling around in. In this ad from a 1960 Boys’ Life magazine, we see the BIG u-control B-25 model from Aurora. I don’t know if the model was designed to be remotely operated, or with a tether, but I do know that it was powered by twin .060 Tornado engines. And it was so aerodynamically perfect that it could fly on one engine! 
Once that delicious bowl of Chocolate Frosted Sugar bombs gave you not just a nutritionally valuable part of a balanced breakfast, but also a new toy for hours of entertaining fun! Perhaps you were able to dig your hand in straight away and play while you ate, or maybe you had the strict parents that wouldn’t let you at the toy until it plopped out in the bowl one morning. Either way, the prize was likely one of the prime reasons for buying that box. 
How would you like to design your own planes, without all that pesky mess about an engineering degree and being certified and blah, blah, blah? Well the Pyro Company has just the thing for you! In this ad from a 1960 Boys’ Life magazine, see just what you can do with this set. Using the “Design-A-Matic” computer and the interchangeable kit components, design and build over 4000 different jet fighter aircraft. Even validated by the ultimate authority, the Remington Rand Univac Division of the Sperry Rand Corporation! Click to see the large verison! How many have you played, and what was the monetary damage?
Image from nerdcore.
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