Friday, November 12, 2010

Arcade Mystery Games

We went to Golf N Games in Antioch, California today to take in some miniature golf. We haven't done so since we moved back to California over a year ago and I tell you--it was good to be back. There aren't a lot of outdoor activities where little kids and adults can truly hang out, play and socialize on a somewhat balanced level. Miniature golf is the great leveler. Some kids are killer players. Some can barely keep the ball on the carpet. Some adults can get the ball up the ramp and into the barn-like structure every time (ahem). Others might have trouble making that final putt to make par (ahem, ahem). It all tends to even out.

And next door, there's always an arcade. I got a little fascinated with the modernity of the games. It's very casino-like these days. They even have those token-pusher games with the little shovels sliding the tokens almost but not quite toward you. A little scary. A group of gamers worked very hard to make these as appealing to children as possible, yet somewhat mysterious, like a Star Trek apparatus, waiting to be decoded. I have trouble figuring out games. I just don't have the will. I tend to be the person over in the corner playing pinball. See if you can decipher the secret codes of these games from the photos. Next time we visit, we'll make time for go karts.









Of course, it wouldn't be much of an arcade without people. And electricity.

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