That Arcade Guy

Last week I was contacted and asked if I could repair a non-working Ms Pac-Man cocktail table for somebody. They said it wouldn't even turn on when plugged in. So, I offered some quick advice over the phone about how he could get the machine powered up. He got it powered up and said there was nothing but garbage showing up on the monitor. I gave him a few different options as to the level of repairs that I could do... Whether it was a full restoration, just getting it fixed up so it works again, or cleaning it up and converting it to play more than just Ms Pac-Man.

He decided he would just get it back to working, and replace the broken glass top, since the rest of it was in pretty decent shape already, so he could sell it. So I figured, why not ask if I can just buy it from him as is!

We worked out a deal and I picked the game up over the weekend. After checking to be sure that all voltages were good, and that nothing was loose or out of place, I swapped out the PCB with another working one that I had sitting on the shelf already. (Doesn't everybody keep spare Ms Pac-Man PCBs in a box at home? LOL!)

As I dug into the machine, I noticed that it appeared to be always used in a home use only setting, not in an actual arcade. The cabinet's serial number and the serial number on the PCB matched up, and several parts inside that are usually swapped out or removed were still there!

A collector has already contacted me through another group that I'm in asking about getting it from me. So it will end up with them! I'll be holding on to it just a little while and enjoying it before getting it to its new home!