I’m not one to normally score the awesome Craigslist deals. I don’t get updates sent to my phone, I have a normal 8-5 job so I can’t leave to get deals at the drop of the hat, and lastly, I live farther outside metro Atlanta than most. Therefore, I was almost certain I had already missed out on a deal I saw first thing this morning and was reluctant to even send off an email. The ad was for four different items – one Williams Flash pinball machine, two counter top touch-screens, and one bartop Playchoice 10, for $300 each or all 4 for $1000. The ad clearly stated that the monitor worked, but there no games came up on the screen. The owner suggested that the power supply needed to be replaced.

I’ve had a bartop playchoice 10 before, but that wasn’t what I was interested in. I was actually interested in what came with the PC10. The ad listed about 15 games, “plus more”. When I got in touch with the owner, she said the game was still available, so I made an appointment and was totally shocked that she hadn’t sold it out from under me in the four hours that passed as I have had happen many times on Craigslist deals.

After speaking to the owner for a while, I learned that she actually worked at an amusement company in Norcross for many years. She was the customer service rep for the company that made “Pot o’ Gold” gaming machines. She said that her boss became enamored with playchoice 10 games, which made her interested too. He eventually got tired of them, so she bought out his remaining lot years ago. Upon inspection, the bartop PC10 was in great cosmetic shape, and performed as described – working monitor, but no game. I asked her where the games that came with it were and she pointed to a box. When I looked at the contents, my jaw dropped:

In the box were games upon games. Some boxed, some loose, some sealed – simply amazing.  I asked her how much she wanted for them, just to be sure. When she confirmed she only wanted $300 for the bartop and ALL the games, I quickly agreed. The owner was in the process of moving, so she asked if I’d possibly be interested in any of the other stuff. I said I’d look at the pinball machine. She said that she’s been getting calls about that all morning long, but most people wanted to low ball her. The Flash has some serious ball swirls, but no bare wood on the playfield. It just give GI and won’t start a game, so I’m guessing battery acid damage to the boards – we’ll see.  Since she said she’d sell all her stuff for a grand, I asked if she’d do half of it for $500 – bundling the PC10, the cartridges, and the Flash pinball together. We shook on it, and as I loaded the stuff up she looked relieved to be getting rid of it before the move. I even ended up picking up some parts she threw in for an extra $20 (a working 9″ monitor and some NOS power supplies). I loaded up my pickup, thanked her kindly, and drove away grinning ear to ear.

I knew I had hit the Playchoice 10 mother load, but it wasn’t until I got home and could inspect the contents of “mystery box” that I learned just how much I scored. I thought I was lucky enough to score two sealed new old stock (NOS) cartridges, but as I kept digging I realized that even though some boxes had handwriting on them, they were still sealed. When it was all said and done, I counted TWELVE sealed NOS games, and THIRTY-TWO other games – most of which still had their box and even their toppers. Here’s the full list of games:

NOS

• 1942 x 2
• Punch Out
• Super Mario
• Captain Skyhawk
• Rescue Rangers
• TMNT 2
• Tecmo Bowl
• Excitebike
• Rockin Kats
• Golf
• Pro Wrestling

Boxed or Loose:

• Rad Racer 2 x3
• Solar Jetman
• Golf
• World Cup x2
• Excitebike
• Mario’s Open Golf
• Captain Sky Hawk
• R.C. Pro Am
• Tennis
• Tecmo Bowl
• Double Dragon
• Baseball Stars
• Rockin Kats
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Mega Man 3
• Dr. Mario x2
• Rygar
• Fester’s Quest
• Mike Tyson’s Punchout
• Rescue Rangers
• Super C
• Duck Hunt
• Super Mario Bros 3
• Contra
• Hogan’s Alley
• Wild Gunman
• Power Blade
• Volleyball

I have not been able to test any of these yet, but in my experience PC10 carts suffer a VERY low fail rate, so I am extremely hopeful that most (if not all) will work. Also, I haven’t been able to test the power supply to the countertop, but I would expect that to be the main problem as well.

All in all, I am elated. I sometimes think I love scoring a good parts deal more than I do a complete game. Seeing stuff survive from the 80′s that has never been opened is so cool. What am I going to do with all this you’re probably asking, right? Well, I think I’ll test them first, trade my duplicates to fill out my collection, and then probably ebay much of the lot. I look forward to seeing how high some of these NOS ones go as I’ve never seen them before. Thanks for letting me show off for a bit. I’m coming back down to Earth now.