Page 23 - OSG Presents Classic Gamer Magazine #6

W W from Connecticut and we didn't have any What’s your

ay back in 1999, my friend Lon and I
arcades around my hometown, so Funspot
made a “guy” trip to beautiful Las Ve-
CGM:
gas, Nevada to experience the CG
was quite an experience for me.
Expo for the first time. Here was our

Mecca! We were oooing and ahhhing over the Back then we had several outdoor attrac- favorite game?
tions here: The Indian Village, Storybook For-
marvelous exhibits and treasures we saw and est, and we owned the go-cart track across the GV: That's a tough one. I've seen so many
bought there. The classic gamers, exhibitors, street along with another arcade that used to be games over the years that it's difficult to pick
and celebrities were all wonderful, so if you have- next to the cart track. Outdoor attractions proved to just one. I went through a Donkey Kong Jun-
n’t been yet, try and go this year! be too labor intensive and the season wasn't long ior faze in the late 80's; now I seem to be
While competing in the Twin Galaxies’ Hydro enough to make it feasible so we slowly phased reverting back to anything made before
Thunder Tournament, tucked away in a corner of out that aspect of our business. I originally started 1986. I think I'm getting stuck in a time warp!
the CG Expo conference room, I met a gentle- on the prize counter/slot car counter. Back in those I get excited when I unearth an old black and
man named Gary Vincent. He said he worked white game from the 70's. It sure is amazing
at a family entertainment center in New Hamp- how games have evolved since then.
shire called Funspot. I had never heard of it Evolved, yes, but did they get any better?
before and asked him to tell me more about it. That question will always spark a heated
Funspot houses the largest collection of classic debate amongst players.
arcade games in the world and hosts the an-
nual Funspot-Twin Galaxies International Clas- CGM: How did Funspot get started and how
sic Videogame and Pinball Tournament. I was has it changed over the years?
intrigued and promised I would come out and
visit him. GV: Funspot started in 1952 on the second
This past October, I kept the promise by floor of the Tarlson building on Weirs Beach.
dragging my wife to the East Coast for “my” Bob had an indoor miniature golf with coin
vacation (another story unto itself). We arrived operated games lining the walls around it.
in New Hampshire as the fall colors were fad- Games such as Knock-out Fighters, Chicken
ing to brown, but there were still large areas Sam and Goalee were in the original loca-
where the trees were aflame with red, yellow, tion. I'm sure there aren't too many people
orange and violet. The weather was perfect who remember those! Back in '52, Funspot
and I was on vacation! What more could I was called The Weirs Sports Center. When
want? Getting to Funspot and putting my hands days we had a huge slot car track in the middle of Bob and his brother John purchased the
on some classic games of course! the game room. It took up about a third of the floor property we're on now in 1964, they
When we finally arrived, I fought off the urge space then! Funspot was only one floor at that changed the name to Funspot. At the open-
to make a mad dash through the front doors and time. In 1982, we opened another Funspot in Am- ing of the new Funspot in 1964, we had the
go screaming down the halls to where the games herst, NH and I went there to be the Assistant miniature golf and about 30 games. The
were (as I would have done long ago!). Instead, Manager. I returned to the Weirs Beach location in original building is still here, we just kept
like a proper adult, I calmly escorted my wife in 1988. We could see the writing on the wall in the adding onto it! If you happen to be in our
and walked around the facility, taking in all the late 80's and sold off all our remote locations and restaurant, take a close look, the seating
sights and sounds. I couldn’t put my finger on expanded the original Weirs Beach site to the size area for the restaurant is the original building
anything in particular, but suddenly something it is today. We felt the area needed a large attrac- we started with in 1964.
took me back over twenty-five years to another tion like Funspot so we went for it. Through the
family entertainment center I frequented. I can’t years I worked my way up through the ranks to the CGM: If Funspot is the 2nd largest arcade in
describe how excited I was, seeing rows of oh- position I have now, Operations Manager. I work America, who is the largest?
so-familiar video games beckoning me to insert closely with Bob Lawton, the owner of Funspot.
coins. GV: Presently, the largest arcade
After an awesome tour of the facil- in the world according to Twin
ity and a great visit with Gary, he gra- Galaxies is Grand Prix in Dania,
ciously agreed to do an interview for Florida. They have about 1,000
this article: games there. What sets us apart
from them is our collection of clas-
Classic Gamer Magazine: Gary, sic games. I remember the first
please tell us a little about yourself and time Walter Day came here and
how you got started with Funspot. saw what we had. "This is the
largest collection of classic games
Gary Vincent: I started at Funspot in I've seen still running in an ar-
the summer of 1981. My family used to cade,” he said. At this time, about
come to the Lakes Region of New 125 of our 500 games are pre-
Hampshire every year for vacation and 1986.
Funspot was always a "must see"
while there. We stopped coming for CGM: What are some of the high-
about 6 years or so and then I started lights from last year's (2000) Fun-
coming on my own. Well, one summer spot-Twin Galaxies tournament?
(1981), Funspot ran short on help
since all the college students left ear- GV: Last year's tournament was a
lier than expected, so I was ap- blast! The players are great and
proached about working the rest of the the atmosphere is second to
summer. I was hooked! I was originally none. Where else can you get
Classic Gamer Magazine Spring 2001 23