Like to play pinball? like arcade games? Have the reflexes of a bat? you should check out these folks then.

Chicago Gaming is a company I have been familiar with for a very long time; it’s owners have become my friends. The products are robust, fun to play, and made in America from predominantly American parts. The games are just as you remember them, and yes, you can buy those games for your PC, but you don’t get the “real” arcade quality controls.

No, I don’t get any discounts. No, I don’t get any kickbacks, no, I don’t get paid to plug them here. They’re good people and their products are awesome.

One product, in particular, is a pinball machine. Pinball is cool, and the machines are awesome, but if you buy one, especially an old one, it;’s likely to go to shit in your family room. The contacts wear out or get corroded, and the game might just stop in the middle of play. This pinball is an extremely well made piece of equipment, and all of the pieces that can fail have been replaced by user-serviceable printed circuit boards. All the mechanical switches that were subject to failure have been replaced by photoeyes. Unlike a “classic” game, you can play this until you tire of it, then ignore it in a damp basement for a couple years, then go back to it and play it again, and it’ll WORK, because there are no contacts to corrode in the dampness. I’ve played these games, and even though they’re not hugeley complex like some of the ‘classic” games, it’s still a riot to play, and again, it’ll run and run and run. The game is dissassembled here for you to see that it’s cleanly built, and the article about Doug and the guy who helped design the game, Harold Washington, is telling of the type of equipment it is.

Go check the stuff out. It’ll be available at places like Costco, so you can go see them and play them for yourself, the Nicktoons racing is a lot of fun for kids.

These items are not cheap, but neither are they cheaply made; the cabinets are tough as nails and the components have been selected for long durability. I don’t talk about products that are crap, and these aren’t. If you have some disposable income, get one of the arcade legends games and throw it in your rec room- they make a standup and also a table version which can be made to fit any room. If you don’t have the disposable income, watch for the Nicktoons Racing at your local shopping center, sit down, and drop a quarter in in support of an American Company which is making it in today’s business climate.