As lockdown restrictions started to lift, we decided to go on another HoliRaid. I was in talks with this particular Op before the lockdown, and it was great to finally pay him a visit.
Our base was Skipsea Sands Holiday Park in East Yorkshire. My children had hardly left the house for weeks, so it was a nice change of scenery for them. As we drove through the site to our caravan, I spied an old abandoned arcade by the cliff edge.
Green Lane, a road which ran along the coast is no more due to erosion of the soft clay coast line. We wondered if the arcade was hastily abandoned and if anything was left inside. As much as I wanted to go and explore, I’d have to save that adventure for another day!
The site however did have an arcade. It was the usual modern arcade, mostly redemption games, but there were a few modern games. We enjoyed a couple of credits on Sega Rally 3 DLX. Admittedly it’s not my favourite entry in the series, but I’ve warmed to it over the years. It’s not one you see very often these days, and I like that the classic tracks are selectable.
The next day it was up bright and early for the Raid!
On the faded sign outside you can just make out ‘Suppliers of….. Video Games.’ We had arrived!
Upon entering the building, I spied Crazy Taxi, Virtua Cop 3 and some pinball tables.
The arcade machines looked in really good condition. The Virtua Cop 3 Upright cab is not one you see very often. The Op mentioned that he still uses these for events, weddings etc.
I then went up to the first floor. There was quite a mixture of stuff here. Pinball tables and play fields, pool table balls and spares, old juke boxes, records and CD’s.
However most exciting for me was the shelfs full of PCB’s!
The boards had sat on the shelf for twenty years, and sadly all the cabs they were pulled from were scrapped. The cabs used to be sited in pubs.
The test rig. Note the boards below.
The Op pretty much left me to my own devices, and I started checking through and identifying the boards. More on this later.
I then ventured into the basement.
This was a bit of an Aladdin’s cave, featuring various arcade machines, juke boxes, pinball tables and quiz machines.
The Op told me that back in the day he was buying Space Invader cabs new for £995. After one week they had paid for themselves, and it was clear profit.
Monitors stashed below the stairs.
I spent most of my time there sorting through the PCB’s, putting the ones I was interested in to one side, which was about ninety percent! The games ranged from the early eighties to mid-nineties. The quality ratio was very, very high, and it was pretty much just a few football and golf games I left behind. Konami GX061 aka Golfing Greats I’m looking at you! I’ve got nothing against Golfing Greats. It’s not a bad game, and I’ve got one in my collection. However it’s the one game you can guarantee to find multiples of on Raids. I don’t recall seeing it that often back in the day, but this could just be because it didn’t interest me. I imagine it may have appealed to older audiences in pubs.
Amongst the pile I found a board labelled ‘Nemsis.’ Sounds like a dodgy bootleg!
Later that evening in the caravan, I unwrapped the board and was amazed to find the mintiest mint Nemesis board. This is up there with my best Raid pick ups and is definitely a keeper.
A Data East board had me intrigued. It was labelled ‘Strange Football,’ and I was on the fence about taking it. I’m really glad I did as it turned out to be Nitro Ball, an amazing looking shooter, reminiscent of Smash TV, but in a vertical orientation. I’d never heard of this game before.
This version of Commando is another oddity I picked up. The ROMs are labelled SP, and it turns out the game is Space Invasion. This is a special version of the game made specifically for the West German market. It’s based on the World version and replaces the human soldiers with aliens. I never knew this existed. Making new discoveries like this and finding new games is definitely one of the awesome aspects of Raids.
Other highlights include 1942, Circus Charlie, Ghosts’N Goblins, Shinobi. Slap Fight, Space Invaders DX, The Newzealand Story, Thunder Dragon and Trojan.
A lot of boards had dipswitch settings sheets attached to them. During the rummage we came across bundles of board and monitor manuals as well as some art.
As I was sorting through the boards, I had some company. It wasn’t the first time I’ve had some dog drama on a Raid!
The boards were sold as untested and prices reflected this.
I don’t think he was very happy with me taking the boards away!
The boot fully loaded, plus a few additions I’d picked up at the awesome Sore Thumbs video game shop in York. The car passenger seat was stacked up with boards as well, and once again I had to make the journey home by train. It definitely pays to have an understanding wife when going on Raids!
I said bye to the family and waited for the bus to Bridlington. I had some time in hand and so ventured down to the abandoned arcade.
On the side of the building facing the sea, boards had been placed against the window from inside. I could just about see above the boards. Also ‘Pizza coming soon’ had been inscribed onto the window from the inside, and I peered through the letters.
To my disappointment the building was pretty much empty, except for a Coca-Cola fridge and a Walls ice cream chest. These places fascinate me. I wondered what machines the arcade had and tried to imagine the cacophony of electronic beeps and the sounds of people having fun. I had another look round the building, and as I took some pictures I saw large rain drops appear on my phone screen. Moments in time and rain, reminds me of the ending of a certain sci-fi classic. The rain became heavier, but fortunately I could see my bus pulling up at the stop. It was time to say good bye to this old arcade and Skipsea Sands and head home.
