I’m Buzzed: PAC-MAN Tables Are God’s Gift To Earth and AirBnbs

I’m writing this blog from a beautiful ski chalet in New Hampshire exclusively because Tiggy’s gonna owe me another beer after I do so. Also I’ve had a few and the thoughts are just flowing, so instead of doing what I typically do when I drink and run my mouth until my wife scolds me, I’m turning it into a blog.

PAC-MAN. You know it, you love it. And so do I. This cozy Airbnb has a PAC-MAN cabinet that we’ve been obsessed with, and so it’s got me reminiscing.

In 4th grade, I lived walking distance from a small, rocky lakeside beach for a few years that was pretty much always vacant unless it was peak rental season, but we lived there all year round. On that beach was a small snack shack that had closed years before we moved in. 

One day, I caught a glimpse of the shack owner going inside to grab something out of storage, and immediately noticed numerous arcade cabinets inside. This wasn’t just some snack stand, it used to be a full fledged arcade. 

Holy shit, right?

I sprinted over to the beach chairs to ask my parents if they would ask the guy if we could try out the machines. To hear my dad tell it back then, the land owner was “a fucking prick”, and would say no if we asked. So I did what any logical 8 year old would do, and I asked him myself. I don’t think my parents were stoked, but I got to go inside and play PAC-MAN, Donkey Kong Jr., and the original Mario Bros. to my heart’s content. I was enthralled with those horribly unkempt cabinets, and they became all I thought about even though I had way more modern games at home.

Unfortunately, I only got to do that like two more times before we never saw that guy come to the beach again, presumably having sold it off. I tried prying the padlocked doors open just enough to sneak in a few times, but I couldn’t get back in. 

Anyway, flash forward two decades and arcade cabinets have never been more accessible or affordable. I’ve been in like 38 bars and four AirBnbs that had a PAC-MAN cabinet, and this one I’m staying in this weekend is among that count. It currently has the fellas in an absolute STRANGLEHOLD, as we continuously restart the game over and over to try and beat each others scores, screaming at 8-bit ghosts and probably waking up our sleeping kids in the process.

So long story short, god bless our troops, god bless America, and gentlemen, start that fucking PAC-MAN cabinet up again.