Let's have a very informal discussion about games for next year's BOTA, just to see what people would like to see. Now that we've had three BOTA events we're gonna have to think outside the box a bit to keep things fresh. I know there are about 20 games that are huge favorites of most in the hobby, but BOTA will get stale if we play the same games every year.
I'll start...
Arabian - Underplayed and underappreciated gem. Make sure it is the Atari ROM set that was used in the arcade version in the U.S. and not the easier Sun Electronics version. That way people can compare their scores to what's on the books for this arcade title.
Black Widow - Let's give
Robotron a breather for a year and bring in this alternate, dual 8-way scorcher. I think it would be a great BOTA game. Very tough and most games won't last terribly long. I'd love to see someone do an hour on this one but I seriously doubt it will happen.
Bagman - We need at least one game that kicks people in the nuts. Stern ROM set only, not the Valadon Automation one. Stern set was used in U.S. arcade version.
Star Wars - Can't believe we've gone three BOTAs and haven't had this one yet.
Empire Strikes Back would be a great BOTA game but we should save that one for a future BOTA and do
Star Wars first.
Krull - Underappreciated dual 8-way game. Would take some discussion about how to define and enforce straight-up play, as there are a few different leeching possibilities here and no time limit. Also, may be hard for all sites to source, and it is not on any xx-in-1.
OutRun - We need a driving game and we've already had
Pole Position twice and
Pole Position II once. Time to give this classic its due. Perfect contest game, as ties in scores will be non-existent and the longest game will be maybe 6-1/2 minutes max. Also, it's a fairly common cab.
Punch-Out!! - One hour time limit.
Super Punch-Out!! would be even better, but it's fairly hard to come by compared to
Punch-Out!!Tutankham - Stern ROM set that was used in the U.S. arcade version. Fairly tough game so I'd expect only a few really high scores.
Congo Bongo - One hour time limit since this is patternable, but with only four lives consistency will be rewarded. We need a DK-like platformer but don't need any more of the DK series for a while. And we need more bitching about isometric 3D.
It's on the 60-in-1 but you'd need an 8-way stick. I've tried playing this on my 60-in-1 cab with a 4-way and it's awkward to say the least. I do own a dedicated
Congo Bongo now.
Ladybug - Underrated and fun game, IMO. It's on the 60-in-1.
Pooyan - Arcade cabs are fairly rare but it's on the 60-in-1. A guy in my local collectors' group owns a dedicated one.
Mr. Do! -
Dig Dug alternative that is on the 60-in-1.
So for those paying attention, yes, these are all titles I have in my home arcade. There is a slight possibility I will be hosting the Pacific Northwest team next year, so this is my wish list based on what I can easily provide. I may be able to borrow titles from my local collectors' group (SMAC). That discussion is for later if it comes to pass.
I want to hear other people's suggestions. Keep in mind that BOTA rules currently state that at least 8 of the 12 games must be dedicated PCBs, while the remaining 4 can be made up of MAME cabs or xx-in-1 cabs.
