I’m sure a lot of our readers have fond memories of “The Last Starfighter” movie. I can remember wishing there was a Last Starfighter Machine that I could play. After many years, it seems like my dream has come true thanks to folks at roguesynapse.com. Not only can you play the same game that was in the movie but they also have instructions to made your very own Last Starfighter Arcade Cabinet. Too bad it’s outside my skill set to do so. At least I can still play the game. Got to practice if I want to be recruited by the Star League to defend the Frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan armada.

[Make Mag]

What could make playing arcade cabinet games better?

Until now I didn’t know the answer to that question. Luckily it’s been answered for me: an arcade cabinet and Kegerator combo machine. This is, literally, the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.

The cabinet comes pre-loaded with over 180 classic games and also has the ability to hook up virtually any system to it via different adapters. It will run you a nice chunk of change, but tell me this thing wouldn’t be worth it.

Full details and games list on the greatest eBay auction of all time.

Back in the 80s all ladies didn’t dress like a “sexy _____________” and all kids needed was a plastic sheet with a dangerous mask for a costume. Eventually cheap labor skill got better and politicians raised a stink about the masks and now we have more elaborate (and expensive) costumes that you can only buy at the nomadic store Halloween Adventure. retroCRUSH makes sure we don’t forget our past:

Videogames were certainly popular, but some of these costumes just defy explanation. Though I can imagine Link would be a fun outfit for many, the Asteroids costume is one of the all time weirdest ones ever made. Though the simulated Atari cartridge box is pretty cool, I have to admit. As I wrote in my WORST HALLOWEEN COSTUMES article years ago, “I suspect that “Mommy I want to be Atari’s Asteroids Game for Halloween” was only slightly less creepy for parents to hear than, “Mommy, I just chopped up Fido with a shovel and had sex with his face!”

I give you the “Super Snake Arcade” costume.

Seriously, think of all the puns and double entendres this costume will allow you to get away with? Everything from the obvious “play with my joystick” to the more subtle “why don’t you check the coin return slot?” and all the variations in-between.

Or you could always start every conversation with “Anyone want to see me move this joystick without using my hands?” Guaranteed to have girls swooning. Gua-Ran-Teed!

And lucky day, Amazon has it marked DOWN to $49.99! For that price I better buy two and keep one on reserve

[Thanks Spencer]

I’ve never been much for buttons. This whole resurgence of button culture has always seemed too hip and with it for an old fart like myself. After seeing this little bad boy on Etsy I think that’s all about to change. That’s right kiddies — I’m having my midlife crisis, and I’m all about reclaiming my youth through the use of strategically placed buttons. (And yes, you can have a midlife crisis at 26 when you put your body through as much McDonald’s as I do).

There are a ton of cool buttons over on Etsy from a number of different sellers — just pop “nintendo buttons” “game buttons” or some similar variation into the search. You’ll come up with a mountain of pokey-pinny goodness. And just remember BBPSer’s, Christmas is right around the corner and the handmade goods on Etsy can make for some amazingly unique gifts. Plus you’ll be helping fund hobbyists directly, which is something I’m sure we can all identify with.

So in college I had this parking scam going. You see to park on the school’s lot you needed 2 tokens, and 14 tokens cost you 20 bucks. So essentially every seven days you had to pay $20 to park at school. This was a lot for a kid like me (I needed that money for booze, cigarettes and video games).

One day at this driving range/arcade I noticed the tokens were the same exact size as the parking tokens, only they cost 4 for a dollar. Huzzah! Now parking cost me 3 bucks every week instead of $20.

Of course I suppose they eventually caught on that a ton of tokens were coming in with a golfer on them instead of the school’s logo, a few semesters later you had to hand the tokens to a person and not just feed them into a machine. Foiled! Oh well, it was real nice while it lasted.

Only downside was looking like an idiot walking into the arcade and walking out with a semesters worth of tokens in my pockets.

Why do I bring this up? Because there’s a story over at the Consumerist explaining how you can save money on arcade tokens by bidding on them on eBay, and it made me think of it. God I wish there were still decent arcades around, and not Dave and Buster’s.