I remember the first time I noticed my dad squinting at his keyboard during our weekly gaming sessions. He has been a gamer since the early days of PC gaming, but around age 55, those quick glances down to find the right key started taking longer. His reaction times in our favorite strategy games slowed … Read more
Gaming doesn’t stop at age 65. I’ve watched my father and countless seniors continue to enjoy PC games well into their 70s and 80s. But there’s one problem that keeps coming up: standard keyboards become nearly impossible to use as vision naturally declines with age. The letters blend into the black keys, arthritis makes hitting … Read more
My partner and I share a single L-shaped desk for gaming, and for the first three months it looked like a tech recycling center exploded on the surface. Two sets of headsets tangled together, four monitor cables snaking across the middle, controllers everywhere, and zero personal space. That experience taught me that the best shared … Read more
Building or restoring an arcade cabinet? The wiring harness is the nervous system that connects your PCB to controls, monitor, speakers, and power. I have spent countless hours testing different JAMMA harnesses, and let me tell you, not all wiring kits are created equal. A cheap harness with thin wires can cause voltage drops, glitchy … Read more
Nothing transforms an arcade setup quite like a glowing marquee sign. I’ve spent weeks testing different lighting solutions for game rooms, and the difference between a well-lit arcade space and a dark corner is night and day. Whether you’re building a home arcade, upgrading an Arcade1Up cabinet, or adding retro flair to your gaming and … Read more
Building your own arcade cabinet is one of those projects that scratches a very specific itch. You get the satisfaction of creating something with your hands, plus a fully functional gaming machine at the end. But there is one detail that separates a basic MAME cabinet from something that feels like a real arcade machine: … Read more
Building a custom arcade stick opens up a world of personalized gaming experiences, but choosing the right PCB can make or break your project. After spending countless hours testing different boards and following the fighting game community for years, I can tell you that Brook Universal Fighting Boards consistently stand out as the go-to choice … Read more
Building your own fightstick is one of the most rewarding projects for fighting game enthusiasts. The heart of any custom arcade controller is the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) that translates your button presses and joystick movements into signals your console or PC can understand. After testing dozens of boards over the past three years, our … Read more
Building your own arcade controller is one of the most rewarding projects for any fighting game enthusiast. After spending over 40 hours testing and assembling different DIY fightstick enclosures, I can tell you that the right case makes all the difference between a frustrating build and a controller you will treasure for years. When I … Read more
Nothing beats the authentic feel of spinning a quality arcade spinner when playing classic games like Tempest or Arkanoid. After testing dozens of controllers over the past year, our team found that the right arcade spinner transforms retro gaming from a nostalgic novelty into a genuinely immersive experience. The satisfying weight of a metal knob, … Read more