Brag: Turbo board game

[Originally posted to rec.games.video.classic.]

Today was half-price day at the local kids' sale. For those without kids, this is basically a giant consignment sale. A small group rents a space for a month, takes in pre-priced items from contributors, has volunteers help sort them and set up, and so on. The primary seller is kids' clothing, but there are also toys, books, baby items, etc.

Since most items come from parents of kids ages 0-12, it's usually not a hot spot to find classic video game stuff, although often there's some more modern games. Today I scored a 1982 Turbo board game in great shape and complete for $2. I didn't have this one, so it was a nice find.

I also picked up one of those Ms. Pac-Man TV Games by Jakks Pacific for $2. Someone had left the batteries in it until they leaked -- I didn't think these things had been around long enough for that to happen(!) -- but some Q-tips and vinegar took care of that. It works fine. This is the first of the arcade-based TV Games plug-and-plays I've spent any time playing. It's old news, but they did an okay job on it. The controls obviously aren't up to arcade standards, but the games are close enough to the real thing that the differences just nag at you a bit. (As opposed to the whole thing being so obviously something like an NES-on-a-chip that you want to retch.) Rotating the joystick to steer in Pole Position worked better than I thought it would.

It's been a long time. Nice to find something "new" again.