Aladdin's Castle
Laurel Mall - Hazleton, PA (July 1987)
Aladdin's Castle was one of my very favorite places in the world. I played my very first video games here. Unlike many parents, my dad and my grandpa didn't just stand me up in front of the demo screen to pretend to play. They would give me a dollar or two in tokens and let me play the games. My dad tells me that he once blended in to a group of college kids who formed a crowd to watch me play Discs of Tron. Apparently, I was pretty decent for a kindergartner.
For my seventh birthday, Nana gave me a party here. For a few hours, my elementary school friends and I ate pizza and cake, drank soda and played some video games while my grandpa snapped these photos (click here to see more).
The arcade closed in the early 90's, but these pictures help me remember the wood paneling, the faux brick walls, and the games that we now look back on as retro. I wasn't able to tell what all of the machines are in these pictures, but I was able to identify the following:
- Birdie King
- PlayChoice 10 (featuring 1942, The Goonies and Pro Wrestling)
- Galaga
- Galaga 3
- Legendary Wings
- Rampage
- Rush N' Attack
- Karate Champ
- Crossbow (out of order)
- Elevator Action
- Sinistar
- Raven (pinball)
- Cybernaut (pinball)
- Gold Wings (pinball)
- Ms. Pac Man
- Pac Land
- Discs of Tron
- Speed Buggy
- Sega Turbo
- Pole Position
- Ring King
