# Anyone remember this arcade game? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 9, 2002, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-this-arcade-game/141535 "2002-12-09T16:20:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-this-arcade-game/141535/1 "2002-12-09T16:20:12Z")
It’s kind of hard to explain: The goal was to use a roller-ball to carve out sections of a rectangle. There was this bouncing “squiggle” that would kill you if it touched your line before you completed your segment. Also, a fuse would light at the end of you line and if it reached the other end before you completed your segment, you died. This was in early to mid 80s. Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? ---
**Author:** ![JDeMobray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@JDeMobray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDeMobray)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-this-arcade-game/141535/2 "2002-12-09T16:23:41Z")
[Qix](http://www.yesterdayland.com/popopedia/shows/arcade/ag1112.php). ---
**Author:** ![MSU\_1978](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@MSU\_1978](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MSU_1978)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-this-arcade-game/141535/3 "2002-12-09T17:11:30Z")
That was an awesome game. Too bad the arcades don’t keep the old stuff around like Qix, Missile Command, the original Pac Man, Space Invaders, Crazy Climber, Gorf, Venture, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-this-arcade-game/141535/4 "2002-12-09T17:52:31Z")
Yep, awesome game. So many originals are long gone now, in favor of endless clones of street fighter games… ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-this-arcade-game/141535/5 "2002-12-09T18:10:33Z")
Thanks **JDeMobray**. That was an awesome game. I wanted to search for a PC version, but couldn’t remember the name. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-this-arcade-game/141535/6 "2002-12-09T22:13:01Z")
One word for anyone who misses the old arcade games: Mame ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-this-arcade-game/141535/7 "2002-12-09T22:18:05Z")
One thing: Qix had a joystick (and, I believe, 2 buttons), not a trackball. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-this-arcade-game/141535/8 "2002-12-10T20:21:26Z")
It may have been original, but it wasn’t nearly as much fun as Gal’s Panic. Trust me on this. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-this-arcade-game/141535/9 "2002-12-10T20:51:02Z")
I though I remembered the controls being a ball and two buttons, maybe there’s more than one version? Or maybe I’m old. Max what’s Mame? ---
**Author:** ![moodtobestewed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@moodtobestewed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moodtobestewed)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-this-arcade-game/141535/10 "2002-12-10T20:52:54Z")
MAME let’s you play the old arcade games on your PC. That’s all I’m saying. ---
**Author:** ![MSU\_1978](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@MSU\_1978](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MSU_1978)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-this-arcade-game/141535/11 "2002-12-12T17:24:38Z")
Yes, it had two buttons. You held down the fast button to make your rectangles quicker and safer, but rectangles formed by holding the slow button counted for more points. So you’d build some tall skinny rectangles in fast mode, and connect them in slow mode to fence in big areas for more points. ---
**Author:** ![welby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@welby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/welby)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-this-arcade-game/141535/12 "2002-12-12T17:58:36Z")
MAME rocks. Anyone remember Cyberball? I love that game. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-this-arcade-game/141535/13 "2002-12-12T18:44:01Z")
Mame stands for “Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator.” Do a google search and you’ll come up with a lot of interesting info on it, including possible legal ramifications of using it. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-this-arcade-game/141535/14 "2002-12-12T19:31:33Z")
Yeah, I “know a guy” who has MAME on his computer. He has Qix and 125 other classic arcade games right on his PC. Remember Speed Freak? And Frenzy? ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-this-arcade-game/141535/15 "2002-12-14T20:28:31Z")
I used to have Qix on gameboy, and a quick google search found [a free PC version](http://www.simes.clara.co.uk/programs/qix.htm) of it. It’s also similar to a game called Jezzball.