RickR

If you are considering the McWill upgrade for your Game Gear or Lynx...just do it. It's so much easier to see.

Something really cool came my way via a friend today. It's a Commodore 1084s monitor. It's really great because it has a lot of inputs on the back (RGB, composite, composite + chroma, etc) and stereo sound. And a very nice picture quality. A little bit of yellowing on one side, but that's of no matter to me. I tested it out with an old plug n play. My goal was to get a Commodore 64 hooked up, but we ended up playing a 3-way brawl battle on Gamecube instead.

Mission accomplished here. We were hoping for a calm and peaceful day, and indeed that's what happened. Simplifying the menu helped. I got my gaming goals in, and the family played a few rounds of "Yahtzee". As a companion piece to @socrates63's picture, here's our turkey breast, also done on a wood pellet grill. It was outstanding. Tip for future reference: Stuff it with apple slices. It adds flavor.

140,678! Hey @btbfilms76, enter me to win!

I made it through games 1 and 3. Should I try one of the harder difficulty levels? This game really sets a mood, doesn't it? It's really well done. The dark and the sound effects are very effective. The only change I'd make is to have the key permanently unlock doors.

I'm a turkey veteran, but normally do it in the oven. The good news is...the pellet grill is pretty much just like an oven. I'm not smoking it (as some people do). I'm going to set it at 350 and cook it for a few hours...as if it was an oven. We'll see how it turns out. Good luck, man! I'm sure yours will turn out great. Pro-advice - make sure you don't dry out the pan. Keep adding chicken broth (or water) if the pan goes dry. I don't baste. Also, I don't bother with stuffing in the turkey. Just put an onion in there for flavor. Do the stuffing separately.

Oh! Ha. Well rest assured, we'll consume all of the cranberries we have today :) No worries on the mashed potatoes! One of my kids dislikes potatoes in all forms -- ESPECIALLY mashed. So you are not alone. Accommodations are made, and everyone is happy. Don't tell anyone, it's a little embarrassing....but one of our simplifications today is to do "instant" mashed potatoes. They aren't as good, sure. But prep time goes down to 5 minutes from one hour. Martha Stewart might be appalled. But what do we care? If I get time, I also want to give Super Metroid a go. Perhaps this weekend.

You don't like cranberries, @HDN? That's fine, of course. I'll admit, they can be kind of sour/bitter. Just a little bit on the turkey for me. We've simplified things a lot this year and are just staying home. We bought a turkey breast (about 8 lbs) and will cook that outside on the pellet grill. Hopefully it will be delicious. I have on my list today to play some Atari Haunted House and also try to catch up to @RadioPoultry's Major Havoc score. Have a great day, everyone!

This is nice, but for the life of me, why not have them in PDF format? It's just about impossible to get them to print the right size in Windows if they are any type of graphics file.

These guys could use some counseling. No worries, I know of a local store here that has these types of figures. Once the COVID is done, I'll go look for another Troi.

Here's a Ted Knight Superfriends opening: And here's a Bill Woodson: Man, they sure do sound similar!

Correct! Is that your final answer? Sorry! But enjoy your consolation prize -- A beautiful watch from Jules Jergensen. It was the late, great Bill Woodson! But wait! It says right there in the Wikipedia article that Ted Knight was the Original narrator for Super Friends before Bill Woodson took over the role! Marco, you WIN a NEW CAR! (But that's definitely Bill Woodson on Battle of the Planets). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Woodson

I think we have everyone's "stuff I put in" pics, right? Very nicely done everyone. Some really great stuff! Thanks so much, and hopefully we can do another one in 2021. Start collecting your junk now.

Who took the Counselor Troi figure and why u no leave it for RickR? You put in some really great stuff @nosweargamer. Thank YOU for giving us a little part of your day.

Then I'd do this: Pac-Man Keystone Kapers Space Invaders Frogger Video Pinball Missile Command Asteroids Yars' Revenge River Raid Berzerk Those ones are all in the low priced range, and all are very fun IMO.

You guys have hit the mark. But if you know the recipient, you *must* try to learn what games they loved as a kid. It may not include all the popular hits. For example, an ideal starter set for me would include "Bowling" and "Laser Blast" because I loved those ones growing up. Once you know those, you can supplement with Space Invaders, Asteroids, Pac Man, Defender, Yars', etc.

I have a ps2 steering wheel I should get out to enjoy these games. I agree they are super fun, and tend to get overlooked.

I like yours a lot better.

I'm not sure how I did it. I've played several more rounds and end up at 92k. It must have been the breakout bricks. Keep trying! Try not to hit the ceiling at all on the platforms. Once you get stunned by that, you almost always die.

I haven't heard of this one. I just watched a youtube video. Wow, it looks awesome. It looks like the kind of game you'd find on the TurboGrafx 16. I'll give it a try!

120,774 @RadioPoultry helped me out. I have an older version of MAME (0.131) that displays the graphics perfectly. It turns out I wasn't seeing a ton of stuff before because it wasn't rendering properly. Plus this version controls better (I use a mouse). I actually made it past the maze this time, and that platform part after the maze is TOUGH. I ran out of oxygen every time. And there are colored keys. I did clear the breakout bricks this time, and I think it gave me an extra life and a bonus (maybe?). I've made it there a few times with scores less that 100k, and I think the only difference is clearing out the breakout bricks. Tips - I only have one really. If you die at all at any time before that maze level, just reset MAME and start over. You'll need every life on the next platform. Plus you'll get really good on those first three platforms.

This is a great topic, and your list is most excellent. I'd add the following: Atari Adventure. I can't stress enough how much this one influenced me. This was a game that didn't keep score. It was the first video game I ever played that built a world to explore. I loved it then and I love it now. Star Raiders on the 8-bit. This was the first 3D perspective game I ever played. There are no compromises on this game (unlike similar games on the 2600). Fly around, dock your ship, come up with a strategy! All FPS games stand on the shoulders of this giant. King's Quest 1-4 on PC. I remember the old Scott Adams text adventures. They were fun, but you really had to use your imagination. King's Quest was different. It had compelling graphics to go with the story and puzzles. And each game in the series built onto the formula, finally getting rid of having to type completely.

Nope! Gonna keep it and try it. I appreciate the personal touch. Thanks!

Stuff I put in. I wanted to load up on SNES and Genesis stuff, as we had a few participants who hinted they needed them.

Thank you so much to those of you who participated in the box and the discussion. Truly another epic junk box on the Atari.io. It is now time to post pics or videos of what you all put in. I will do so shortly.