How to cheat a slot machine. How to beat a slot machine: five successful strategies

Some time ago I came up with the idea of ​​getting my own slot machine. The idea had been in my head for a long time, but it intensified after my visit last year to the “Museum of Soviet Slot Machines” http://www.15kop.ru in Moscow. And a couple of months ago I was with my kids at our local museum of “Pinball” machines http://www.flippermuseum.eu (this event can be dedicated to a separate topic, it was the first time in my life I played on this kind of machines...). We also plan to visit big museum, which is replete with arcade slot machines http://www.flippermuseum-seligenstadt.de

An Internet search immediately brought me to several interesting projects homemade slot machines called “Arcade Machine”, “MAME Cabinet” and things like that.

At first I planned to make a large, so-called “Upright” machine, but due to the lack of even the most basic woodworking skills, I decided to make a simpler machine first. Thus, a fairly clear concept of self-assembly of a “Bartop” machine appeared. In this topic I will describe the entire path of creating my first slot machine, from “a” to “z” so to speak...

When I read many interesting threads about assembling homemade slot machines on thematic forums (for example here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com, http://www.arcadezentrum.com/forum/index.php, http://arcadeinfo. de/index.php), then I realized that probably the most difficult thing would be making the case. I want to make it really beautiful and high quality...

Of the Russian-language videos on YouTube, I think it’s worth noting only the project from Pixel_Devil :

Everything was done, in my opinion, very “clumsily”, but the essence of what homemade is arcade machine, in principle it will be clear.

I took the “NES Bartop” project from the above forum as the basis for my arcade machine. It is clear that the man tried.

First I sketched a prototype of the case on a piece of wallpaper, then I drew it in AutoCAD…. All that's left to do is do it. From that moment on the most interesting things began.

It was decided that if we do it, we should do it conscientiously! For the body I used MDF. For the side parts of the machine, I decided to use 16 mm thick sheets, everything else from 12 mm MDF. To make the walls even, I had to get a Bosch POF 1200 AE cutter and a set of cheap routers.

It’s a cool thing if you know how to use it... Therefore, for testing, I “remilled” several slats and boards of chipboard and MFD that I could find at home.

After a little practice with the cutter, I, using electric and manual jigsaws, a file, sandpaper and some mother, made a side wall template from 12 mm MDF. Then, using a copy router, I made two “copies” of the template from 16mm thick MDF. That's what it is side walls... and absolutely the same size with very smooth edges. Using other routers I “rounded” all the edges. Many people make a longitudinal slot and insert “T-Molding” into it, but I decided to abandon it for now.

All the other parts were “sawing” for me right at the hardware store (by the way, in our hardware stores, sawing is included in the price of the material).

The monitor will be mounted on a board with 4 holes for M4 threaded bolts. To connect the parts together, I used 20x20 mm slats, 4x35 mm screws and glue. I screwed it to the side walls of the slats, first applying glue. It's more reliable this way. I also made a back panel with cutouts for network cable, power button and a large window for ventilation.

Now you can start assembling the case. At first I planned to glue the entire body together with the slats on the side walls, that is, with glue and screws. But since the MDF thickness of the remaining parts is only 12 mm, screws would not be so easy. Driving screws in from the outside (all the way through) is also somehow not kosher. I read on the forum that many people simply assemble them using glue. Since I have almost no experience working with wood glue, I decided to first test the strength of such a joint on the remains of MDF. I glued the remaining piece of lath to one piece of MDF. The next day, the rail was not only impossible to tear off, but the connection turned out to be stronger than the rail itself. In short, I was convinced of its strength and decided to simply glue everything together. The whole process took a couple of days. After I glued everything together, I coated all the joints with a special putty for wood and, after completely drying, I carefully sanded everything with 180-grit sandpaper. Once was not enough and I putty/sanded some places a second time.

I tried to fix the monitor in the assembled case:

Now you could admire with your own eyes what should happen in the end...

It's time to paint the body. Having seen enough on the forums of the very beautifully and high-quality painted cases of some home-made slot machines, I really wanted to do it at least so that I was satisfied with the result. A lot of time was spent on this moment and I didn’t want to ruin everything. It took a lot of time to collect information about the correct painting of MDF; there is a lot of conflicting information. As a result, it was decided to cover the body with two layers of primer, then paint. Without taking any risks on the case right away, the first thing I did was prime the board that holds the monitor. To do this, I used the remains of the primer that I used to protect the pipes from rust when I made the horizontal bar. It was written on the can that it is also suitable for wood. Well, I think it’s good and covered it with a thin layer using a roller. The instructions say that the primer will dry for 24 hours. In short, I’m waiting... The next day I decided to sand it as described, but nothing came of it. The sandpaper immediately becomes clogged with primer, simply sticking. I wait another day... Then another... It just doesn’t want to be sanded properly. In short, I realized that something was wrong and went to look for a suitable primer. There were a couple of good ones recommended on the Internet, but finding them is not so easy since they are sold only in special stores that do not work with private owners. I could get it through the company where I work, but that’s also not an option, the company is closed for Christmas and new year holidays. I went to a hardware store and asked for a primer for MDF. The choice was small, only one to choose from. Bought!

Some forum users used a spray gun for painting, and write that when used skillfully, the result is much better than with a roller and brush. I decided that if I was going to paint, I would do it with a spray gun. I bought myself an inexpensive “Walter” spray gun from the local famous inventors and in addition to it a special attachment/nozzle for painting small parts. I brought it home, unpacked it, assembled it and went outside to try it. I added solvent to the primer and checked the resulting mass for viscosity. To do this, use a small plastic cup with a long handle and a small hole in the bottom. You fill it with paint to the edge, lift it and wait for all the paint to pour out. The instructions indicate that this process should take a maximum of 30 seconds. In short, I dropped 10 times in 30 seconds (damn, that’s a great write-up!). I added more solvent, then again and so on several times until the viscosity was at the desired level. Well, I think that’s it! I start priming the remaining MDF. Having slightly adjusted the paint flow, I achieved very good results. Now you can prime the body! Everything went very well until she came to the corners and holes. I want a little paint to get in there, but it doesn’t work. That is, when paint starts to get into the corners, it already flows next to the corners. Damn, I think we need to change tactics. First coat the corner itself with primer, and then the rest. But the result did not satisfy me either. Having somehow coated the entire body with primer, I thoroughly washed the spray gun and took it back to the store. I told everything there as it is and, surprisingly, received my money back without any problems. With the thought that maybe some other time I’ll learn how to use such a device, I left the store, buying a couple of new foam rollers. As a result, having sanded the first layer of primer with 180-grit sandpaper, I quickly and beautifully covered the body with a second layer, first painting all the corners and holes with a brush. The rest is a roller. The result made me very happy and I decided that a roller with brushes would be enough for me.

Painting no longer caused such doubts and difficulties, since I had some experience. Everything went quickly and, in my opinion, efficiently. Since I haven’t quite decided on the final design (on thematic forums it’s called Sideart), I decided to paint it a neutral gray color.

Painting is a rather lengthy process. The primer and paint take 2 days to dry, as I paint and dry in a cool basement. Now I'm waiting for the paint to dry so I can sand it and paint it a second time.

After 2 days the paint had dried and I lightly walked over it with 180 degrees. sandpaper. Then I painted it a second time. The second coat of paint still looks better than the first, the primer is no longer visible anywhere.

I wanted to say a few words about the sound. At the very beginning, I planned to buy a couple of small speakers and make some kind of simple amplifier for them, but then I decided to just buy ready-made speakers and build them into the case. That's what I did and bought Speedlink ELLIPZ. When I unpacked them and plugged them into my laptop to test them, I was sooooo upset. It's hard to imagine a worse sound. In short, back to the store. The choice of suitable ones was not great, since the space for them in the case is very limited and I took the Logitech Z120 for the same price. The difference is simply huge, and for the same money. I decided that I would install them. Just like in the “NES Bartop” project, I’ll put women’s tights on them and see what comes of it.

This time the paint took a little longer to dry, probably because it was colder in the basement. I sanded it and painted it a third time. This time it was not without difficulties, which, by the way, I caused to myself. Having stepped on a rake myself, I advise you never to paint in a woolen sweater. A couple of dozen hairs in the paint will be guaranteed. In short, armed with tweezers, I freed the already painted body from hairs and went over some places with a roller again. That's all, I think. The painting of the body is complete. Now I will make a control panel.

Before the New Year, my daughter and I whipped up a prototype control panel from a couple of blocks and a piece of laminate. At first I couldn't decide whether to position the joysticks to the left or right of the buttons. I decided to try on the left. It turned out quite convenient. Briefly speaking final version I decided to leave it the same as in the prototype, only moving the top buttons a little for symmetry.

All that remains is to decide how to attach the joysticks. There were 3 options to choose from. The first, the simplest: screw it to the board from below with self-tapping screws. But in my opinion, it is the most unreliable, since everything will quickly become unstable during the game. The thickness of the board is only 12mm, only small screws will fit, which will hold it accordingly. Second option: drill holes through and secure with bolts and nuts. It will hold, but I think it won’t look so beautiful. The caps of the bolts on the panel will not add beauty. I chose the third option. These are nuts that also have external threads. They can be screwed directly into the tree and joysticks can be mounted on them using M5 threaded bolts. To properly secure them in the board, you need to drill a hole 11mm deep (the length of the nuts is 10mm), which is not so easy in a board 12mm thick. Therefore, I removed the top 2 mm with a file, thereby shortening the nuts to 8 mm. It became easier that way. They had to be screwed into the tree using a bolt with a lock nut; after all, a screwdriver would not work after the modification.

Here is a short photo overview of the process:

I decided at the front, under the control panel, to add 2 external USB connectors for joysticks for consoles such as the Nintendo 64, for example.

I didn’t want the machine to stand on the side walls because the paint underneath would quickly get scratched. So I decided to put it on 4 footrests with a height of 11-12 mm. I couldn’t quickly find these, so I decided to make them myself. At work I have access to a lathe and I also have some small skills; a couple of years ago a colleague taught me a little training! In an hour and a half, I turned out 4 legs with a diameter of 40 mm, a height of 10 mm and a recess of 1.5 mm, into which I glued rubber bands, 3 mm thick. It turned out exactly 11.5 mm. Thus, the distance from the bottom edge of the side wall to the surface on which the machine stands is exactly 1.5 mm, and it feels like there are no legs at all. The rubber bands prevent the machine from sliding on the surface; it stands rigidly on the table. Photo report below:

It's time to secure the speakers to the housing. I glued strips of foam rubber on the sides so that the speakers were exactly in the center, pulled women's socks over them and secured them. It turned out cute.

Well, at work I got hold of a piece of a beautiful stainless steel grate, it’s used in beer filters. I cut it out with a grinder and secured it in the body with two screws.

Next up is assembling and painting the control panel!

I really liked the layout of the buttons on the prototype because it’s very convenient to play, even with two people. Therefore, as I already wrote above, I decided to leave it as is, only slightly moving the top buttons to the side, those where you select the number of players. In order to give the panel strength, I first wanted to make the corners from metal, but then I decided to simply glue pieces of slats onto glue. In general, I think it will be clear from the photographs.

I decided to install a 120 mm fan in the cover that will cover the case from the back. It will be attached with magnets.

While the panel was drying, I cut out a mounting location from an old computer case motherboard. A mount for the hard drive and a stainless steel corner for attaching the power supply. Now it was possible to secure everything in the case and make the first launch of the not yet quite finished machine!

How to beat slot machine? This question is asked by every gambler who has just become acquainted with slots. In this article, we will tell you about five strategies that will help you organize your slot machine play with the goal of winning. So let's get started.

1. "Play and Run"

Before describing this strategy, let’s explain a couple of terms.

An empty spin is a normal spin of the reels without winning. For each individual machine, you need to determine the maximum number of such spins. Upon reaching this figure, the gambler must move to another slot.

The maximum loss is the portion of the bankroll that can be lost.

Now the strategy itself. To begin, divide your play money into several equal shares. For example, you have 1000 dollars. Choose 5 machines, allocating $200 for each. Start the game with minimum bets to determine the number of empty spins. Also note for yourself the size of the maximum loss. Be realistic in determining these numbers and stick to the strategy. If this is not done, then winnings from slot machines are simply unrealistic. When we reach the limits of empty spins or lose part of our bankroll, we move to another slot. For example, you set a limit of 20 empty spins. If this number is reached and there is no winning, you need to leave the machine. If you win something, you need to withdraw money and start your gaming session again.

2. "One game"

This strategy is quite risky. Its meaning is that you choose any interesting slot and make the maximum bet on the first spin. If luck smiles, then split the winnings into small bets and continue the session. This is what all those who know how to beat a slot machine do. If you lose the credits received in the first spin, change to another slot. Some gamblers believe that the first spin of the reels is very often winning, and the casino specially adjusts this to lure them.

3. "Up the Stairs"

First, decide on the betting threshold. That is, decide what amount you will not bet less than. If spinning the reels brings nothing, the bet does not change. If you win, its size must be doubled. Then you act according to the same principle: if you win, you double your bet, and if you lose, you double it.

If you manage to “catch” the wave, you can earn a decent amount. The main advantage of this strategy is that large bets are made using the money already won. Winning is an amount twice the size of the bet. For example, if the bet was one dollar, and you won one and a half, then you should not increase it to two for the next spin. Many experienced gamblers will notice that this strategy is very similar to roulette.

4. "Umbrella"

The essence of this system comes down to the fact that the player increases or decreases the bet size gradually. The Umbrella strategy does not have strict rules. It is quite diverse, and everyone can adjust it to their needs. The only thing you need to consider is three factors:

• Game time.
• Style (conservative, moderate or aggressive).
• Available bankroll.

How to beat a slot machine using this strategy? Quite simple. First, think about the template you will use to place your bets. Decide on the minimum threshold, then increase the amount and then lower it again. Avoid sudden jumps. Change the bet size smoothly. Her step does not have to be the same. The sequence should also be thought out in advance, or better written down. Here are a few models:

• 1122233444455333221;
• 1224455554332111;
• 1112333445433311;
• 11122244455543322211;
• 11112333335554433222221.

A similar strategy is used by those who know how to beat the Monkey slot machines. It should be noted that it is very common among gamblers.

5. "Bare Backs"

The essence of this system is to quit the “unlucky” slot machine on time. To do this, you need to set a limit of empty spins for yourself, after reaching which you will move to another slot. Let's say this limit is ten. In this case, as soon as ten empty spins have passed, you need to leave. If during these ten spins there are at least a couple of winning ones, you can continue the game. It is important to always be on the plus side. Experienced gamblers divide their gaming session into several rounds, in each of which they have from seven to fifteen losing spins. If you make them smaller, then you will have to change slot machines very often. The secret to winning is to stick to the specified range of spins in each round. If there are more than fifteen of them, then there is a high risk of losing money.

Also note that the bet size in the “Naked Backs” strategy is always the same. Only the number of spins and rounds in a gaming session is set. And remember: as soon as you find yourself in the red, immediately change to another slot. If the outcome is favorable, you can start a new round.

Conclusion

Now you know how to beat the slot machine. Follow the strategies described above. Good luck!

Many children of the Russian 90s fondly remember the hours spent on consoles - how they played Tanchiki, Battletods, Rockenroll Racing and a bunch of other games with friends. I am sure that there are those among you who still play and collect classic consoles and games for them. There is something about them that connects them with a carefree childhood.

I’m kind of sick of this myself. But when I delved a little into the world of retrogaming, it turned out that in my childhood there was a lot that somehow passed me by. Now I'm talking about arcade machines - a phenomenon that in the 80-90s was actually the engine of progress. Many of the games we know were first written specifically for arcade machines, and only then ported to home consoles in a stripped-down form.

Among those interested in retrogaming, there is an opinion that you need to play on the original hardware, and emulation is not work. This means that if you decide to remember the old days and play “Chip and Dale” with friends, then be so kind as to get yourself a console (preferably the original NES or Famicom) and a couple of cartridges for it. IN modern world This is not a problem - you can buy all this at online auctions. The only question is how much money you are willing to part with.

But what about arcade games? You can buy an original machine. But its delivery will cost an indecent amount a large amount American money, and there will be only one game there.

Here we inevitably come to emulation. But you want to get a special feeling from the game, like in an arcade.

The solution is to assemble the arcade machine yourself

What will our arcade machine be made of?

Which joystick to use is not important. AliExpress has a lot of offers of various DIY kits. My choice fell on this one.

As I already wrote, we are going to run games on an emulator. This means that the brain of our machine will be a completely ordinary PC. You can, of course, do everything on a single board computer, but:

• I chose the full-length version of the machine gun. Its height is about two meters. This means you don’t have to save on space inside the machine.
• With a full-fledged PC it is easier in terms of modifications and connecting peripherals.
• Since the machine requires a 4:3 monitor, I don’t want to create the problem of connecting an old monitor via HDMI.
• I got the system unit cheaper than a single board computer.

As for the monitor: after looking through thrift stores, the most that I could find suitable was the 20-inch HP L2035 monitor. The main criterion was the aspect ratio 4:3. Well, the bonus was the convenient design, which is extremely easy to modify.

The last major part of the machine gun is its body. Without it, it's just a PC. I decided to assemble it from laminated chipboard - to be reliable.

Housing assembly

Having assessed the result as satisfactory, I decided that the easiest and most convenient way to order a cut of laminated chipboard.

To do this, you need a specific list of parts with exact dimensions. Therefore, we remember our students and “Compass” and draw a drawing of the side panel. We mark all the internal details on it. Now with these artifacts you can go to any company that sells chipboard and provides cutting services.

Here's what happened specifically for me: cutting and drawing

In principle, for most parts you can order edging with PVC tape, but, most likely, curved parts will refuse to be edged in the place where you order the cut. There are three ways out:

• Buy PVC tape and use a hair dryer to trim the ends yourself.
• Buy an overhead edging and glue it with double-sided tape or glue.
• Buy a mortise edging and install it using a router loaded with an end mill and a mallet.

The designs of all arcade machines of the 80s and 90s always had a visor on which the game logo proudly shone, attracting players. Of course, it is also necessary here. I made the logo itself from a piece of plexiglass covered with a pre-printed sticker with the name of the machine.

To make the front panel of the machine look beautiful, you need a part made of plexiglass 5 mm thick; ordering one according to size is not a problem. We paint the plexiglass on one side with black spray paint, leaving an unpainted rectangle the size of a monitor screen in the center.

I summarize the algorithm:

• We order cutting of laminated chipboard according to the list of parts.
• We buy edging (mortise, overhead or tape).
• We buy consumables (euro screws, furniture hinges, door locks if necessary, ventilation grilles, etc.).
• We order plexiglass by size.
• We arm ourselves with a drill, a screwdriver, a jigsaw, and a router (optional).
• We spend an unpredictable amount of time assembling the case.
• Profit!

Software

An important issue is the convenience of selecting and launching games; you want to control the machine exclusively using the installed joystick. To do this, you need a kind of frontend shell that conveniently displays a list of games and launches the emulator with the selected game on demand. Fortunately, the open source community has already solved this problem a long time ago. As they say: “everything has already been written before us.” For example, the Attract-mode project has versions for all popular platforms, including the interesting Ubuntu. The shell supports design themes, which, by the way, are written in Squirrel, so fans of modifications will have plenty to choose from. Well, or you can visit the project forum and find something you like.

Working with the shell is extremely simple: after launching, press tab and get to the menu. First of all, we set up emulators - paths to games and all sorts of beautiful things: logos, video previews, covers, posters. Depending on the theme, different beauties can be used. By the way, you can try to pull them together using the built-in function scrape artwork. Don't think that everything will be found, but for the majority popular games everything will come automatically. To search for video previews of games, you can also use the Progettosnaps.net project - the guys have collected a lot large collection video and distribute it absolutely free.

After setting up the paths, you must press the item generate romlist- after the counter reaches 100%, the screen (display) of this emulator will be automatically added. After exiting the menu, on this screen you can already scroll through the list of games and try to launch something.

The main emulator will be the well-known MAME - fortunately, its assembly also exists for Linux. It was a discovery for me that the roms for this emulator are just as versioned as the emulator itself, so it will not be possible to run a rom with old version. But since you won’t be able to find out the rom version, you will have to download a lot of update packs and update the roms that you choose for your arcade machine. Many roms and updates for them can be found on the Emuparadise.me project.

For variety, you can install a few more emulators: nestopia, gens, zsnes and configure them in attract-mode.

There is a small nuance - not all emulators have the ability to map the output from the emulator to a joystick button. It can be solved by installing the antimicro package, which hangs in the processes and maps the joystick buttons to the keyboard buttons: just select a button on the joystick and map it to Esc.

All that remains is to make sure that attract-mode and antimicro are launched immediately upon login and that’s it!

Wires and stuff

To illuminate the logo, I used about two meters of 12V LED strips (because it’s easiest to power it from a PC power supply).

It’s easier to take speakers powered from USB - somehow it’s more comfortable to work with 5V instead of 220V.

To make it convenient to turn the machine on and off, adjust the volume level and turn on the backlight, we make a small control unit on the front panel of the machine.

We put it on the panel:

• power button from the system unit;
• volume control;
• sound switch (just solder the toggle switch into the speaker power circuit);
• backlight switch.

At this moment there is only design work: if you can design and print beautiful sidearts to make a black box sparkle with new colors, then I envy you with white envy. And if you are a techie like me, then you have to look for ways to get out of the situation. For example, buy an abstract vinyl sticker or order an obscene amount of stickers on AliExpress and cover the entire machine with them. I used the last option. It took about 500 stickers.

As a result, the arcade machine moved to the 2GIS office on the 20th floor and this moment does good and brings joy to everyone. It feels like a lot of people are trying to play the slot machine. After work, you can always find someone trying to find exactly that game from their childhood; there have even been orders to add something. On a Friday night, a small crowd of people creates the feeling of a small arcade. It seems to me that this is exactly how it was - when you are waiting for your turn to play a slot machine - you watch with interest how your friends play and sincerely experience especially difficult moments with them.

That's it, s compulsory program finished, now for the free part.

I really love all sorts of retro game consoles from the 80s-90s, but even more, I love arcade slot machines. Apparently due to the fact that he was born in 79 and spent his entire childhood and youth in the “harsh 90s” inside the central children's world, in the gaming pavilion, which was then located on the ground floor. And if anyone remembers, or maybe not, then at that time there was just a huge pile of different slot machines. There were all kinds of arcade cabinets from such companies as: Sega Model 1-2, if I'm not mistaken, an arcade machine with Mortal kombat 2 (unfortunately, I don’t know what company made it) Midway??? and ending with my favorite Neo-Geo and Capcom Play System atoms. How much money did I spend on tokens in those glorious times? Nostalgia... And all this despite the fact that at that time I had my “charms” of dandy and sega lying around at home, and later the first Sonya. The most hit games on them had been completed by that time, and they usually led a miserable existence as dust collectors. I played them at that time, very rarely. Because my imagination has already been completely taken over by completely different thoughts. And no, it wasn’t girls and it wasn’t even drinking or dancing until dawn, like my friends at that time. The mind of a 16-year-old teenager was completely fascinated by thoughts about: “Why do these slot machines have such beautiful and detailed hand-drawn graphics? And such fighters, well, just huge, like ancient gods" - take the same Art of Fighting for example, or the same arcade MK2, and I couldn’t understand then, "WHY THERE ARE NO SUCH HEALTHY PUMPED GUYS AND TIGHT SICK TUNTS ON THE ENTIRE SCREEN, AND WHY THE BACKGROUND IS SO MUCH MUCH BETTER DETAILED (with all sorts of moving characters) than on my seemingly “not weak” 16-bit console???!!" I’m talking about sega. Let me remind you that at that time the Internet was just beginning to be “available” to the very elite, like myself computer. And therefore, I remained in sweet ignorance regarding such a colossal difference in graphics between my Sega and all these slot machines... Before buying a PC. For some reason I am sure to this day that many teenagers of that time , just like me, were puzzled by this very problem of “graphics inequality.” It was only later, after a while, somewhere in 2002-2003, when I had already forgotten about my former passion several times, I read it in the vastness of the world, it turns out that these were Japanese gaming arcade machines or cabinets (as they are also called) and in fact, some of them, although they were based on the same processor as the Sega Mega Drive - Motorola 68000, but otherwise had more powerful characteristics.

The idea of ​​making my own arcade machine already visited me in those days and more than once. But there was practically no material at that time about how you could build such a machine online at home! Well, as far as I remember. And I had to be content with only my computer - Amd Athlon XP 1600+, a joystick and emulators Neo-Geo, Capcom, M.a.m.e and others. I played quite a lot of arcade games. And I forgot about my idea again. And so, in 2014, when I remembered the past again, I decided that now I definitely had to do it! Otherwise, it’s simply indecent, many have already done it to themselves, and me? Why am I worse??? But there is not enough space in the apartment and therefore I had to temporarily abandon the idea of ​​​​making a full-size office, but I will definitely return to it, probably this year during my vacation, and maybe earlier! My choice fell on an unusual device for Russia - Raspberry Pi model B, or as we also call it “raspberry”. One of the slowest models, of course, but it was bought before the crisis, for some ridiculous 1350 rubles and for emulation of Sega and Super Nintendo it was more than that! Of course, now there are also 4-core modifications with support for Win 10, but we’re not talking about them... Since this particular model is based on ARM architecture (tablet PCs, yeah), unlike our computers on x86/x64 processors, and therefore installing Win OS is not possible, or I'm bad at surfing the Internet. At the moment, instead of (Raspbian), I have OS Linux Debian and so far only 2 emulators for Linux - Gens, Snes9x and that's it. While I’m playing Sega and Snes games, those that I didn’t finish as a child or didn’t play at all... The rest of the filling is as follows: the raspberry itself - 700 megahertz percent, LCD screen 7" 800x480 (was taken out of a half-dead Chinese tablet, who was ordered to live long by the touch), micro sd card on 32Gb Class-10, 2 speakers of 3" a little less than 8 cm each, they were taken out of some old computer farts, the SURE amplifier works in class D - 2x20w (I took it with a reserve), oak plywood (I bought 1 sheet in size 2 meters), so that there is a reserve in case of a “crooked cut”, all sorts of analog buttons and sticks (2 pieces of different colors) for the arcade joy, control with it: up-down-left-right (nowadays such sets are frequent guests on the Chinese Internet - stores), I also bought on Aliexpress, numerous bolts, and a short Hdmi cord to micro USB. The energy consumption of the whole “THIS” assembly is quite small, and therefore it’s all powered by a Chinese power supply from a 5-volt tablet. What I forgot, I’ll add later or I'll change it in the article. I would also like to add that this micro-computer is able to play Full HD video, and the entire structure can be easily dismantled down to the buttons, but can also be firmly screwed back in! Such pies.

If anyone suddenly has any questions (for how much, what and where you bought them, write) if possible and busy, I will answer. And below are the insides and the actual device itself and my first Sonya from the 90s, just to compare sizes:

And here is the little one in action:

There are also plans to either paint the body, or cover it with some material, or perhaps order a drawing of heroes from old-school games from a printing house and stick it all on the body. But most likely, I’ll forget about it and start building a full-size arcade gaming machine using computer guts... And this one will remain as a “first draft”.

P.S. Let no one be surprised about color range push-button I experimented with the layout, first for a super Nintendo joystick, and then for a Seg one... Therefore, the buttons are in the same place, but different in color... And I have 2 sticks (red and green.)