The Funky Propaganda Machines Found In The Museum Of Soviet Arcade Games

In Soviet Russia arcade games feed you quarters and play you! Okay, with that obligatory Yakov Smirnoff joke out of the way let's talk about arcade games.

They stole our money and captured our hearts, and each new cabinet brought a new world of video game amusement so we “vidiots” were always looking for new gaming experiences.

That's why the Museum Of Soviet Arcade Machines in St. Petersburg seems truly captivating for an arcade lovin' “vidiot”- you get to play a bunch of games you've never seen or heard of before. And then you read a little bit more about the games and discover there is:

“no Pac-Man...no fantasies...Fantasy and role-playing games featuring treasure-hunting, princesses, and invented creatures had no home in the USSR. “

Okay, I was a little less intrigued with Soviet arcade gaming until I read this tidbit about how the games were made:

Once it was determined which games would be produced, the blueprints were allegedly sent to military factories that primarily made electronics used in nuclear testing and weapons.

In a curious twist of fate, however, it meant that the instruction manuals were also produced in the factories, and therefore were considered classified government documents. Because of this, the manuals are thought to have all been destroyed.

So figuring out how to fix the game cabinet could be considered an act of treason, well played Soviet Russia!

Read more about The Alternate Universe Of Soviet Arcade Games at io9