IT WASN’T ALL KICKING ASS AND SHOOTING ALIENS IN THE ARCADES OF THE EARLY EIGHTIES. CREATED AS A TIE-IN WITH BEER PRODUCER ANHEUSER-BUSCH, THIS FRANTIC BAR SIMULATOR BECAME EVEN MORE POPULAR WHEN REBRANDED INTO A CHILD-FRIENDLY FORMAT FOR ARCADES. LET’S PULL SOME PINTS!

WORDS BY GRAEME MASON

BARTENDER DRINKING

» [Arcade] Things are hotting up in the outer space bar.

» [Arcade] Intercepting empties as soon as possible is a good tactic.

» [Arcade] Tapper’s attract mode helpfully outlines how to play

“Ian had a reputation for being able to pull some tricks out of the machine that others simply couldn’t think of”

DAVID J ANDERSON

Designedby Marvin Glass Associates’ Scott Morrison and Steve Meyer, Tapper began life as a simple concept where the player assumes the role of a busy bartender, slinging drinks down a series of slippery bars to the waiting customers. Based around a character called Domino Man (who had previously starred in an eponymous puzzle game), the style and look of Tapper would be that of an authentic classic American bar.

With Marvin Glass and Bally Midway bosses receptive to the idea, the latter company’s licensing division hit upon the scheme of linking the game to an official licence with a notable beer company. It was a great way of breaking into the potentially lucrative bar and pub market, utilising a bespoke arcade machine, its game simulating the serving of alcoholic beverages to a range of thirsty customers. And when it came to a tie-in beer partner, there wasn’t really any choice other than the King Of Beers, Budweiser, and its producer, Anheuser-Busch. Taking the base concept of serving beers in a pub, Tapper features a quartet of long bars within each of its four different drinking establishments. In the first, a Western saloon, a keg sits opposite each bar. Pulling down on the joystick while next to a keg –a proper simulation of drinks pouring – pours a cold one ready for sliding down the bar to a waiting customer. The bartender can nimbly jump from bar to bar, flinging down beer and collecting the empty glasses that come back his way. Occasionally his services will be rewarded with a cash tip, unhelpfully deposited at the far side of the bar. Collection of this not only generates a points bonus but also releases a trio of dancers, temporarily distracting some of the patrons and giving the player a valuable slice of breathing space.

BARTENDER

And boy, will you need it, because Tapper features some of the most impatient customers in the entire world – and even beyond. Faced with multiple patrons within each bar, they must all be satisfied with a full glass before they reach the end. Should they get there dry, the bartender is unceremoniously flung down his own bar and a life is lost. Additionally, failure to collect the empties results in a shattered glass and another barman consigned to the bins round the back. Finally, should you chuck a beer down a bar with no waiting customer, it’s another breakage and, you guessed it, another life down.