Just a few miles away from Disneyland, a private arcade party and screening of Arcades & Love Songs with Walter Day took place at a private residence in Fullerton, CA on August 30, 2025. What made this screening special was the private arcade (AKA “Garcade”) that brought all the Old School Gamers together. After the event, I had the opportunity to interview owner Tom Connor about how this all came to be.
Chansy: How did you start collecting arcade cabinets and building your current private arcade?
Connor: I started as a kid growing up in the ’80s when these games came out. These provided an escape for me, so I would go to arcades with whatever money I had. From there, I liked console and computer games, which we gave up when we had kids.
I later found out that people collected arcade PCBs, so I started with a SuperGun. My friends had the generic Japanese candy cabinets, so I then started collecting those. Once I reached the limit of what I could play with those, I found out people collect dedicated arcade cabinets, and I started to collect those that had either special controls or monitors.
I met a gentleman named Francis, and he was the purveyor of the premier home arcade at the time called the Ataricade. Somehow, I got on his very exclusive invite list, and I was probably the most frequent guest invited. He was a pre-eminent Atari curator; he had prototype games, original artwork, and everything else. He encouraged me to build a home arcade. When we purchased this house in 2011, I envisioned that we could have a home arcade here. We tore down the garage and rebuilt it for that purpose. Whereas Francis’ arcade house had around 26 games, I have 43 games, including After Burner Deluxe and Tournament Cyberball 2072.
I started collecting arcade games probably around 2002-2003, but I just recently completed this arcade because I had a 10-year hiatus due to my kids. I was always working overtime, so I had no time to actually pursue this. I recently got a promotion six months ago, and that’s allowed me to have weekends off. With my wife’s encouragement, I worked to finish the arcade. I almost gave it up; if you saw what this room looked like four years ago, it was just a mess. She told me either to do something with it or get rid of it, so I chose to do something with it. I host arcade parties for free most of the time, and I have some good friends who come over to fix the arcades when something is broken. Francis also insisted that I purchase his change machine from him, and said, “Trust me, you’re gonna want it.” After all this time, I’m so happy to have a change machine. All my games are on quarter operation, just like the old days.
Walter Day with the Change Machine
The Ataricade sign that you saw was from his arcade. After he got rid of it, it was up at the Vintage Arcade Superstore where Gene Lewin said, “I can’t sell it to you,” but I said, “Francis is my buddy. If he ever comes back wanting that thing, I’ll bring it right back to you”. He sold it to me for 500 bucks. That’s my homage to my buddy. When Walter Day came, he told me many times that this is the best arcade he’s been to. It says a lot because there’s a lot of private home arcades, and that guy’s a legend. There are home arcades out there with 150-200 arcade cabinets, but it’s just nice to know that you know I’m in that category, and I think people have a good time when they come out and visit.
Ataricade
Chansy: You held a private arcade party and screening of Arcades and Love Songs with Walter Day. How did that idea come to be?
Connor: Throughout the years, he’s been a fixture of the arcade world for a long time. Google “Father of E-sports,” and his name pops up. Around March, my friend Paul Dean, who’s the world record holder of Frenzy and Spy Hunter, let me know about the premiere of Arcades and Love Songs at the Art Theater in Long Beach, CA, where Walter Day and maybe Billy Mitchell were going to be. When I went there, I saw Billy Mitchell in the lobby. Billy’s got a gruff persona, but he is the nicest guy in person. I got a chance to meet Walter Day after the movie and Q&A, and he seemed genuine. I wondered if he’d be willing to come out to an arcade party in his honor, and to my surprise, he agreed. We were talking about the party and how it would be cool to just screen his movie here. That’s how we got the director Ed Cunningham involved. We exchanged numbers, and we’ve been in touch ever since. When he came by, he gave me an autobiography as a gift. He said he enjoyed his time so much that he’s already talking about wanting to come back next year. I want to celebrate people while they’re alive. Some couldn’t make it, so they’re gonna get another opportunity next year.
Owner Tom Connor with Walter Day
Chansy: What was the most memorable thing about this event?
Connor: Prior to this event, most of my parties were on the smaller side, from 15-30 people. We ended up with about 100 people. The most memorable thing was seeing all these people and their reaction when meeting Walter, who was gracious to take photos and sign things.
Walter Day at the Private Party Screening
Chansy: Which arcade cabinet is the most storied in your collection?
Connor: It is the crown jewel of my collection: After Burner Deluxe. It’s got two electric motors with little rubber wheels, one’s for the pitch and one’s for the roll, and that’s how it kind of controls the motion. I bought that game in working condition on eBay. I was a mechanic, so I got some channel iron, bought some heavy-duty industrial wheels, and bolted those on there. Then my buddy from work came after working overtime, and welded those things at the bottom. Now the game rolls so easily. Over the years, I have tracked down replacement parts, new/old stock parts, new/old stock flight controllers, and plastics. One of my crown jewel parts that I can never find ever again is the monitor plexi. My game is almost perfect; it’s just a showstopper. When Top Gun: Maverick came out, Gene asked, “You want to sell your After Burner?”. I said, “No”. He goes, “I’ll give you 15 grand for it.” I thought to myself and said, “Gene, if you want me to sell it, let me take a couple things off that machine”. He goes, “What?” He’s paying me 15 grand because he knows what I’ve got on it. I can’t because I can’t find those pieces again. Somebody out there that wants to pay a lot of money for that. I said, “No” and I still have After Burner (laughs)!
The Most Storied Cabinet: After Burner Deluxe
We thank Tom for hosting this private party to celebrate Walter Day and for allowing us the opportunity to interview him. Please check out @_fatherpain_ on Instagram or email Tom at fatherpain@hotmail.com for more information on his “Garcade” and upcoming events. If you’re in the area and get a chance to visit, let us know!
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