Tabletop Arcade Games

Tabletop arcade games are, like the name suggests, arcade machines with screens sunken into a table instead of the more traditional upright arcade cabinets. Due to their layout, the display alternates for multi-player games flipping the screen around when the second player t a turn to play. The name "tabletop" arcade came from the thick glass covering over the screen that allowed players to put their drinks on it. It is also referred to as a "cocktail" cabinet.

Warlords

This game, released by Atari in 1980, allowed simultaneous play for four players with each player seated at opposite ends of the table. Each player had their own fort on the screen which other players had to try and destroy by capturing and shooting a fireball that bounced around the game screen. The game used paddle controllers instead of the usual joysticks, making it even more unique. This classic title has since been remade and released on Xbox Live Arcade as well as PC.

Pac-Man

Released in 1980 by Namco, this iconic game featured exactly the same gameplay as the arcade cabinet. The tabletop version had players facing each other across the table; they took turns playing the game with the display rotating to the active player. Namco later released a tabletop unit that featured Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man on the same table, as well as sped-up version of the two games that increased the speed of the titles. Namco remade this unit later on and called it the "20th Anniversary Reunion Edition" but it has also since been discontinued.

Eliminator

Eliminator, which was released in 1981 by Sega, holds the distinction of being the only four-player vector game ever made. The Eliminator that the title refers to is a asteroid base that had to be destroyed by players. There were enemy drones and opponent ships on the playing field as well; they could only be destroyed by pushing them into the Eliminator in the center of the screen. This took some careful planning as shooting at opponents and enemies just caused them to rebound off into a different direction. While the original tabletop game is very hard to track down, a version of this game was included in the Sega Genesis Collection for PSP.

Battlezone

Using 3D wireframe graphics to represent the cockpit of a tank, Battlezone was released in 1980 by Atari. Each level had enemy tanks and other hostiles shooting at the player; the aim was to retaliate and reach as high a score as possible before being destroyed. The environment could be used strategically by hiding behind objects to avoid enemy fire but this came at the cost of visibility. The tabletop version of this game never left the prototype stage and the only one in existence is currently in a private collection.