January 20-21 marks the inaugural Retro City Festival at the Fairplex in Pomona. What is this exciting new event, you ask? This description from their web site pretty well sums it up:

Retro City Festival is an annual celebration dedicated to the history of video gaming. We showcase the largest selection of retro console gaming under one roof in California. Experience Retro City's classic arcades, pinball, tournaments, museums, vendors, and huge console play area!

As SoCal locals know, there's a huge retro gaming community here, one of which SC3 is proud to a be a part of. But while other areas of the state and the rest of the country host big conventions like California Extreme and Classic Game Fest, somehow Southern California hasn't. Well, Retro City is here to remedy that. The organizers are already part of the SoCal retro community; the Festival just lets them take things to the next level. They asked SC3 to have a presence there, which we will in a small way, to show our support and to help share the word. We hope all our regulars are able to come by and say hello, and to check out all the great attractions the Festival has to offer! See you Jan. 20 and 21!

It was the eleventh day of the eleventh month of SC3's eleventh year of hosting arcade parties, so we figured it was an appropriate day to throw another one. November 11, 2017 witnessed another of SC3's famous backyard events in Claremont. As we do, we crammed in dozens of arcade machines, a slew of 1980s tabletop games, a movie projection screen and no less than fifteen home console stations. Thanks to tremendous help from our friends and helpers, not to mention Geoff's supervision of the raffle, this event represented a sort of return to form for us. The crowds were a bit less huge, the trading much less of a frenzy, and the old "friends playing video games" vibe was back. Plus there was Cuphead. Read all about it in our Nov. 11, 2017 Event Recap.

What's next for SC3? As many of you know, Arcade 2084 is now closed, so it's out as an event venue for us. However, SC3 will have a presence at the Retro City Festival on January 20-21 at the Pomona Fairplex. This is a new show which promises to bring that "big convention" vibe to Southern California. We'll be there, but in a small way – it's not our event after all. Our next event is still in the planning stages. Keep your eye on this site and our Facebook page for announcements! And until then, as always, keep gaming!

It is a fall tradition to head back home, reconnect with family and old friends over some good food, and just generally take the time to be grateful for all the things you enjoy. Thanksgiving? Sure, that's nice. But we're talking about that other autumn celebration: the SC3 backyard party! Once again, Thanksgiving is coming to Southern California a couple of weeks early. SC3 will be serving up a vertiable classic videogaming feast on Saturday, November 11, 2017, from 4 p.m. to midnight. Come join us as we cram too many arcade machines and classic home consoles into the back yard of one lucky home in Claremont. If you attended one of the old parties, you know that like any good Thanksgiving meal, it'll be overstuffed but extremely satisfying.

Reservation Process – Please Read

The good old backyard is a smaller venue. There's just not enough room to accommodate 200 people, dozens of arcades and the huge mountains of trade goods that have been showing up at our last few events. So, we are limiting the amount of trade table space available to each attendee and asking you not to bring your own tables. If you want to attend, you must fill out this RSVP form. After filling it out, it will pop up some notices for you to read and allow you to request table space. We'll take your request down and do our best to reserve part of a table for you – but be aware that there is limited space and a lot of people wanting it! We strongly advise traders to bring only their best, most desirable stuff. Leave those huge boxes of Combat carts home! Remember, even if you don't plan to bring trade goods, it's still essential that you RSVP. If your registration is accepted, you will be informed via email.

Also note that this event starts at 4 p.m. No one, except authorized event planners, will be allowed in before 4 p.m.

Your donations keep SC3 functioning, and our costs are expected to rise for this event. Our suggested donation at this event is $10 per adult attendee. Thanks as always for your support and remember to keep an eye here and on our Future Meeting Page for more announcements about the event!

The vibe at the April 22, 2017 SC3 meeting can be summed up in a single word: Trading. This was perhaps the single best-attended event in SC3 history with over 250 people in attendance, and it seemed like every one of them brought merchandise. But there were also lots of arcade cabs, pinballs, raffles, hamburgers, Steam game previews, and tugboats(?). And did we mention trading? There was a lot of it. Read all about it in our Apr. 22 Event Recap.

The date of the next SC3 event has yet to be decided, but if our usual pattern holds, expect it sometime in the fall. As always, keep an eye on this site and our Facebook page for announcements. Until then, keep your joysticks plugged in and your fire buttons pressed!

SC3 is returning to Anaheim on Saturday, April 22, at 2084 Arcade, a private facility jam-packed with '80s arcade classics in Anaheim. The hours are 4 p.m. to midnight. If you attended any of our previous 2084 events, you know what to expect. The owners of 2084 are four Southern California coin-op collectors who combined their collections under one roof to recreate the games list of an early 80's arcade. Now they have nearly 100 classic machines, including a few pinballs, at a facility in Anaheim. 2084 has been hosting arcade get-togethers every few weeks for quite some time now, and on April 22, SC3 will be there with our complement of home consoles, game trading and other goodies.

2084's a big enough place, but it's firmly packed with coin-ops. There's some space for home consoles but we have to go a little lighter than at other venues. Food will not be provided at this event, but there's a huge restaurant complex within walking distance. Trading is essential to the spirit of SC3 so we'll have plenty of space for it. The owners of 2084 are friends of ours and they're always improving the facility. We can't wait! As always, watch our Future Meeting Page for additional details as they emerge.

If you want to attend, you must fill out this RSVP form. If your registration is accepted, you will be informed via email. Simple! Hope to see you April 22!

It's hard to believe that it has been ten years since the first SC3 backyard arcade party. SC3 existed as a console collectors' group before then, but the introduction of full-sized arcades brought us to a whole new level. It's obvious that in the decade since that original gathering, SC3 has become something more than just a handful of game collectors getting together to swap carts. It's an event now, something that lots of people look forward to for months on end. It's an excuse to meet with friends who love gaming as much as you do. Crucially in the stressful year that has been 2016, SC3 brings people together to just forget about everything other than having a good time. That was emphatically the case on Saturday, November 12, as over 200 people crammed into the yard for an evening of fun, games, and pure positive energy! This felt like a watershed event for us in many ways. Not only did it mark our tenth anniversary, but we tweaked a few things, solved a few problems, and really recaptured some of the spirit of the old days when SC3 was a smaller endeavor. This was one of the best events we've had in a long time, and we greatly thank everybody who pitched in to help! Read all about it in our Nov. 12 event recap.

The next event will likely take place in Spring 2017, although exact dates have yet to be determined. As always, watch this site and our Facebook page for details as they become available. Until then, keep calm and game on!