Retro arcade video games available for play in North English

NORTH ENGLISH - Mike Oehlerich remembers playing video games as a child with his brother.

But it wasn't until his wife bought him an old Star Wars arcade game as a gift 17 years ago that he discovered a passion for collecting and restoring classic arcade video games.

Shortly after, Oehlerich attended an auction where two trailer-loads of retro arcade games were being sold.

'My childhood was all there,” he said of the games at the auction. So he bought all of them.

Not surprisingly, Oehlerich's collection quickly grew. At one point he had 30 arcade video games in his family's home.

'My wife insisted that we get them out of the house, and I needed space to work on them,” he said.

As fate would have it, Oehlerich found a storefront on Main Street in North English that had the right amount of space.

'It was just going to be an extension of my living room,” he said. 'I never intended for it to be an arcade. But when I moved in, kids kept coming up to the windows and wanting to play.”

And so Oehlerich, who originally is from the Cedar Rapids-Marion area, opened Mike's Carnevil Retro Arcade on Main Street in North English in 2004.

'So many people had the same interest as I had in playing these games,” he said.

The arcade doesn't have regular hours, but Oehlerich is happy to open the arcade by appointment to groups interested in playing. Those interested can call (319) 558-6426.

'These games need to be played or they start having issues,” he said.

Oehlerich estimates he has about 200 working arcade games in his space, with about 100 more machines in his collection. The classic 1980s arcade games remain his most popular, he said.

'In the '80s the arcade was part of the social scene. It's where we hung out,” he said. 'And so those are the games I gravitate to, as well. I'm not stuck in the '80s, but they are some great classic games.”

While he loves playing the games, Oehlerich said part of what keeps him interested in collecting is preservation.

'A couple of games that I have are the only one left of their kind anywhere or they were prototypes,” he said. 'More and more games are being lost.”

He works to repair and find replacement parts for the games he owns. And over the years, he has watched the value of retro arcade games skyrocket.

'When I started you could get an old game for $25. Now a mediocre game will sell for at least $1,000,” he said.

Oehlerich said at one point he had nearly 2,000 games in his collection, but he has spent the last several years selling off some of his finds.

'I'm getting to the end of my wish list. So I've slowed down on buying more games for my collection. It's funny because this whole arcade thing was kind of an accident but it's been a really good thing,” he said.