Masudaya Playtime Pipeline was my first game...

[ArcadeDanger]

We had some cool toys growing up, but not video games. Until we had a big trip to move from Los Angeles, California, back to my parents home country of Argentina. In the early 80s it was a very long flight, with a stop over in Peru, Lima. My mom travelled with my 2 brothers and I. I was the oldest, must have been 8 years old.

My dad gifted us a few games that I think he picked up in the airport, and I got the Pipeline game (Masudaya PlayTime). For those of you who aren't familiar with the game, the scenario is an oil pipeline that has oil flowing through it in segments. The pipe is disconnected in 3 places, and your character has to move around to put the pipe and continue flowing the oil; if the oil leaks you lose a life. The oil in the pipes eventually goes to a tank. The tank needs to be drained frequently, if it overflows it will explode with an amusing picture of your character flaming away... Adult me is all "THAT IS NOT HOW PIPELINES WORK AT ALL" but kid me enjoyed it.

I remember the plane being mostly dark and most passengers (including my mom) were sleeping, it must had been 11PM or midnight; I was sitting on the floor in front of the seat, with the overhead light illuminating the chair, snuck out the game to play and... the chirps and beeps of the game woke up a few people around me, and my mom. Had to put it away for the rest of the flight. Oops. It was the first time I desperately wished for a mute button, as of course the game kept playing and I wasn't quick enough to pull the battery cover off.

In Argentina, I showed the game to my nana, who didn't get why it was entertaining and had my attention for so much time... my older cousin stepped in to help explain what the game did and how to play it.

I played the game so much the front aluminum frame became detached. Eventually the rubber buttons failed to the point where they fell out. I figured out I could use the metal on the back of a pencil which had its eraser removed to close the contacts and trigger the contact pads. I managed to get a high score like this! I would play on a desk, Pipeline lying flat, a pencil in each hand poking the contacts to make the character move and guide the gushing oil through the pipeline.

Of course, the metal on metal eventually wrecked the game board and it ceased to work.

When ebay came online I started searching for another one (90s), and eventually found one in Europe and had it shipped to me, which was the start of my modest collection of handhelds that matter to me...