Because I'm English, arcade memories are generally intertwined with fun holiday vacation memories, as British arcades were either at the seaside and attracted flocks of families, or were in the city and attracted the seediest people imaginable. So I only really got to play arcade games once a year for a week at a time while I was growing up.
But what a time to be growing up! I started with the classics, Asteroids, Pac-Man and Galaxian were early favorites and I always enjoyed standing on tiptoes to see through the Battlezone scope, then titles like Star Wars, Mr. Do! and Karate Champ eventually made way for Pac-Land, Gauntlet, Bubble Bobble, Space Harrier, and Outrun.
Just typing this out brings the memories flooding back, I can almost smell the cigarette smoke mixed with candy floss and the din of each machine.