Incredibly Strange Games

Strange Accessories

There have been some strange videogame accessories, but my favorite are the homemade ones. I found this at a tag sale near Lake Tahoe a few summers ago.

I suspect the seller had worked at Atari Grass Valley, because he was also selling some Atari prototypes and a lot of 2600 games on loose EPROMS. This exceptionally well-crafted (and over engineered) piece of hardwood was a lapboard for 2600 controllers. It’s sanded, polished, and varnished.

It actually works surprisingly well — way, way better than cramping your hands trying to just hold the joystick. My favorite touch is the bottom, with the name pounded in. Anyone know who Ray E. Cooper is?

Got some weird accessories? Email me and let me know! This lapboard was rescued from a tag-sale pile by me and placed on extended loan to Mike Mika’s basement.