TouchMaster 8000

Overview

TouchMaster is a multi-game arcade machine developed by CES Inc. (later Midway Games) and released by Midway Games for arcades in 1996.

Similar to Merit's Megatouch series, TouchMaster is intended to be housed in small "bartop" machines placed on the counters of bars and pubs and includes a variety of casual games that is meant to be played with the machine's touchscreen monitor. It features a system that allows players to win free credits for a particular game if they perform a special feat (such as completing Solitaire with a three-card draw) or achieve the highest score.

It received multiple software updates from 1997-2000, adding a variety of new games while updating some old ones (such as new trivia questions). It was later superseded by TouchMaster Infinity, which uses PC-based hardware rather than a dedicated PCB. Much of the games in the series were later ported to the Nintendo DS as part of the TouchMaster series.

Known Versions

• TouchMaster (v2, v3) - October 17, 1996 (v2.2-01)
• TouchMaster 2000 (v4) - May 16, 1997 (4.00)
• TouchMaster 2000 Plus (v4) - September 3, 1997 (4.63)
• TouchMaster 3000 (v5) - November 4, 1997 (5.01)
• TouchMaster 4000 (v6) - March 23, 1998 (6.01)
• TouchMaster 5000 (v7) - August 21, 1998 (7.01)
• TouchMaster 7000 (v8) - March 26, 1999 (8.00)
• TouchMaster 8000 (v9) - March 17, 2000 (9.02)

Game List

Card

• 3 Peak Deluxe (all) - Known prior to the 2000 Plus version as "3 Peak Perfection". Updated in 2000 Plus.

• Double Take (2000 Plus - 8000) - Updated in the 5000 version.

• Flight Deck (4000 - 8000)

• Go Wild (4000 - 8000)

• Pairs (all)

• Power Cell (8000)

• Pyramid 13 (all)

• Royal Quest (2000 - 8000)

• Solitaire Classic (all) - Known prior to the 2000 Plus version as "Solitaire".

• Super Score Solo-Taire (2000 Plus - 8000) - Known prior to the 5000 version as "Solitaire High Score".

• Target 21 (all)

• Triple Elevens (all) - Updated in the 5000 version.

• Uplift (7000 - 8000)

Action

• Breakout 3000 (3000 - 7000)

• Centipede Returns (4000 - 7000) - A touchscreen adaptation of the 1981 arcade game Centipede. Players have infinite lives, but have a limited amount of time to score as much as they can.

• Hot Hoops (all)

• Kick Champion (3000 - 8000)

• Zap 'Em (2000 - 8000) - Known prior to the 5000 version as "Blast 'Em".

Word

• Movie Trivia (5000 - 8000) - Updated in the 7000 version ("Movie Trivia 2") and the 8000 version ("Movie Trivia 3").

• Ripley's Trivia (2000 Plus)

• Tiger Quiz Wiz (7000 - 8000) - Updated in the 8000 version ("Tiger Quiz Wiz: 2nd Edition").

• Word Search (3000 - 8000) - Updated in the 5000 version ("Word Search: 2nd Edition"), the 7000 version ("Word Search: 3rd Edition"), and the 8000 version ("Word Search: 4th Edition").

• Wordz (all) - Updated in the 2000 Plus version ("Wordz: 3rd Edition"), the 5000 version ("Wordz: 4th Edition"), the 7000 version ("Wordz: 5th Edition"), and the 8000 version ("Wordz: 6th Edition").

Skill

• 5 Star Generals (all) - Updated in the 5000 version.

• Artifact (8000)

• Crystal Balls (5000 - 8000)

• Domino (2000 - 5000)

• Domino Plus (2000 - 5000)

• Jamba (4000 - 5000)

• Mah Jongg Pairs (4000 - 8000)

• Mahki (7000 - 8000)

• Matador (2000 - 3000)

• Mirror, Mirror (5000 - 8000)

• Pool Pairs (8000)

• Shell Shock (all) - Classified as "Action" in the 2000 Plus version.

• Spotlight (3000 - 5000)

• Times Square (7000 - 8000)

• Wild Slide (5000 - 8000)

Erotic

These games are disabled by default and must be enabled in the service menu.

• Strip Poker (3000 - 8000)

• Strip Search (4000 - 8000)

• Solitaire Erotic (3000 - 8000)

• Watch Your @#&!ing Language (original - 4000)