Bradley’s Almanac

Operation: Funspot

Posted on October 16, 2003 at 8:52 am | No Comments

This Saturday, the Boston World Explorers Foundation broadens it’s area of exploration (and it’s usual historically-slanted agenda) with a roadtrip to the north. Destination? New Hampshire’s one-and-only Funspot, the self-proclaimed “Spot for Fun”. Why there? From the Funspot website: “It is the second largest arcade in the country with the largest selection of classic games in the world!.” Yes, we’re in for an afternoon of unbridled geek-on-classic-videogame action. In that sense, maybe this trip is ‘historical’, at least as far as arcade entertainment history goes. If our eyes start buggin’ out, maybe we’ll mix it up with some mini-golf, bowling, or even some go-kart mania.

Here’s the “official” BostonWEF invitation…

Join the Boston World Explorers Foundation this Saturday, Oct. 18, for an expedition to Funspot in Weirs, New Hampshire. The second-largest arcade in the country, Funspot — “the spot for fun” — claims the largest collection of classic video games in the world.

We’ll gather at 9 a.m. Saturday for the drive north — supposedly 1.5-2 hours — in the parking lot of the Greek Orthodox Church on Magazine Street in Central Square, Cambridge.

If you want to come, you need to RSVP to me by Friday morning. And if you can _drive_, please let me know if you’re willing to help chauffeur– and how many explorers you can take in your car. We’ll be making sure that everyone has a ride if they need one. We’ll be returning to the Boston area as members’ needs require.

Explorers will be responsible for their own rolls of quarters, dollar bills, and other funding sources for their gameplay. Our grant application fell through, and the Foundation will not be able to subsidize this endeavor. Apologies extended.

As ever, yours,

Heath

Founder

Boston World Explorers Foundation

Does the mere thought of this make the teenager in you giddy? Are you on the fence about coming along? Well, take a look at this list. Scramble, Ikari Warriors, Tutankham, Battlezone, Track & Field, cockpit-style Star Wars, Rally-X, Contra, Marble Madness… just to name a few. The original, fully functional arcade machines. Come along, get your game on, and make sure you wear pants with big pockets for tons of tokens.

Comments

Leave a Reply





  • BOSTON-AREA LIVE SHOW ACTION
    Wednesday, October 15th
    Modest Mouse
    Built to Spill
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Wednesday, October 15th
    Disclosure (Live)
    Fcukers
    Villager
    @ Roadrunner

    Thursday, October 16th
    Moving Targets
    One Fall
    Spiller
    @ Faces Brewing

    Friday, October 17th
    Makeout Palace
    Tysk Tysk Task
    The Ghouls
    @ O'Brien's

    Friday, October 17th
    Bad History Month
    @ Panopticon

    Friday, October 17th
    Peel Dream Magazine
    22° Halo
    @ Deep Cuts

    Friday, October 17th
    The Psychedelic Furs
    Gary Numan
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Friday, October 17th
    Sheila E. & the E-Train
    @ City Winery Boston

    Saturday, October 18th
    Kingsley Flood
    @ the Burren Backroom

    Saturday, October 18th
    Patty Griffin &
    Rickie Lee Jones
    @ the Chevalier

    Saturday, October 18th
    Jeff Tweedy
    Macie Stewart
    @ the Royale

    Saturday & Sunday
    October 18th & 19th
    Left of the Charles festival
    with bands & vendors
    Saturday: Nemarca, Tiffy,
    Viruette, Sailor Down,
    & Brady Dallas Jones
    Sunday: Nora Meier, Luddites,
    Justin Schaefers, Spirit Ghost,
    Makeout Palace, & Lady Pills
    @ the Speedway, Brighton

    Sunday, October 19th
    Juanita & Juan
    (Alice Bag & Kid Congo Powers)
    Kathy Snax Band
    @ Deep Cuts

    Sunday, October 19th
    The Chelsea Curve
    Speedfossil
    Cold Expectations
    Happy Little Clouds
    Corin Ashley
    Eric Barlow
    @ the Burren Backroom

    Sunday, October 19th
    Guerilla Toss
    @ Crystal Ballroom

    Sunday, October 19th
    Ruston Kelly
    Sam MacPherson
    @ the Sinclair

    Monday, October 20th
    Leisure
    @ the Royale

    Monday, October 20th
    Madi Diaz
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Tuesday, October 21st
    Big Thief
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Tuesday, October 21st
    Everclear
    Local H
    Sponge
    @ Big Night Live

    Wednesday, October 22nd
    Mike Viola
    @ the Lizard Lounge

    Thursday, October 23rd
    Brian Dunne
    Dead Gowns
    @ the Rockwell

    Thursday, October 23rd
    Neko Case
    Des Demonas
    @ The Wilbur

    Thursday, October 23rd
    Shudder to Think
    Zwei Null Zwei
    @ Sonia

    Thursday, October 23rd
    Belly
    "King" 30th Anniversary Tour!
    @ the Paradise

    Thursday & Friday
    October 23rd & 24th
    Ali McGuirk
    "Watertop" Release Shows
    @ the Lizard Lounge

    Friday, October 24th
    Bumblebee Radio Presents:
    Their 5th Anniversary
    Spooky Season Showcase
    with Peppermint Kicks, Beck Black,
    Jennifer Tefft & the Strange, and
    Smitt E. Smitty & the Fezztones
    @ Crystal Ballroom

    Friday, October 24th
    Nervous Eaters
    play with a screening of the
    "Life on the Other Planet"
    70s/80s Boston rock doc
    @ the Regent Theatre

    Friday, October 24th
    Insomnies
    Chris Brokaw
    The Golden Dregs
    Lights Out
    @ Myrtle, Providence

    Friday, Saturday, & Sunday
    October 24th, 25th, & 26th
    Jonathan Richman
    with Tommy Larkins
    @ the Somerville Theatre

    Saturday, October 25th
    Tommy Stinson's
    Cowboys in the Campfire
    with Bob Logan
    & Chris Amaral
    @ Faces Brewing

    Saturday, October 25th
    Cheap Trick
    @ Lynn Auditorium

    Saturday, October 25th
    Halloween show with...
    Yoni Gordon (as Prince),
    the Grownup Noise, Indiana Stone,
    & The Naya Rockers (as REM),
    Ruby Grove (as Led Zeppelin),
    & Happy Little Clouds, Endation,
    The Daylilies, Linnea’s Garden, &
    Adi Sun (as Queens of the Stone Age)
    @ the Loft, Somerville

    Saturday, October 25th
    Amy Rigby
    House show in Dorchester
    @ the Acoustic Den

    Saturday, October 25th
    Rufus Wainwright
    @ City Winery

    Saturday, October 25th
    Ezra Furman
    The Golden Dregs
    @ the Sinclair

    Saturday, October 25th
    Minus The Bear
    @ the House of Blues

    Sunday, October 26th
    Boston Musicians Celebrate
    Steve Morse
    with
    Willie Alexander,
    Leon Beal,
    Chuck McDermott,
    Scott Damgaard Combo,
    Jesse Williams Quartet,
    Danielle Miraglia,
    & Woody Geissmann
    @ the Regent Theatre

    Sunday, October 26th
    Bryan Adams
    Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo
    @ the Garden

    Saturday, October 26th
    Big D & the Kids Table:
    A Nightmare Before Halloween
    with Westbound Train,
    & the JB Conspiracy
    @ the Sinclair

    Monday, October 27th
    Laufey
    Suki Waterhouse
    @ TD Garden

    Monday, October 27th
    Autechre
    Mark Broom
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Wednesday, October 29th
    Herbie Hancock
    @ the Wang Theatre

    Tuesday, October 28th
    WHICH SIDE?
    A Protest Music Teach-Out
    A Music Series with Discussion
    Hosted by James Sullivan
    featuring the Paid Protesters
    & a revolving cast of singers
    This one features: Rick Berlin,
    Will Dailey, Thea Hopkins,
    Cliff Notez, Aaron Perrino,
    and Chad Stokes
    @ the Burren Back Room

    Wednesday, October 29th
    EARFULL series
    "Writers reading, songwriters playing"
    with authors
    Tom Perrotta & Alice Hoffman
    and musicians
    Highway Hosiery & Adam Sherman
    @ Regattabar, Cambridge

    Wednesday, October 29th
    Of Monsters and Men
    Arny Margret
    @ Roadrunner

    Wednesday, October 29th
    The Beta Band
    @ the Royale

    Thursday, October 30th
    Cage the Elephant
    Hey, Nothing
    Common People
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Thursday, October 30th
    Thundercat
    @ Roadrunner

    Friday & Saturday
    October 31st & November 1st
    Fleshwater
    Chat Pile
    @ the Paradise

    Saturday, November 1st
    Andy Bell (of Erasure)
    @ the Wilbur

    Sunday, November 2nd
    Fruit Bats (solo)
    @ the Sinclair

    Monday, November 3rd
    Margaret Glaspy
    Brooke Annibale
    @ City Winery

    Tuesday, November 4th
    Dinosaur Live!
    Improvised Entertainment with
    Edi Patterson, Paul Scheer,
    Rob Huebel, Jason Mantzoukas,
    Owen Burke, Danielle Schneider,
    and Mary Holland
    @ the Chevalier, Medford

    Wednesday, November 5th
    Boris
    "Pink" 20th Anniversary Tour
    with Uniform
    @ the Paradise

    Thursday, November 6th
    Matt Pond PA
    @ the Fallout Shelter, Norwood

    Thursday, November 6th
    Colin Hay (Men at Work)
    @ the Chevalier Theatre

    Thursday, November 6th
    Robert Plant's Saving Grace
    featuring Suzi Dian
    @ the Shubert Theatre

    Thursday & Friday
    November 6th & 7th
    The Lone Bellow
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, Friday, & Saturday
    November 6th, 7th, & 8th
    Buffalo Tom's 2nd annual
    "Please Come to Boston" fest
    with special live performances
    & guests each night
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Friday & Saturday
    November 7th & 8th
    Steve Martin & Martin Short
    three shows @ the Wang

    Saturday, November 8th
    Luke O'Neil
    "We Had It Coming"
    Book Release Party
    4pm @ the Sinclair

    Saturday, November 8th
    Cracker
    with special guests
    @ Abbot Hall, Marblehead

    Saturday, November 8th
    Howl Owl Howl
    @ the Paradise

    Saturday, November 8th
    The Mars Volta
    @ House of Blues

    Sunday, November 9th
    Flock of Dimes
    @ the Rockwell

    Sunday, November 9th
    The Samples
    @ City Winery

    Tuesday, November 11th
    Jason Bonham's
    Led Zeppelin Evening
    @ the House of Blues Boston

    Tuesday & Wednesday
    November 11th & 12th
    Micky Dolenz (the Monkees)
    Songs & Stories
    @ City Winery

    Wednesday, November 12th
    Jens Lekman
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, November 13th
    Janeane Garofalo
    two shows
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Thursday, November 13th
    Major Stars
    Mountain Movers
    Gossip Collar
    @ Deep Cuts

    Thursday, November 13th
    Celebration of Hip-Hop with
    Hall of Fame Induction of Rakim
    @ Berklee Performance Center

    Friday, November 14th
    The Smithereens
    with John Cowsill
    @ City Winery

    Friday, November 14th
    John Fogerty
    doing CCR songs
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Friday, November 14th
    Geese
    @ the Paradise

    Friday, November 14th
    Spiller
    The Long Wait
    @ the Middle East

    Saturday, November 15th
    Hallelujah The Hills
    (20th anniversary show!)
    with the return of the mighty...
    Ho-Ag! @ Deep Cuts

    Saturday, November 15th
    Beach Fossils
    @ the Paradise

    Sunday, November 16th
    The Faint
    Hercules & Love Affair
    @ the Royale

    Sunday, November 16th
    Die Spitz
    @ the Sinclair

    Sunday, November 16th
    Black Flag
    (Ginn & the kids)
    @ Taffeta in Lowell

    Monday, November 17th
    Tom Morello & Friends
    (electric full band show)
    @ the Paradise

    Tuesday & Wednesday
    November 18th & 19th
    The Barr Brothers
    Land of Talk
    @ the Sinclair

    Wednesday, November 19th
    EARFULL series
    "Writers reading, songwriters playing"
    @ Regattabar, Cambridge

    Wednesday, November 19th
    Author Joe Hill
    presenting 'King Sorrow'
    @ Brookline Booksmith

    Thursday, November 20th
    Weakened Friends
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, November 20th
    Sarah McLachlan
    @ the Orpheum

    Thursday, November 20th
    SOM
    Hiroe
    Girih
    Bedroom Eyes
    @ Deep Cuts

    Friday, November 21st
    Queensrÿche
    Accept
    @ Somerville Theatre

    Friday & Saturday
    November 21st & 22nd
    Letters to Cleo
    The Cavedogs
    @ the Paradise Rock Club

    Saturday, November 22nd
    Couch
    @ Roadrunner

    Sunday, November 23rd
    Story of the Year
    Senses Fail
    Armor for Sleep
    @ Roadrunner

    Monday, November 24th
    Stevie Nicks
    @ TD Garden

    Monday, November 24th
    Bar Italia
    Lifeguard
    @ the Paradise

    Monday, November 24th
    Patti Smith
    Horses 50th Anniversary Tour
    @ the Orpheum

    Tuesday & Wednesday
    November 25th & 26th
    The English Beat
    @ City Winery

    Wednesday, November 26th
    The Lemonheads
    @ The Wilbur

    Saturday, November 29th
    Portugal. The Man
    @ Roadrunner

    Saturday, November 29th
    Vundabar
    @ the Sinclair

    Sunday, November 30th
    Caspian
    Aisha Burns
    @ Sonia

    Monday, December 1st
    (second show added)
    The Beths
    Phoebe Rings
    @ the Royale

    Friday, December 5th
    The Besnard Lakes
    @ Deep Cuts

    Friday, December 5th
    STL GLD
    House Party
    with Bad Rabbits
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, December 5th
    The Bug Club
    Spirit Ghost
    Dinos
    Joy Boys
    @ O'Brien's

    Saturday, December 6th
    The Aimee Mann & Ted Leo
    Christmas Show featuring
    Paul F. Tompkins, Nellie McKay,
    & Josh Gondelman
    @ the Chevalier Theatre

    December 6th
    Sorry
    @ the Middle East Up

    Tuesday, December 9th
    They Are Gutting A Body Of Water
    Hooky
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Wednesday, December 10th
    EARFULL series
    "Writers reading, songwriters playing"
    @ Regattabar, Cambridge

    Thursday, December 11th
    The Ladybug Transistor
    Giant Day
    Gold Dust
    @ Deep Cuts

    Saturday, December 13th
    Paula Poundstone
    @ the Mosesian Center, Watertown

    Saturday, December 13th
    Will Dailey
    @ the Paradise

    Saturday, December 13th
    Converge's SADDEST DAY Fest
    with Touché Amoré, Coalesce,
    The Hope Conspiracy, Soul Glo,
    Year of the Knife, Stress Positions,
    Wormwood, and more
    @ Roadrunner

    Saturday, December 13th
    A John Waters Christmas
    @ Berklee Performance Center

    Saturday, December 13th
    J. Robbins Band plays
    Burning Airlines
    @ Deep Cuts

    Sunday, December 14th
    Cursive
    AJJ
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Monday, December 15th
    Algernon Cadwallader
    @ the Sinclair

    Wednesday, December 17th
    Patti Smith
    Book Tour Stop
    @ the Chevalier

    Saturday, December 20th
    The Del Fuegos
    Early & Late shows
    @ City Winery

    Sunday, December 21st
    Samantha Fish
    Cedric Burnside
    Jon Spencer
    @ the Wilbur

    Saturday, December 27th
    John Oliver
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Sunday, December 28th
    The Felice Brothers
    Charlotte Cornfield
    @ the Sinclair

    Monday & Tuesday
    December 29th & 30th
    The Disco Biscuits
    Monday @ the Sinclair
    Tuesday @ the Royale

    Wednesday, January 14th, 2026
    Bishop Allen
    Mates of State
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, January 15th
    Cate Le Bon
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, January 15th
    Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
    "Piano & Voice" performance
    @ the MFA Boston

    Monday, January 19th
    Shame
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Thursday, January 27th
    The Residents
    Eskimo Live! Tour
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Saturday & Sunday
    January 31st & February 1st
    Something In The Way Fest 2026
    with Explosions In The Sky,
    Sunny Day Real Estate, Citizen,
    Tigers Jaw, The Hotelier, Momma,
    Angel Dust, February, First Day Back,
    Glitterer, Glixen, Gollylagging, Guv,
    Graham Hunt, Horse Jumper of Love,
    How Much Art, No Warning, Pelican,
    Park National, Pool Kids, Sheer Mag,
    Wicca Phase Springs Eternal,
    and Teen Suicide
    @ Roadrunner

    February 13th
    Nine Inch Nails
    @ TD Garden

    Friday, February 20th
    Marissa Nadler
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Saturday, February 21st
    Margo Price
    @ the Royale

    February 28th
    Ratboys
    Florry
    @ the Sinclair

    Tuesday, March 3rd
    Spiritual Cramp
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, Saturday, & Sunday
    March 13th, 14th, & 15th
    Dropkick Murphys
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Tuesday, March 17th
    Dropkick Murphys
    @ House of Blues

    Thursday, March 19th
    Julianna Barwick
    & Mary Lattimore
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Friday, March 20th
    The Hives
    The Chats
    @ House of Blues

    Saturday, March 21st
    Joyce Manor
    Militarie Gun
    Teen Mortgage
    Combat
    @ House of Blues

    Monday, March 23rd
    Westerman
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, March 26th
    The Format
    Piebald
    Adult Mom
    @ Roadrunner

    Sunday, March 29th
    Ladysmith Black Mambazo
    @ Sanders Theatre

    Wednesday, April 1st
    Wednesday (the band)
    @ the Royale

    Thursday, April 2nd
    On Cinema Live! with
    Tim Heidecker
    & Gregg Turkington
    @ the Wilbur

    Friday, April 3rd
    Patrick Watson
    @ Somerville Theatre

    Thursday, April 16th
    Rhiannon Giddens
    @ the Orpheum

    Sunday, April 19th
    Heavenly
    Swansea Sound
    Jeanines
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, May 14th
    Melody's Echo Chamber
    @ the Royale

    Tuesday & Wednesday
    May 19th & 20th
    Belle and Sebastian
    play "Tigermilk" (19th) and
    "If You're Feeling Sinister" (20th)
    @ the Orpheum

    Wednesday, June 26th
    The Church
    The Singles Tour
    (rescheduled from 8/1/25)
    @ Somerville Theatre

    Friday, September 4th
    Peter Hook & the Light
    play New Order's "Get Ready"
    @ House of Blues