Choose Your Own Way: Arcade

By Angela Moyle

As a computer game addict, you somehow find yourself at your favourite arcade - unfortunately with no money. If you can find a way to play what machine will you take on? Will you be able to get the high score? Or will it end up being the worst day of your life?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Angela Moyle
• Release date: Dec 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9780463797426

Angela Moyle

Angela very much enjoys writing for children young and old. She has published three children's picture books, a five-book series for older readers and two Choose Your Own Way eBooks.She lives in Canberra Australia.

Book preview

Other works by Angela Moyle

Capital Adventure children’s picture book series

Phoebe Digs Politics

Clyde’s Prickly Ride

Hope’s Dawn Service

Minky Robinson young adult series

Minky Robinson: Chair Traveller

Minky Robinson: Secrets Unlocked

Minky Robinson: No Love Lost

Minky Robinson: Not Forgotten

Minky Robinson: Last Goodbye

Choose Your Own Way series

Choose Your Own Way - Camping Trip

Choose Your Own Way - Arcade

For Suzanne

Choose Your Own Way - Arcade

The games arcade on Fifth Avenue is one of your most favourite places in the whole world. You love going there whenever you have spare cash because you’re addicted to seeing your name on the high-score lists. It doesn’t seem to matter what kind of game it is – you love them all.

The three-letter high score name you use is ‘AWZ’, but if it’s not an old-school game and you can spell out more than three capital letters, you go by ‘Arcade Wizard’. There’s just something about seeing your name on that high-score list. It invigorates you!

On this particular day, you have no money – not a cent. You’re not sure if it’s just habit that you always want to walk past the place, but it feels like an invisible force constantly draws you there.

Going to the arcade with no money is a bit like torture, but you figure you can just walk past the games and also see if there are any new machines. Even if they’re all in attract mode – you can still check the score lists to make sure you’re at least ranking in the top five.

As soon as you enter, your heart rate beats a little faster. The electronic musical sounds, the flashing lights and the slightly offensive smell of teenagers. Man, you love this place!

You wander casually past the machines and mentally make note of the ones you know you still haven’t managed to get to top spot on: Zombie Escape, a classic action fight game with zombie opponents; Race Fury, a mad fast-paced driving game; and Seasonal Hunting, a shooter game in which you need to blast as many colourful little characters as you can.

Your fingers are itching to play any of these games! Maybe you could convince someone to give you some money? Maybe you could poke around and see if anyone has dropped some money or coin tokens? You’ve found abandoned money in this place before – usually just out of sight hiding under the heavy machines. It’s not an impossible feat.

What are you going to do?

Beg for money or a coin token

Look around for money or a coin token

You approach the group of girls

It feels a bit like you’re making a mistake, but you decide to go over to the group of girls and ask them for a coin.

As you approach the dance machine they are playing on, the music is so loud you can feel it pumping right through your body.

Excuse me ladies, you say in your most confident voice.

Initially, they don’t hear you, but right at that moment one of the two girls who is playing the game makes a wrong move and the game ends. The winning girl whoops excitedly and the others congratulate her somewhat reluctantly.

"I told you, no one can beat me!" The smug girl says as you clear your throat to get their attention.

Can I ask you ladies a massive favour? This time they hear you.

All six of them stop and stare at you as if you have a real nerve daring to talk to them. None of them verbally respond, they all just look you up and down.