The History of TNT Amusements

The History of TNT Amusements ...

Todd Tuckey began a Video Game route in 1979, installing games in stores in the Philadelphia area. He also worked full-time at Temple University Student Activities Center where he ran 2 game rooms and the movie theater. But, by 1984, the Arcade Video boom was over, and we had dozens of games with nowhere to sell or place them.

Todd Tuckey placed games outside his home in Northeast Philadelphia in late August, 1984 with big "For Sale" signs on them -- and dozens of customers came! Every Friday and Saturday until Christmas of 1984, games were sold for $100 up to $600 each on an as-is cash and carry basis. During the week, unsold games were covered with plastic and kept outdoors, sometimes as many as 90 games lined the long driveway!

With almost 500 games sold from his driveway, Todd realized there WAS a big demand for commercial quality games for home use. Todd quit his job at Temple and resumed sales full-time in January 1985 from his garage, and then he rented his first showroom in October of that same year.

Daughter Tammy (6mo) enjoying her
custom pinball crib (1996)

Daughters Terry (3mo) &
Tammy (3yr) in their
custom pinball crib created from a Gottlieb Black Hole Pinball Machine. (1999)

In November, 1986, with sales climbing and storage space expensive, TNT Amusements purchased the current building. The new showroom of 2,000 square feet was divided into multiple rooms with connecting doorways, lit with neons, creating a maze-like space that's fun to explore.

In 1988, a customer suggested renting the space for his son's party, giving the idea of private party rentals of the entire showroom. Since no other party facility can offer the unique concept of just ONE party per time slot PLUS the "FREE PLAY" feature on all the games, our party rentals book solid week after week.

As each year passes, the average age of the games sold gets older, requiring more and more extensive rebuilding. An example is a typical video game. The TV Monitor must be removed and new parts installed to restore bright, sharp pictures. the game board, power supply -- even the cabinet now require hours of work. Pinball Machines need even greater rebuilding. With many of the older machines, TNT sometimes puts two games together to produce one excellent one. Only the BEST games are sold!

Over the years, we have developed a very thorough overhaul procedure for each game. We perform many factory updates along with several dozen checkpoints (forgotten, neglected or unknown to our "basement part-time competitors"). Many Video Games require an additional $400 to $800 in parts and labor while Pinballs and Shuffle Alleys may require $800 to $1200 in extra expenses!! We rationalize this expense easily - IT REDUCES SERVICE CALLS TO A FEW OR NONE. Our FREE Over-The-Phone Service solves 90% of many problems and our generous Trade-In policy (guaranteed in writing) allows customers to upgrade their games from time to time without the annoyance of selling their games privately to strangers.

Used Chexx Hockey Starts at $1599
Used Super Chexx Hockey
Starts at $1999


*Daughter Tammy with Mommy, Daddy & Sandy, a 1960's coin-op riding horse.*	As we enter our 29th year of business, we have expanded our showrooms and include Bowling Shuffle Alleys, Skeeball, Air Hockey, and Jukeboxes. We now have the largest used game showroom in the world with over 120 pieces on display in a 4,000 square foot area. Our number one sales reference is STILL word of mouth from our customer base of almost 6,000 families.

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